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Headlight Out

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Tripod137, Dec 27, 2006.

  1. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    Has anyone had the problem with their headlights where one of them just goes out (while driving) for no apparent reason? So far, the only way I can get it back on is to turn off, then on the lights again and it works fine.
     
  2. FBear

    FBear Senior Member

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    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.
     
  3. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    HID or halogen?
     
  4. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    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.
     
  5. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    HID it is!

    I will set up a appointment tomorrow.
    Thank "guys"!
     
  6. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    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.
     
  7. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    Taking it in this Friday to see what they say.
     
  8. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    As expected....the headlight didn't go out while they had it, so they did nothing to it. Looks like I will have to wait until total failure to take it in....or just luck out and it goes out while the service department is still open and I drive right there.

    Hopefully, reporting the problem and having it recorded will help if it finally fails AFTER the warranty...however long that lasts for the headlight assembly.
     
  9. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    Brought the car home...when I got home, the headlight was out...so I took it right back to the dealer. While I was getting the paperwork filled out...someone parked the car (before I noticed) and turned it off...so we ran out there and turned it back on again...obviously the light worked. So now I gotta go bck again when it is off again...which seems to be happening more frequently.

    Stay tuned.
     
  10. dmckinstry

    dmckinstry New Member

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    <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.
     
  11. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dmckinstry @ Jan 7 2007, 02:23 PM) [snapback]372128[/snapback]</div>
    Exactly! I get another try at it this Friday. I will get up a little early and drive around a few mins....It has gone out in less than 15 mins over the weekend (watch...just for Friday, I can't get it to go out). And with reports that a Prius can "idle" for 2 - 7 days on one tank....a little idling before they actually get to it is fine by me.
     
  12. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    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.
     
  13. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    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...
     
  14. cbs4

    cbs4 Member

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    <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.
     
  15. kdr010

    kdr010 New Member

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    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.
     
  16. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    Finally got the light to go out WHILE AT THE DEALER!!!!!

    When I got there, the light was still on, but needed and oil change and a flat fix...so I decided to stay. While I was checking out the headlight to see if it was out, the guy jumped in the car and flicked the headlights off and on. Not what I wanted....but that would "reset" the time it took for the headlight to go out again...if it did. I then instructed him that when he parked the car, to LEAVE THE CAR ON. He didn't quite understand the reasoning, but he ended up leaving the car "on the check-in line". I kept my eye on it, hoping the light would go out while I was checking in, making sure no one drove off in it (to park it). Luckily, it went out so I stood closer to the car making sure no one touched it. I notified the service manager/agent and he had a mechanic come over to check it out immediately. After some fiddling w/ wires and then getting a flashlight and screwdriver, he told the service manager to write down "HID Controller module bad".

    So it seems as if my right side headlight will be back to normal after today!!
     
  17. dmckinstry

    dmckinstry New Member

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    <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.
     
  18. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    Would have been faster if I focused each week on taking it in for service, but that gets old fast...and it's not like I had "no" headlights. On one of my earlier visits, the light was out while there (as I probably mentioned), but they parked the car and turned it off before a service guy could see it, BUT the "check in " person saw it, so they could log it as a reported problem, just in case I couldn't get to happen at the dealer before the warranty ran out.

    Anyway, a week or so ago the LEFT headlight went out, so I will probably be going back for THAT one in the near future. It just doesn't happen often enough (only once, so far, that we noticed), so I must wait until it is more frequent before I take it in.

    Other than the headlight, the car has been working fine. But what else would I expect? It's a 1.5yr old Toyota! w/ 20K on it.
     
  19. NoMoShocks

    NoMoShocks Electrical Engineer

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    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.
     
  20. Tripod137

    Tripod137 New Member

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    They ordered the module, so it should be in by the middle of the week, so I will try to get it installed on Friday.