2001 Infiniti QX4 Passenger Headlight Assembly

[joshbowling]

Hi All,
I've been troubleshooting a headlight issue. I ruled out ballast, bulb by replacing. I've ruled out switch, wiring by pulling both headlights off and swapping sides.
From these tests, I've deduced that it must be something in the assembly itself. Does this seem correct so far?

If so, I'm wondering if I should dig into the headlight assembly or buy another off ebay, then sell the ballast from the broken headlight assembly. And, perhaps sell the broken assembly as-is.

If any of you have any advice, I'd very much appreciate it.

Thanks again,

Josh

[EdBwoy]

What exactly is the issue with the headlight? Is it not getting power?

[joshbowling]

Yeah, from what I can tell, the power is getting to the headlight, but the normal headlight (non-bright) does not come on at all, regardless of which side (passenger/driver) I connect it to.

Thanks so much for asking

[EdBwoy]

This might be a silly question, but have you moved the headlight bulb by itself between pass/driver headlight sides?

[joshbowling]

I will perform this test later today. The aim of it would be to see that the passenger bulb works on the driver's side... correct?
Incidentally, I've tried 3 bulbs (2 new) in the passenger side and none of them have worked.

[4xq]

Josh, I think the problem is your ignitor on that side has failed.

Take a look at this ebay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Infiniti-99-00- ... e1&vxp=mtr

The ignitor is the small silver box. It provides a big voltage surge when you turn on your headlight to start the xenon bulb. It is hardwired into the headlight wiring - you need to replace that whole cable from the ballast to the headlight.

Note that your 01 has a ballast with TWO plugs on it. Later QX4's changed to ballasts with one plug only. So make sure you get the ignitor wiring from the correct year!

If you swapped that ignitor to the other side I think your problem will follow the ignitor.

[joshbowling]

That's great news and an excellent suggestion! I kind of felt like that was a possibility, but I wasn't sure if there is anything else in that assembly (besides a short in a wire) that could cause this problem.

4xq and EdBwoy, thanks so much for discussing with me. I'll post any notable findings/outcomes back to this thread.

many many thanks!!!