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Philips D2R HID -- Genuine vs fake?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by roamerr, Mar 10, 2012.

  1. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    My 2005 Prius has an intermittent passenger side headlight. It sometimes will not come on but will if switch is cut off and back on. I purchased 2 "Genuine Philips bulbs from ebay and replaced the passenger side and it still intermittently fails.

    So did i really get genuine Philips D2R's? The writing on them looks real.

    The bulbs I purchased are ebay 170776306359. They look exactly like the picture.


    My thought now is do I try the other bulb since I purchased 2 (I only replaced the passenger side) or do I order a "known" genuine bulb from Amazon? From what I read the ballast is a rare failure.
     
    #1 roamerr, Mar 10, 2012
  2. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    #2 cwerdna, Mar 10, 2012
  3. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    They may be real but used. Amazon is the best source for DIY replacement. Swap your original drivers side for the passenger side to rule out other problems like the ballast.
     
    #3 seilerts, Mar 10, 2012
  4. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    I went ahead and ordered a real one from Amazon. I'm too lazy to swap drivers for passengers.
     
    #4 roamerr, Mar 10, 2012
  5. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    Installed the Amazon genuine Philips D2R. It also does not light occassionally. It will if I cut the lights off and back on. I now think the other bulb was genuine since it looked exactly the same as the Amazon genuine Philips bulb.

    Now I'm thinking maybe the ballast.

    Makes me wish for normal light bulbs. The positive is that the drivers side works perfect and puts out plenty of light.....
     
    #5 roamerr, Mar 21, 2012
  6. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    What are the chances that the headlight/ballast was replaced with an 06-09?
     
    #6 seilerts, Mar 22, 2012
  7. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    I would think the chances are very small. The service history shows the previous owner (only other) had issues with the passenger headlight also. The D2R bulb fits -- if changed would a D2R fit?

    Looks like a Ballast is approx $100 or so off ebay. If it gets bad I'll order one. As it is now it works most of the time. It's gotta be the ballast but my fear is changing it and still having an issue...
     
    #7 roamerr, Mar 22, 2012
  8. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Hmmm! You know, I didn't read your initial post carefully enough. The usual problem is that the bulbs will be lit, and then one will flicker out. Yours is the opposite, where you turn your lights on but one side does not light up. That suggests a problem with the ballast, or a wiring issue, such as a bad ground, or resistance between the headlight relay and the ballast. If the prior owner had issues, which is pretty unusual in an '05, then it is possible that whatever repair attempts may have fixed one problem but caused another.

    How easily can you reproduce this? Does this happen every time after a cold soak? Is there a certain minimum time that you need to wait to make this problem happen? If there is an easy way to reproduce it, and you don't feel like troubleshooting electrical, then you might want to schedule a visit with Taylor Automotive in Sanford.
     
    #8 seilerts, Mar 22, 2012
  9. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    It's not easy to reproduce. The headlight comes on 90% of the time. Most of the time I don't realize it's off unless someone tells me. I have not noticed it more cold or hot. I'm leaning toward ballast. It's definitely not the bulb....
     
    #9 roamerr, Mar 22, 2012
  10. roamerr

    roamerr Member

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    Replaced ballast and light now seems to work great. I've used it 50 times and it has worked every time. Finding a YouTube video showing how to remove the ballast light connector made the change easy.
     
    #10 roamerr, Apr 6, 2012
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  11. seilerts

    seilerts Battery Curmudgeon

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    Cool! Ballast failures are unusual and you've given us some very useful information about how such would present itself.
     
    #11 seilerts, Apr 6, 2012
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