2003 maxima. left headlight went out. not the high beam light. mechanic said parts from Nissan were $600. because it needs bulb and ballast. apparently this was a special performance headlight. any recommendations for something cheaper, or can i can back to regular bulbs with a new assembly? something like this? https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...sn=387&jsn=387

 

Check EBAY. You can get a used assembly for decent price. If not, they also have a vast selection of aftermarket light assemblies as well.

 

The #1 failure is usually a bad HID bulb and not the ballast. Take the good bulb from the other side and drop it into the left headlight. If it fires up, order 2 new bulbs for $50-100 depending on brand.

 

it's the ballast. i checked the bulb.

 

Could be the igniter as well.. I'd swap ballasts to be sure.

 

would something like this work? https://www.headlightexperts.com/d2r...BoCA8EQAvD_BwE

 

For a couple hundred bucks I'd be inclined to give these a try. Can always run them until you get the stockers squared away/refinished then swap them back in and have these as a spare set? Thanks for the idea! I've browsed the eBay offerings, but am worried about fit and finish with the uber-cheap sets. Not to say this set doesn't come off the same assembly lines but hell, they're only a couple hundred bucks?

 

You could go that route but they are not a direct drop in. You will have to find positive and ground on the vehicle's end per side and wire them up.

They can be found on eBay even cheaper than that but they are wired up to work on '00-'01. Clearance, signal and high beams will be plug and play but the low beam will not be as they use 9006 bulbs.

 

As I mentioned, I've browsed the ebay units. Ebay units are cheaper and I am not sure they are the same as the referenced, more costly units in the op. If you have any specific data for each the ebay units and the above referenced units, that would be helpful, otherwise, thanks for the info.

 

go the retrofit store and buy a new set of ballast and bulbs. You can get a very good quality parts for a decent price. Last time i checked you can get a pair of bulbs and ballasts for about $150. That's $75 per headlight. Ebay headlights are complete garbage. 02-03 use hid technology without a projector. The 00-01 maxima just used the H4 bulbs.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2002-2003-N...YAAOSwoYxbfNGV

Or you can go to retrofit source and get a nice new ballast and create your own harness from the old one to power it (12V from old harness).

 

 

Junkyard Ballast are plentiful......

 

update. BTW this was my brother in laws car. it was the bulb after all. mechanic charged him $106.00 to replace the bulb!
thanks for all the help. much appreciated.

 

how was it the bulb when you had already checked it ?