Help Replacing HID Bulb on 2003 CL
 

Hey All,
Just came across this forum. I am a proud 2003 Acura CL owner and recently my passenger side low beam HID bulb went out. I figured this would be an easy fix so I took a look at the owners manual and it offers no information on the low beams besides "Call Acura Dealership".. So, I called Acura today and as I suspected - typical BS. They quoted me $170 JUST for the bulb plus $110 an hour for installation. The guy at Acura also mentioned something about taking the bumper off, etc etc to replace these bulbs????? Don't know if that's true?

I found the bulbs on Ebay for $30 - $50. Now my question is: Has anyone done this on their CL or TL's before and can shed some light to the procedure? I'm not a mechanic obviously but have competence in doing "basic" things. Obviously, if this involves taking the bumper off, etc etc etc. I'm going to leave that to the pros but any info is appreciated here on how to get this done the cheapest.

Thanks - Scott

Welcome to the site.

Its quite simple to replace the bulbs. But before you buy new bulbs, swap them. It could be the ballast, not the bulb that burnt out.

If you look at the back of the headlamp, you'll see a cap. There is a security screw there, you need the appropriate torx driver (I think its a T6, but I dont remember). Remove that screw. Now you can remove the cap. There is a connector on the back of the headlamp, its two wires, unplug that. There is alot of juice flowing between the ballast and the bulb, and you dont want any accidents.

Now you can remove the ignitor cable from the bulb base. Gently push in and twist it 1/4 turn. It will pop off. The bulb is held in with a regular spring retainer. Don't touch the bulb glass, and the bulb can go in one way or the output will be incorrect. Make sure the tab on the headlight matches the slot on the bulb.

If it is indeed your bulbs that went out, I have a pair of OEM bulbs Im not using. I dont know the total life left in them, but they dont appear to have colorshifted past the stock 4300k rating.

PS - Yankees FTMFW (but Cashman needs to go)

Thanks for the info man. Unfortunately, because of this inconvenient work thing (ha) I wont be able to test out the bulbs until this weekend when I have proper light. I'll let you know the outcome. Out of curiosity, how much would you want for the bulbs?

ha.. We shall see about the Yankees this year. I think they made the right moves.. Gotta save that $$$$ for 2011 when Carl Crawford and Joe Mauer become available. That's why they told Damon to F off. Don't need him for another 2 years. Gotta get thru this year with the few grabs they got then the big boys will be in pinstripes..

- Scott

IIRC Mauer and the Twins reached a preliminary 10 year agreement, so hes most likely off the market. I think it was a horrible idea sending Melky to the Braves. Damon is still a great offensive player and he fit in with the team. Im not sure about Granderson yet. I dont think hes a good fit for NY. I also think it was a bad idea not resigning Wang to a short term deal as our #5 starter. As for the lights, probably $40 shipped, but I dont want to get this thread locked talking about something that should be in the Black Market.

Since you cant PM yet, if you are interested let me know and Ill give you my email address. We can talk that way.

Thanks for the help thus far man.. I'll reply back this weekend after I test out the bulbs letting you know the status.

Hey Civicdriver or anyone else reading.. One last question... Doing the bulbs tomorrow but noticed something now that caused concern...
The Halogen light on the passenger side works in regular position.. (the HID is out as mentioned above).. Now when I flip on the High Beams both HID AND Halogen are out on the passenger side. Does the HID have anything to do with the powering of the Halogen in high beam setting or does this sound like the Ballast is shot??

Ive heard of the high beam turning on when the bulb is out. I cant remember exactly what the reason for that is though. A few members have had that issue, hopefully they can chime in.

Not the bulb unfortunately. When I tried replacing the bulb it shorted out the fuse...

ballast?

Yo civicdriver.. you on?

I caught some pics of your CL.. Looks tight.... is it easy to take the emblems (ACURA - 3.2CL) off the trunk? It looks way cleaner... did you need to respray the trunk?

Id guess its the ballast.

As far as the badging goes, it was really easy to remove. Theres a tutorial on here about it. Just use a hairdryer, melt the glue, peel off the emblems, and buff the trunk.

You may have some outlines around the letters though. I do, but its not too bad.

I'll know the outcome tomorrow.. bringing it to my mechanic..

do you have the link for the badging removal? Def looks tight and I noticed 90% of the people on here took there's off... never saw that before tho.. not in NY at least.. but there arent many cl's in NY

Should be in here somewhere:

https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-cl-2001-2003-50/%2A%2A%2A-official-2nd-gen-cl-information-thread-%2A%2A%2A-480087/

Theres lots of info in that thread too. What part of NY? Im originally from Long Island.

Long Island too my friend.. Islip... But now I'm in queens to be closer to Manhattan for the job.

I'm going to the mechanic tomorrow for I assume the ballast replacement.. you think I should just have them debadge? it's a body shop as well.. wondering what they'll try an charge tho to debadge.. already know the ballast replace prolly gonna be 400-500$

The ballast replacement you can do yourself if you have the time. Its really simple, and will save you a few hundred.

The same goes for the debadge. Im not sure how much a shop would charge for that though.

I grew up in Westbury/West Hempstead. I left NY in 2007.

Unfortunately, I don't really have the time for the replacement.. Plus, I'm sure i'd f something up...not the most patient person.. same goes for debadge..

I'll see tomorrow.. maybe they'll just do it for $20

you leave for job/school?

I left for work, but also because of NY taxes. The cost of living there sucked, and I needed a change.

sounds about right... i'll post the final summary tomorrow

then i gotta get some pics up on the boards.. my 15 day probation is almost up
later dude

drum roll... Ballast... new one installed and I have lights again..

also... im now debadged kidd!

I'm gonna post some shots in a week or so
thanks for the help tho dude

Hi guys, I'm new to the site. I'm the original owner of an '03 CL Type S w/just over 50,000 miles on it. I'm having the same headlight/ballast problem and was wondering if it would be better
to buy a whole conversion kit or just the ballasts. I saw on one of the posts in here about a company that sells the kit for $179 with all parts/ballasts/bulbs included and $105 for just the ballast. Would the conversion kit work ? Thanks..

Hell..I answered my own question. I ordered the 8000k from HIDExtra..we'll see how it goes.

Hey O'Neill

Where did you see the Ballast for $105? Was it used?

Did you order the D2R kit?? Im a little confused on what kit to order