Can headlights be changed from xenon to halogen? The dealer wants to charge me $2572 to fix my xenon headlights on my 2004 RX-8. They say they have been tampered with, that the bulbs were installed wrong (bulb first then clip or was it vice versa?) Anyway according to them, the bulbs were pointing up instead of to the front and have burned out the housing. They say I need new headlight assemblies and bulbs. Xenons are too expensive and I was wondering if they could be changed to halogens.

 

Try Ebay for the new housings

Did you mess with the lights?

 

I haven't mess with the lights and It just came off of warranty so I don't see how anyone else would have messed with them. I bought the car used 2 years ago but didn't notice the problem till I started driving it myself this last December (exgirlfriend was driving it, I financed it for her, now she can't pay it... Yea I know I'm not too bright !!)

I see the halogen housings are cheaper on Ebay and since they sell conversion kits could I buy the halogen housings and install new xenon bulbs?

 

Assuming your ballasts are working then new housings and bulbs should fix the problem... I think
But I wouldn't try swapping the housing parts back and forth... You could end up with worse problems; The bulb bases probably aren't compatible anyway.

 

are your housings developing a 'yellowish' film? The bulbs on our 8's are actually REALLY good, I'm shocked to hear they're 'dim'.
Ebay usually carries the bulbs

 

Just replace the bulbs yourself.

 

just make sure that you disconnect the NEG battery. Because that's alot of Voltage! Should be okay to switch out the bulbs for another one. I changed out OnePhatGuy bulbs with 8000k. They came out good and brighter.

The bulbs have marks and dowels that need to aline up excatly. So if they feel like there going in, take me out and checks your marks. don't force them in. They should fix like an glove.

 

Anyone have any info on how these are supposed to be hooked up or installed , pics or anything?

I took mine in last month to have the headlights fixed because they had a white film on the inside and were dimmer than when they were new and now I have noticed the lights are much dimmer, I cant even see the blue line across the cars in front of me. There is only light for about 20 feet on the ground in front of the car. I took it back and told them about it, even mentioned this thread about the bulbs being installed wrong. Of course they looked at me like I was crazy. They did adust the level on the right one but thats all. I dont think this will greatly affect the brightness.

I will have to take it out of the city somewhere dark to see this weekend, but if anyone has any other info that would be great!

 

Hard way to learn a lesson isn't it? Good luck with the fix.

 

^ Make sure that your grounds on your headlights are good. If you don't have any good ground connections that could be a sign of Dim lights. also check and look @ your wires, makre sure that there are no signs of breaks or openings in the wire.

Sound to me it could be your bulbs. and also align your headlight beam.

 

Before you go down this path you should read the shop manual. There you will find repeated warnings -- HID ballasts put out a very high voltage pulse to strike the Xenon arc. Around 25,000 volts. So, you should really know what you're doing before messing around with HID units.

You could replace with halogens and you should know that some driving enthusiasts even prefer GOOD halogen lights over HID. "Good" doesn't mean your standard off the shelf stuff though. Look up "Daniel Stern's Lighting pages" on the web for some good info. This still means having to deal with the HID circuit and ballast. 25,000 volts....

Absolutely NOT a good idea to think about putting HID bulbs into halogen-based housings. They are 2 very different light sources and the optics are completely different. You might get a lot of light, but it will not be optimal or legal for driving.

 

I'm having the same problem as the OP. I had both headlight assemblies replaced under warranty and now the lights appear VERY dim. I can no longer see the cut-off point for the HID's, they throw a very dim beam- almost like powerful fog lights. I've taken it back to the dealer and they said there wasn't a problem- clearly there is, these are dangerously dim. I don't know what to do other than to try and fix the problem myself.

The light are aligned and the high beams are very bright and work great. It's just the low beams that are problematic. Any suggestions?

 

Hey Zephyrzone, since it's still under warranty, I would try a different dealer if you have one in your town. If not demand to see the manager and threaten to write a letter to Mazda corporate office. What was wrong with your headlights in the first place? If you decide to do it yourself here is a link to a sevice manual I found online:

http://smrmicro.com/rx8servicemanual/

It doesn't state the year but does show instructions on changing headlight assemblies. I plan to do my soon also so let me know what else you find out.

 

That is a GREAT link. Thank you!

I bought the car new and they replaced the headlights because there was an oily film inside the lens. The worked beautifully, but it was ugly. I get the new ones back and 1) they aren't aligned at all (pointed straight down) 2) they are super dim, I can't see the nice HID line in the road like I used to and everything is dimly lit, cars from 30 years ago have better low beam visibility than I currently do.

The dealer told me the headlights could NOT be aligned, but of course I know better. So I found out how to raise them up on this forum. That worked so now the car is drivable at night, just not really good (or safe IMO). I took it to another dealer this weekend and explained the problem, they claimed it was an alignment issue (it's not) and did the same procedure I did. Car is exactly the same, dim low beams.

I'm REALLY pissed that I paid for a GT and got HID's and they are worse than a mag-light now. No dealer seems to be able to help. My next step is to drive to a different state- I live in MD and will go to VA- where there is a very reputable service dept and speak to the service manager. I'm leaving the car there until the problem is solved. I'll let you know what happens.

 

UPDATE: My car is at the dealer now for this problem and has been there all day. It will also be there tomorrow. They are having (and I quote) "a hell of a time with this". The good news is that the master tech acknowledged a MAJOR problem with how the headlights are shining. He compared it to another 8 which, thankfully, was in the bay at the same time and the difference was staggering. So step 1 is complete: they know there is a problem. Step 2: will they be able to fix it? I hope so, it would really nice to have my bright lights back!

 

Please get them to explain the exact problem once they correct it and post it so us unlucky ones can fix ours. Thanks.

 

The fixed them!

They screwed up installing the bulbs. When I had my entire headlight assemblies replaced a few months ago they put the bulbs in wrong. Apparently the bulbs don't come shipped with the headlights, the technician has to put them it. The dealership told me that the technician had a history of errors and was fired (prior to me bringing the car in for this problem). The master tech had to call the Mazda hotline and they walked him through the procedure. I didn't get any details other than the bulbs were simply installed improperly.

Rotary Rasp (forum member) said he's heard of this before. If you can't take your car to the dealer then check out the DIY for replacing HID bulbs, it explains how to put them in properly. If they aren't seated just PERFECT, they won't shine right. Be careful though, they are high power and the risk for electrocution is very real.

 

Is this the same dude that told you there wasn't a problem? Or are they still 1 firing short?

 

No, that was the other dealership I went to. I went up north to visit my parents and stopped in to a "reputable" place. They were very nice but said there wasn't a problem. I insisted there was but they disagreed.

The place that fixed them is very good to me- except when they make bad hiring decisions and put by bulbs in wrong to begin with.