Headlights flicker

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fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,384
5
81
My car is equipped with HID headlights. To turn them on, you turn the knob from OFF > parking lights only on > ON (parking lights and low beams), two clicks.

Just like this:



When going from ON > parking lights, the low beams shut off as they should, but then I get a split second flicker when going from parking lights > OFF which is odd.

It's not the biggest deal, but HID bulbs are around $100 to replace and I wouldn't want any premature failure. Any ideas here? Maybe the signal light stem needs to be replaced?
 
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fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,384
5
81
OEM HID, just noticed the flicker only happens when the car is on, if I shut the car off first, there is no problem.
 

Bartman39

Elite Member | For Sale/Trade
Jul 4, 2000
8,878
51
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Might be relay controlled and if so possibly the wrong relay in it...? A lot of the newer relays have a diode that prevents a "flicker" of current that can make the relay chatter and possibly cause this...? Or it may have an electronic control unit it goes through that has an issue...? Shots in the dark...

What car is this...?
 

phucheneh

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2012
7,306
5
0
It could be the switch, depending on the internal design. Doesn't seem logical, though. I would figure the switch would probably be setup like:

_ _ on
. _ park
. _ off

Where the lines are contacts and the dots are...nothing. So only one circuit is completed at once, and shorting to on between 'park' and 'off' shouldn't be a possibility. But who knows. Older cars are more prone to switch issues, simply because the switch needed to be more complex. But since your car is new enough to have HID's, the lights are probably all managed by an electronic module (BCM or the like) and the input side can be simplified.

Point being, if it's the switch, I would bet it's one of the other functions that has a problem...like the 'flash to pass' being too touchy. Try wiggling the stalk around with the switch in all three positions and see if you get a flicker.

Otherwise, doesn't seem like there's a lot you can do. I would check a similar vehicle (your model year or close, pref with HID's) and make sure it's not just something they all do. I could especially see this being possible if there are auto lights that may come on with the switch in 'off'.

I don't think it would be a relay problem unless it has one of those funky relays with two coils and two switches. One switch could be getting bumped closed momentarily when the other coil activates/deactivates.

FWIW, though, I don't think you're decreasing the life of the bulbs. There's no filament to break; it's an arc. I believe the amount of time the lights spend turned on is far more relavent to bulb life than the number of on/off cycles. There is also the issue of the ballast, though; not positive how that works. I wouldn't think it would have juice all the time, but if it doesn't, it seems like there would be a delay in turn-on time.

Oh, and 100 bucks a bulb seems like dealer price. I think they've come down to maybe 50-60, tops. Still pricey, I know.
 

nitrous9200

Senior member
Mar 1, 2007
282
3
76
My car is not a Honda as pictured, but I notice a similar thing. If I turn the light switch off with the engine running (or ignition on, I suppose), the lights will sometimes flicker before going out. If I leave the light switch on and turn off the ignition, the lights go out without flickering. It's not the exact same issue; there is no parking lights only setting, so it goes from all lights on to all lights off. Still, this is a normal occurrence.

D1S bulbs cost about $50 each, and D2S bulbs (the newer kind) are even less, but no need to change them unless they start flickering while turned on.
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
11,573
5,096
136
We had HID's on our Murano, OEM, and never noticed any flickering when turning on or off. Now, they did have a soft start, meaning they powered up to full brightness over a few seconds, much like all the other lights on the Murano did, but no flickers at all.
 
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