uyhok

Hi.

I had my low beam bulbs replaced by Philips Xenon bulbs just a 5 days ago.

Everythings ok. light output, colors, no light error on the PDC. Problem is, if the key is turned on (engine not started yet), and the light switch is in the "off" position,
the bulb just flickers for around 5secs before dying out. Its like a strobe light from a police car.

Im not sure if its normal or not, but the tech guy that had it installed says it is.

Any of you guys had this experience ?

Any help or comment will be greatly appreciated.

subarashi

What you are experiencing is called "strobing." Happens frequently with third-party vendor bulbs in the AE or low/high beam position. On startup the ECU on our cars checks to make sure that all voltage responses are correct for electric components by firing low voltage signals. The OEM bulbs supress this - probably through inbuilt proprietary technology. The third party bulbs dont and you see flickering - like disco lights - as the ECU checks to make sure nothings warped, fused, etc....

Bottom line - it IS normal and you shouldnt worry.....

S

uyhok

Are there any workaround to stop it besides replacing with oems ?

Thanks for the informative explanation. appreciate it.

subarashi

No..not really. Its the way the ECU functions at bootup. I don't know if resistors or devices can be placed to stop them - will probably cause more problems for you down the road and not worth the headache. You will notice tho - that it becomes less frequent [won't happen at every startup] as time wears on..... Or maybe that's just me..

I think it looks kinda cool personally and I always get positive comments about it when the car goes in for svc.....

S

uyhok

Yes it could be cool if only the strobing is not sporadic, like if its a constant effect, no sudden rapid then slow blinking........ u know what i mean.

Anyway, thanks for your help.

Regards