dvanhaitsma

I have a 2006 mazda 3s (2.3 5 speed manual), and the drivers side HID bulb (Xenon d2s) burned out. Didn't think too much of it, seeing as I have always been able to pick up headlights for my old car for around 20$.

Not the case here.

No parts stores around had it, so I ended up at the mazda dealership. Upon getting there and trying take the bulb out for the millionth time, the wire from the back of the bulb ripped out.

Went in to the parts department, only to walk right back out as soon as I found out that it was 260$ for the bulb itself, and they had no idea what to do about the wires. Never in my life did I think a bulb could cost so much.. So I checked around for others. There are some a little bit cheaper, but not by much. Also no wires.

Any suggestions? Not spending that much money on a bulb.. But I dont wanna buy a whole new housing for a halogen bulb. That would also require me to remove the box that powers the HID bulb, which sends out 25,000 volts to the bulb... Which doesn't sound like it would feel too good running through my body.

icspots

It's good to keep in mind that halogen and HID technology are different, and you shouldn't expect them to cost the same amount of money. Yes HIDs are more pricey, but they are also supposed to have a much longer lifespan and produce more light.

So with that said you need to replace the lamp on one side at a minimum. I recommend replacing both sides together as HIDs do age, and their color will alter slightly over time. If you've ever seen a car driving around with one purple headlight it's because they have a lamp that's gone bad, but is still lighting up.

The stealership is possibly the worst place to try and buy lamps from because, as you noticed, they gouge you terribly. I recommend buying from someplace online such as www.theretrofitsource.com. They sell name brand lamps at a fraction of the cost, and that site in particular has great service. You can get a pair of Phillips 85122+ D2S lamps for under $100 from them, and that's considered to be one of the best lamps available. I think they have another lamp that's considered to be a little better, but I can't remember the name off the top of my head.

As far as the wire pulling loose it's hard to say what's going on without seeing the wires in question. It's possible you may have just pulled the wire out of the connector and can reconnect it. It's possible you've completely broken it and need to repair it or replace it..... again just hard to say. I'm confidant if it's completely brok TRS could also provide you with the harness you'd need.

For accessing the lamps you may actually have an easier time of it by removing the front bumper cover and pulling the headlamp off of the body of the car to access the back. It's sounds daunting, but the cover can be removed in less than 10 minutes (probably longer the first time), and the headlamp is only secured by three bolts/screws, and a couple of clips. That's also how you would access the ballast (i.e. the box that powers the lamp) if it needed replacement.

Whatever you decide to do I recommend replacing with 4,300k lamps. That's the OEM color temperature and will provide the whitest/brightest output.