Subaru Outback 2010 headlight ballast replacement?

[Linea_Norway]

Hi.

The HID light in our Subaru is broken. It flimmers a bit when we switch it on, but it doesn't work.
Replacing the fuse didn't help. We think it is a defect ballast.

DH reads on the internet that it is complicated to DIY repair. Apparently you need to take almost the whole front of the car apart. And letting someone else do it, would cost 2000! $.
Is there anyone here who has experience to DIY and can tell us whether it is doable to fix it. DH has a little car repair experience.

[Telecaster]

Hi.

The HID light in our Subaru is broken. It flimmers a bit when we switch it on, but it doesn't work.
Replacing the fuse didn't help.

DH reads on the internet that it is complicated to DIY repair. Apparently you need to take almost the whole front of the car apart. And letting someone else do it, would cost 2000! $.
Is there anyone here who has experience to DIY and can tell us whether it is doable to fix it. DH has a little car repair experience.

$2000!?!  Yowsa!   It is doable.  The problem is the hammerheads at Subaru made access unreasonably hard for a part that needs to be accessed occasionally.  You have to jack up the car, pull the front tires (might be able to skip that step, but honestly it will be easier if you don't).   Then pop out the wheel lining.   It is held in place by little...not sure of the right word...rivets I guess, that will pop open with a screwdriver.  THEN you can access the bulb.   The replace everything.   It is a three to four beer job. 

[Linea_Norway]

Hi.

The HID light in our Subaru is broken. It flimmers a bit when we switch it on, but it doesn't work.
Replacing the fuse didn't help.

DH reads on the internet that it is complicated to DIY repair. Apparently you need to take almost the whole front of the car apart. And letting someone else do it, would cost 2000! $.
Is there anyone here who has experience to DIY and can tell us whether it is doable to fix it. DH has a little car repair experience.

$2000!?!  Yowsa!   It is doable.  The problem is the hammerheads at Subaru made access unreasonably hard for a part that needs to be accessed occasionally.  You have to jack up the car, pull the front tires (might be able to skip that step, but honestly it will be easier if you don't).   Then pop out the wheel lining.   It is held in place by little...not sure of the right word...rivets I guess, that will pop open with a screwdriver.  THEN you can access the bulb.   The replace everything.   It is a three to four beer job.

@Telecaster
Your steps sound doable. We think now that it is not the bulb, but the ballast controle device, some box that needs to be replaced. We can buy one used from a car wreck place for reasonable price.
Is that box accessable through the same steps, behind the wheel lining?

We have access to a car lift at my work and are used to taking off wheels.

[Telecaster]

I *think* so but I'm not 100% sure. 

[Linea_Norway]

I asked a coworkers who is into car repairs and he thinks it is most likely the bulb. I also called a repair shop and they can replace the bulb for 200$, which we find an acceptable price. Our headlights have high voltage and are quite risky to replace.

[jeff191]

FWIW, most HID ballasts are bolted to the bottom of the headlight assembly. So it is a bit trickier than the bulb as there is a good chance the front bumper has to come off. It's not terribly difficult, I've done this on most of my cars as I like to customize them and sometimes modify the headlights. Front bumpers aren't held on by much on most cars. If you've never done it, it's probably a couple of hours start to finish to remove bumper and headlight, then reassemble.

Just in case it's not the bulb and you do end up having to replace a ballast.

[Linea_Norway]

FWIW, most HID ballasts are bolted to the bottom of the headlight assembly. So it is a bit trickier than the bulb as there is a good chance the front bumper has to come off. It's not terribly difficult, I've done this on most of my cars as I like to customize them and sometimes modify the headlights. Front bumpers aren't held on by much on most cars. If you've never done it, it's probably a couple of hours start to finish to remove bumper and headlight, then reassemble.

Just in case it's not the bulb and you do end up having to replace a ballast.

DH once replaced the bumper on another car.

Something strange is going on. DH thinks it is strange that the internet interpretes the symptoms as the ballast and describe it as a typical subaru problem, while two other people (no subaru experts) say it must be the bump. My coworker suggested we switch the bulbs to test whether that is the problem. DH will give that a try tomorrow.

[Linea_Norway]

DH took the chance of first putting in a new bulb and that solved the problem.

He had to disconnect the battery first and had to loosen the whole bumper. But that was easier than it was with one of our previous cars, a ford scorpio, where he had to replace the bumper.

[bernardnb]

Hi.

The HID light in our Subaru is broken. It flimmers a bit when we switch it on, but it doesn't work.
Replacing the fuse didn't help.

DH reads on the internet that it is complicated to DIY repair. Apparently you need to take almost the whole front of the car apart. And letting someone else do it, would cost 2000! $.
Is there anyone here who has experience to DIY and can tell us whether it is doable to fix it. DH has a little car repair experience.

The problem is the hammerheads at Subaru made access unreasonably hard for a part that needs to be accessed occasionally.  You have to jack up the car, pull the front tires (might be able to skip that step, but honestly it will be easier if you don't).   Then pop out the wheel lining.   It is held in place by little...not sure of the right word...rivets I guess, that will pop open with a screwdriver.  THEN you can access the bulb.   The replace everything.   It is a three to four beer job.

I have a 2010 Legacy and couldn't believe the first time I went to replace a headlight.  What a ridiculous process.  I went through all what you described and since I couldn't really see what I was doing, I couldn't get the cap off to get to the bulb.  I ended up pulling the whole front end off and removing the full light assembly.

I really like this car, but for some reason it seems to eat headlights.  Over the past 5 years I'm on a fairly routine schedule of replacing them every 8 months.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) I've now pulled the front off so many times I can do it super quick.  I actually just replaced both head lights this past weekend and it only took 40 minutes to disassemble, replace bulbs and reassemble everything.

[Linea_Norway]

Hi.

The HID light in our Subaru is broken. It flimmers a bit when we switch it on, but it doesn't work.
Replacing the fuse didn't help.

DH reads on the internet that it is complicated to DIY repair. Apparently you need to take almost the whole front of the car apart. And letting someone else do it, would cost 2000! $.
Is there anyone here who has experience to DIY and can tell us whether it is doable to fix it. DH has a little car repair experience.

The problem is the hammerheads at Subaru made access unreasonably hard for a part that needs to be accessed occasionally.  You have to jack up the car, pull the front tires (might be able to skip that step, but honestly it will be easier if you don't).   Then pop out the wheel lining.   It is held in place by little...not sure of the right word...rivets I guess, that will pop open with a screwdriver.  THEN you can access the bulb.   The replace everything.   It is a three to four beer job.

I have a 2010 Legacy and couldn't believe the first time I went to replace a headlight.  What a ridiculous process.  I went through all what you described and since I couldn't really see what I was doing, I couldn't get the cap off to get to the bulb.  I ended up pulling the whole front end off and removing the full light assembly.

I really like this car, but for some reason it seems to eat headlights.  Over the past 5 years I'm on a fairly routine schedule of replacing them every 8 months.

Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) I've now pulled the front off so many times I can do it super quick.  I actually just replaced both head lights this past weekend and it only took 40 minutes to disassemble, replace bulbs and reassemble everything.

If your cars "eats" bulbs, then maybe there is something wrong with the wiring? Our bulb needed replacement after being 10 years old/190.000 km.