I recently replaced my headlight bulbs with some HID's and now the front left headlight won't work. First it seemed like one of the connections was loose because tapping/hitting the headlight cover with your hand made it come back on. But now it's stopped working permanently and hitting it won't make it come back on . I went to the place I bought them from (Planet Auto Toys on Queens Blvd. for those in NYC) since they're the ones who installed everything as well, and they guy there popped the hood and checked the connections and said some socket is messed up and I'm going to have to put a new one (the bulb itself is fine). He showed it to me also and it was pretty loose and kind of coming apart, almost as if somebody tried to rip it out. I had checked the same thing in the beginning as well when the headlight first went out and nothing was damaged, so I guess all that hitting the headlight messed it up? . In any case, he says that he'll get the part for me in a day or two and it'll cost around $60-70. So I wanted to know if that is ok and if I should just let them fix it, or can I fix it myself and possibly not get ripped off. And yes I tried to search first but didn't really find an answer so that's why I'm posting, thanks in advance for any help..

BTW I have a '97 SE auto with around 68k miles if that matters.

 

60 - 70 dollars for a socket..?!?!!? wtf take a bat and beat that guy

 

lol I am having the same problem on the left side also,hittin
it works for a good 2 nights,but at least once on a drive
at night I have to pop the hood b4i take off tap the socket an
poof it turns back on.same **** on my prelude.

 

First think i would do is do a bulb check.. which you probably already did.. which is swap the bulbs on ither side.. if it works.. then its the harness.. you may have burned out the wiring if you used extra wattage bulbs..

then you might want to call the dealership and see how much a new headlight harness costs.. if its cost effective .. you can buy one and do it yourself.. if not.. have the shop do it.. i don't know if a certain person i know minds you pm'ing them.. but he knows lots about head light harness and stuff.. but i will give him this thread and if he wants to post.. i guess he will..

 

Dude, you are crazy to let someone else replace your headlights...i bet you, you paid so much money for the bulbs too which you can get for like half the price on ebay...all those performance shops are biggest rip-offs....

Ok, now for your problem, dont get the socket, i would suggest you get upgraded headlight harness which costs bout $35 from suvlights.com and it is made for high wattage bulbs so it will never melt or break plus for $35 bux you will be getting brand new set of sockets for both of your headlights! hope this helped....

 

just a litlle 411 MY headlights bulbs are only 55/65
watt,me an sweeetsound2001 looked at my harness it looked
like burnt toast lol.I mean I know I need to replace
but it sztill works lol.

 

if it's the stock 9004 connector you can get that at your local parts store. it's the 9004 socket (male side) with about 2-3 inches of wiring on it. get a few butt connectors and cut and splice. wrap the butt connectors with electrical tape for a water proof set up.

i'm guessing that's the part that's melted. you might want to hit the actual socket connector with some dielectic grease. when you hit the light and it goes back on..that pretty much leads to a bad connection or a loose connection. loose connections generate heat due to the resistance in the connector.
who ever did the install did a **** poor job...they should've picked up on the fact the harness was bad and offer you the replacement harness. FYI the socket is not more than $5.00-$10.00 at your local pepboys.