Xenon flickering...any easy things to check?

[imoz]

Late last year I hit a deer, front passenger side. Took out the right side headlight housing, fender and hood damage. I filed a claim and had it repaired by insurance.

They did a really nice job, paint/body work is fantastic. However, the headlight has recently started flickering and going out. Some times it will flicker for awhile and then stay on fine, other times it fails to come on at all...random behavior.

Before I take it back to the repair shop, is there anything I can easily check that might be an easy fix? I would assume its a brand new headlight unit, so I can't imagine the ballast or bulb or ignitor is going out, or is this common for new units?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Love this car to death.

[Sarracino89]

Originally Posted by imoz

Late last year I hit a deer, front passenger side. Took out the right side headlight housing, fender and hood damage. I filed a claim and had it repaired by insurance.

They did a really nice job, paint/body work is fantastic. However, the headlight has recently started flickering and going out. Some times it will flicker for awhile and then stay on fine, other times it fails to come on at all...random behavior.

Before I take it back to the repair shop, is there anything I can easily check that might be an easy fix? I would assume its a brand new headlight unit, so I can't imagine the ballast or bulb or ignitor is going out, or is this common for new units?

Any advice greatly appreciated. Love this car to death.

Anyone can correct me if I am wrong, but what I would do is check to make sure all the wiring is secured tightly. If it were a ballast, there would be consistent flickering, hence why I think it may be a problem with connections. If that isn't the case, I would take it back as soon as possible to get it dealt with.

[imoz]

I was just outside a bit ago to put down some salt, while I was out there I started the car up to check out the light and...its functioning fine! Always the case right... I'm leaning towards a loose connection too, because it seems to start occurring after you start driving, so maybe a bump in the road or something knocks the connector around.

Anyone have a diagram of the xenon headlight assembly and connections?

[Simsims]

Had the same thing on my C230. Would flicker and flicker, and then sometimes completely turn off and turn back on, passenger side.

Turned out to be a bad ballast. Covered under warranty. Might be the same case for you.