here's the deal. The passenger side HID low beam on my 03 evo went out several days ago. So I instantly assumed the bulb blew. I went ahead and ordered new ones and then when ahead and replaced them to only see that the passenger side light still didn't work. Then I realized that it could be the fuse and was pissed that I wasted all that time and money replacing the bulb, but then I check the fuses and it still didn't work. All other lights on the passenger side work, all except the HID low beam.....


... any idea what could be going on? any clue?

Thanks!

 

check to see if it is getting any power that should be your first step

 

possibly a ballast gone bad?

 

is there any way to check for this?

when you just turn on the HIDs there is a distinct clicking sound ( power on sound ) and even a slight hum right at first. I don't notice that on the passengers side where it's out. Maybe that means it doesn't have any power, maybe that means the ballast is out? how do I tell?

I'm confused and don't want to go to the dealer to get a diagnosis

 

get a volt meter and check if there is power going to the balast. if it is, then its a bad balast. if its not getting power, then check your grounding. had a very similar problem, and it took me a couple of days to find out that the passenger side ground wire wasn't seated well on the body.

 

alright, so there is a seperate ground for the HID lights? or is there a ground for the whole passenger light assembly?

I'll have to take them out and check all that crap (connectors, wires, grounds, blah blah)

 

the HID ballast is the metal box mounted on the bottom of the headlight, right under the HID light itself, right?

well I tested the power to that metal box (what I'm 99% sure is the ballast) and it's getting the 12 volts it needs. So I guess that mean I need a new ballast .

Are my assumptions right?

now I'm thinking about getting the JDM MR heads to replace them instead of ordering a new ballast.

 

I looked on Mitsubishiparts.com and it looks like the ballast (they call it a control module) is $544 retail, but $398 on the site. If you wanna check it out, drill down on the body parts side, and it's under Front Lamps -> Headlamp components -> Control Module.

 

you can buy the ballast off ebay for less. with HID problems 9 times out of 10 it will be a bad ballast vs. bulb. The bulbs are good for 5 yrs usually.

 

ok, so i checked the plug going into the ballast and that had power. So I decided to check to make sure I didn't get a "dead" bulb. I connected everything and then checke what I think are the correct terminals for the HID bulb itself and bingo, no power. So it has to be the ballast. Power into ballast is good, but no power out.

these are the two terminals I checked, are these the right ones? There are other metal clips, but they look like they are just there to secure the bulb in place.

 

Thanks. Wish I knew this before I bought new bulbs. oh well, they'll look better when fixed anyways.

 

There was a TSB or recall on the controller for the headlamp assembly. I had it replaced free under warrantee a while back. Probably the only time I have been happy with my warrantee coverage/service.

 

you can sell the bulbs on the bay easy enough to recoup some money for the ballast.
I would swap ballasts L ro R to make sure 100% thats the issue though.

 

any place I can see more info on this recall?

 

.... I swapped the ballast from the driver side to the passenger side and it worked. At least I now Know what hte problem is (stupid ballast).

thanks for all your help guys.

now I need a used ballast