Factory HID housing bulbs

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05 LS8

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Hey guys,

My driver side HID bulb started flickering. It's a very slight flicker, almost unnoticable. Also, when i turn the headlights on, the very same bulb almost starts off a little yellowish than the passenger side bulb.

Anyone know if it's the bulb or the ballast?

From what i gathered it's due to the sodium in the bulb deteriorating. I am not sure, and was hoping someone would steer me in the right direction.


Thanks!
 
I would say its the bulb.

You can use generic bulbs from DDM tuning and i would do both sides just for peace of mind. From what i know OEM ballasts are of very high quality and very rarely fail. Also those are most likely the original bulbs and due for replacement soon anyways.
 
Black, thanks man.
Glad to hear i don't have to mess around with the ballasts.
The car has 120,000 miles on it and i have noticed the light output isn't the same as when i first got the car (with 69,000). I am going to order a pair from DDM today.

Drizz, you read my thoughts. I have a pair of extra 5000k HID bulbs for the foglights already, so i will probably just buy the 5000k for the headlights so they match.
 
5000K is the way to go IMO.

Switch the bulbs around to isolate the issue.
 
05 LS8 said:
Hey guys,

My driver side HID bulb started flickering. It's a very slight flicker, almost unnoticable. Also, when i turn the headlights on, the very same bulb almost starts off a little yellowish than the passenger side bulb.

Anyone know if it's the bulb or the ballast?

From what i gathered it's due to the sodium in the bulb deteriorating. I am not sure, and was hoping someone would steer me in the right direction.


Thanks!
Click to expand...

its the ballast had the same issue right before my ballast died
 
I'm glad I'm reading this. I looking at some 03 and up H.I.D assemblies on ebay right now and think I might pull the trigger on them. If these ballasts go out, I'm assuming that it's easy to mount after market kits into these assemblies correct? If anyone interested in my 03 halogen lights, they may be for sale if I pull the trigger on these. See my post I just posted.
 
stallone 81 said:
its the ballast had the same issue right before my ballast died
Click to expand...

These are oem headlights...the ballasts dont typically fail. Aftermarket hid ballasts fail because theyre poorly nade. The oem bulbs are over $150 a piece alone.

Being a bulb thats over 6 years old id say its a safe bet that they simply need replaced.
 
stallone 81 said:
its the ballast had the same issue right before my ballast died
Click to expand...

Sorry, but it's much more likely to be the bulb than the OEM ballast. I'm sure they do fail, but I haven't heard of one failing so far.
 
LeaSr77 said:
I'm glad I'm reading this. I looking at some 03 and up H.I.D assemblies on ebay right now and think I might pull the trigger on them. If these ballasts go out, I'm assuming that it's easy to mount after market kits into these assemblies correct? If anyone interested in my 03 halogen lights, they may be for sale if I pull the trigger on these. See my post I just posted.
Click to expand...

Lea, go for it. There are at least 3-4 HID housings on ebay for around $300. Good time to buy them.

BlackLS06 said:
These are oem headlights...the ballasts dont typically fail. Aftermarket hid ballasts fail because theyre poorly nade. The oem bulbs are over $150 a piece alone.


Being a bulb thats over 6 years old id say its a safe bet that they simply need replaced.
Click to expand...

I checked with Ford, the factory bulb is $185 per side....insane.

joegr said:
Sorry, but it's much more likely to be the bulb than the OEM ballast. I'm sure they do fail, but I haven't heard of one failing so far.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the confirmation Joe.
 
UPDATE:

I ended up getting the very same Philips D2R HID bulbs for replacement. I liked the factory HID look too much, that's why i just stuck with them. (the flickering/color change i had stopped with the new bulbs)

The dealer had them for $185 a piece, but I found a pair for $110 on Amazon and pulled the trigger on them....
I installed the bulbs last night and so far very happy with them. They start off with more blue hue to them, but get a little whiter than what i had. But, that's normal, since HID bulbs actually Color Shift. Supposedly after 200 hours, the kelvin goes up.

Long story short, here is an alternative if you like the factory HID look for a good price..... Amazon.com: Genuine PHILIPS D2R Xenon HID Bulb 85126 OEM Headlight 35W (2 piece): Automotive
 
Thats a good price for quality bulbs.

Sure you can get cheaper ones but they may not last as long. Plus you just cant beat OEM.
 
There is a version of that bulb that is closer to 5000K specifically made to match bulbs that have more hours on them, so that as in your case, only one replacement can be made while keeping the same color output on both assemblies.
 
Black, i forgot to mention, they actually come with 1 year warranty - which is a plus. I am just happy the bulbs say Germany on them. The packaging says Germany on them and not China.
I was surprised to find out how much brighter these are than the old bulbs. I would have to say the new ones are about 15% + brighter.

Mark, is it Philips who makes them?
 
Yep, Philips. It might only be available in D2S though, I really don't remember nor can I find the thread where I got my information from.
 
I didn't know that. I know Philips makes the D2R at 6000k, cause i came across some when i was doing research, but i don't remember seeing any at 5000k.

The only difference between the D2R and D2S is the shielded area on D2R bulb. D2S is mainly used on projector type headlights.
I wonder how it would look on our cars with the HID housing.


Edit:
D2S: Discharge second generation shielded
D2R: Discharge second generation reflection
 
It would produce a substantial amount of glare I'd imagine. Those bulbs aren't officially marketed as 5000K due to DOT restrictions IIRC, but they are crafted to come close to the Kelvin output of burned-in bulbs. From what I've read, your 4300K OEMs will burn closer to 5000K as time passes, and that's what those are made to match.
 
05 LS8 said:
UPDATE:

I ended up getting the very same Philips D2R HID bulbs for replacement. I liked the factory HID look too much, that's why i just stuck with them. (the flickering/color change i had stopped with the new bulbs)

The dealer had them for $185 a piece, but I found a pair for $110 on Amazon and pulled the trigger on them....
I installed the bulbs last night and so far very happy with them. They start off with more blue hue to them, but get a little whiter than what i had. But, that's normal, since HID bulbs actually Color Shift. Supposedly after 200 hours, the kelvin goes up.

Long story short, here is an alternative if you like the factory HID look for a good price..... Amazon.com: Genuine PHILIPS D2R Xenon HID Bulb 85126 OEM Headlight 35W (2 piece): Automotive
Click to expand...
Phillips also offers a color matched CM version of the D2R. It supposed to match the color of burned in bulbs better. I put just one, don't recall the brand, in my car, and the color is way off from my OE bulb.

In my search online, there seemed to be some questions if the Phillips bulbs in the white box may be bootleg. There are some ways to identify real from fakes, but I'm not sure what they are. I have a set of white box Phillips that I bought on ebay for similar money, because the current color mismatch bothers me. Do yours have that steel gray color that I only see in OEM bulbs, or are they more white than your OE bulbs?
 
hhhmmm. I have actually heard about the cheap Philips bulbs that people market it as the real deal. Mine came in a white box too as you see in the link. But, they do say Germany on them.

In terms of the Kelvin, when i first installed them, they had whiter hue to them. Now that i have put close to 10 hours on them, i can definitely see they are actuallys starting to color shift and resemble my OEM bulbs.

I would highly recommend the ones in the link, if you are not satisfied with the bulbs you got off ebay.
 
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