Headlight Out

Sounds like a loose connection in the turn signal stalk. It's under warrantee. Go to the dealer should take about 30 minutes to fix if they have the part.

 

HID or halogen?

 

I think that Galaxee is onto something...sometimes having to "re-ignite" the HID bulb by turning it on again indicates an impending problem...that is, if your car has the HID lights.

 

yep, someone here had the HID computer assy and bulb replaced a while back for a similar problem.

let us know how it works out for ya.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tripod137 @ Jan 7 2007, 10:27 AM) [snapback]372102[/snapback]</div>

Next time, lock it with your mechanical key.

Dave M.

 

It seems odd that they have to see it out before they can proceed with a diagnsis.

I mean, even if they see that the light is out, they'll prob'ly have to park the car, possibly put it on a lift, perhaps dismantle some part(s) of the interior...and surely they won't begin to work on it without turning off the lights first...?

Or am I missing something...?

I'd like to think that there's a way to be more proactive with intermittent problems like this that are often traced back to the failure of a particular piece of hardware.

 

duplicating problems is on DH's rather short list of frustrations with his work. i hear about it all the time, being that all the diagnostic snarls go to him and he's often either out driving till late late at night, or in the shop way past close trying to figure something out.

you have to see what exactly happens before you can start to work back to what causes the problem and therefore, how to correct it. when the condition is happening there are things that can be done (tapping on sides of connectors, whatever) to narrow down the problem that wouldn't tell you anything unless the condition was present.

in very common instances, sure, what you say makes perfect sense. but this has yet to reach the "very common" realm.

tripod: have em park the car in a bay with the lights on till the one goes out. if they can spare a bay. most places have at least one guy off work each day...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tripod137 @ Jan 8 2007, 12:59 PM) [snapback]372662[/snapback]</div>

Why waste the gas and pollute the environment letting the car idle all day in the hopes that the headlight might go out, when you don't know whether or when it will, and you can't repeat any condition that will?

Just pull over and take a picture of the front of the car next time the headlight randomly goes out while driving normally.

Done.

You can't have just one headlight on with the headlight switch on without there being an obvious problem. And you shouldn't have to waste your time ferrying your car back and forth to a dealer.

There is apparently not much the dealer can "diagnose", check codes for, or "see" when the HID lamp goes out, other than what you and I "see" when the headlamp goes out. It's out. A picture shows that handily.

I speak from recent experience, as I've had to have both the left and right headlamps and computers replaced, one after the other, on a Prius that was less than a year old. And yes, I took a picture, blew it up to an 8x10, and gave it to the service writer who stapled it to the repair order so that Toyota could "see" it too.

And by this time, Toyota should be well aware that there is a problem with the HID lights on the Prius. I received two emails late last year, and one this year, from others with the same intermittant HID lamp random shut off problems.

 

Tripod137, I started to encounter the exact same problem with my 04 Prii's HID headlights. The passenger side of the light will go out with no appearent reason. Turn the light switch off then on will start the bulb always.

I hope you know the solution to this problem alreay. Plse share with us if you do. If not, here is my 2 cents on the subject. I do not trust ANY Toyota dealers to diagnose problems such as this one anymore, most of the techs are just like you and I, they have no idea what's wrong! My July 04 Prius has over 180k mile alreay, I think I am qualified to say this!!

My observation:
**
So far, seems like the passenger side of the HID bulb 'fails' more often then the other one. (I believe 2 posts with the same problem + mine)
**
So far, the cold temperature seems to contribute to the bulb's failure
**
seems like the bulb with the problem will go out more frequently as time passes.
**
with high beams on, one should be able to duplicate the problem very easy when the car is parked and idling.
**
when the the light switch is turned off and then back on, HID will be work perfectly for a while.
**
one might notice a different color of light for the bulb that just been turned back on but as bulb gets warmer, the color should even out.
**
Conclusion??

I'd say it is the ballast.... I will post back here to share with you my finding. I don't have the schematic for the wiring to the ballasts, however, I see wires going behind front bumper.. hopfully the replacement of the ballast can be DIY.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tripod137 @ Mar 16 2007, 09:15 AM) [snapback]406798[/snapback]</div>

Great. Your perseverance finally paid off. What, only 2 1/2 months?

Dave M.

 

Last sunday night, I had to fix a leak in the water main out by the curb. It was dark, so I pointed the Prius toward my work area and left the lights on. I know this was dumb, so don't tell me how dumb it was. I just thought if they started taxing the battery, I would notice them dim a little before it was too late, but I bet HID lights don't do that, do they.

Well the job ended up taking longer than I thought, and I got to concentrating on my work and next time I looked up at the car, I noticed the left headlight was out and I thought Oh My, because this car only has about 2500 miles. Then I went to check the car and it was too late, it would not start.

I shut all accessories off and waited for ten minutes to see if it would biuld up enough residual charge to start, but it would not, so I called my wife to drive the 15 minutes to give me a jump. Then when she arived, I tried again without the jumpers and it had just enough to start. It probably would not have, if I had not had her at least drive over though.

Well, that is a long story, but my point is that I ended up thinking that one headlight going out was a feature to save some battery if you leave them on too long. Now, I bet the real problem is a phontom HID module mess up too.