How do you replace the ballast in a fluorescent light?

To safely replace the ballast in your fluorescent light, turn off the lamp, remove it, and check the voltage of the feed wires with a voltmeter. Then, use a nut driver to unscrew the nut holding the ballast in place and install the replacement ballast.

Do you need a ballast for a hid headlight?

There’s no need to worry about a ballast in this case, unless you’re experiencing problems. An auto-electrician can take a look at this for you. If you’re considering replacing your halogen headlights with new HID lights using a HID conversion kit, you’ll need two HID ballasts, one for each headlight.

Why do I have to change my headlight bulb?

It seems the most common issue is that a ballast has gone bad…the bad ballast then causes damage to the headlight bulb, requiring you to change the bulb too. If you only change one or the other, you do run the risk that you’ll have to replace it again due to damage that occurred.

What to do when your dipped headlight is wrong?

If the dipped headlight error on your dash changes from “Dipped Headlight Left” to “Dipped Headlight Right” (or vice versa) then you know that the issue lies in either the bulb or ballasts. If this is the case, you should order one new bulb and one new ballast (using the links in this post) and replace the bad side and you should be good.

When does the hid headlight bulb shut off?

• HID headlight bulb shuts off after being on for a while. Shut off is sporadic and unpredictable but happens more and more often over the next 100 hours of operation. Swap the problem bulb to the opposite side.

What happens when you turn off the headlight?

However, as the bulb ages, it may shut off (drop its arc) more often. That can happen as many as 30 times per minute. When that occurs, the ballast tends to overheat. To protect itself, the ballast itself will shut down. It will not reset itself. The ballast can only be reset by turning the headlight switch off and then on again.

How does the ballast work on a HID bulb?

An HID ballast is a boosting transformer that converts battery voltage into the approximately 75 to 110 volts needed to maintain the arc. The ballast is designed to detect bulb shut down. If the bulb turns off, the ballast will automatically restart the bulb within ½ second.

What to do if your HID headlights are bad?

Turn on the HID headlights and wait for the bulb to shut off by itself. Then turn off your headlight switch and immediately turn it back on. This resets the ballast. If the bulb lights with a weak pink/purple color, it’s usually a bad bulb. Turn on your HID headlights. If both lights are lit, wait for one bulb to turn off.