One of my HID foglights turned a really brilliant purple and then spectacularly fizzled. They are less than 2 years old.

I took great pains to NOT touch the glass envelopes when installing them back in 2006.

I thought that HID lights were designed to last the life of the car?

Could this be a BALLAST problem or just the bulb? I need to know what direction to take when repairing my foglights.

 

it could be a ballast issue. I had a ballast go out in mine but mine would light for a second and then enter failsafe mode. I ended up swapping ballasts to test and then ordered a replacement on bidtopia for $8. Try swapping between the parts since one side works to see what you come up with.

 

HID bulbs last longer than regular bulbs, but not "life of the car". Don't know where you heard that one.

Deric's troubleshooting advice is on the money.

 

Hmmmm great suggestion for checking the ballast, thanks. I know that the bulb is hosed because when I look at it from outside the car it reminds me of a spent flash bulb... all faded/crystallized white inside.

Lifespan is about 3500 to 5000 hours according to manufacturer, thought that would translate into about 5-7 years (lifespan of typical car ownership... )

I ordered and received a new bulb and will replace, but was wondering before hand if the ballast might have caused the failure if it is going south? You know the quality of these Chinese made ebay kits... somewhere between bad and abysmal.

The thought of ripping apart the front end of my car again to get at the ballast is making me tired.