HID headlight issue

[LiquidDragon]

When driving at night i noticed that when i hit bumps my headlights look like they shake. Is this normal?

[2SSRS@Gen5diy]

No, your bulb may be loose in the headlight, as you have a 2013 car ask the dealer to see if your bulb is loose.

[The_Blur]

Originally Posted by 2SSRS@Gen5diy

No, your bulb may be loose in the headlight, as you have a 2013 car ask the dealer to see if your bulb is loose.

I agree with this diagnosis. You're under warranty, so have it inspected.

[LiquidDragon]

Last time i dropped off the car for other work i also explained the headlight issue. the dealership test drove the car at night and also noted the headlight issue but said they couldn't figure out what was causing it and told me they think its normal and tried to tell me it was the RS halos but i know it isn't that. The headlights shake when i hit bumps in the road. this is my fourth car with HID lights and i know this is not normal and i have even heard other camaro owners with the RS HID package say they noticed the headlight shake as well. The only reason i noticed it is because the majority of my drive into work is on a 15 mile road that doesn't have any lights so its pitch black in the mornings when i am all alone on this road.

[blake2010ss]

how hard are the bumps you are hitting?

[LiquidDragon]

Originally Posted by blake2010ss

how hard are the bumps you are hitting?

Nothing serious just your normal road bumps. it just makes it easier to notice the headlights bouncing because there are no lights on this road. the speed limit is 45 on the road, Colonial Parkway which is a on a national park and is well maintained but its not like newer roads which are asphalt and instead its paved with cement and in sections as apposed to one continuous section like asphalt. i put a link to the road that i drive everyday so you can see what i am referring to. Its also well maintained and large vehicles like semi trucks are prohibited from being on the road and they wont even let the larger uhaul type trucks on the road.


http://www.nps.gov/colo/parkway.htm

[blake2010ss]

Possibly loose bolts? Have you ever removed the headlights?

[LiquidDragon]

It's hard to explain what's going on with the shaking light but I have heard others mention they see the same thing on their RS models as well. It's not a loose screw or housing. My wife's 2004 Audi TT has HID headlights also and one of her mounting tabs is broken off and you can move the headlight but when I drive her car on the same road at the same speeds you don't see the light bounce that you see in the camaros with the HID lights. Dealership has inspected the lights and said they see nothing wrong with the lights but the did say that when they test drove the car that they did see the same light bounce that I described but had no clue what was causing it.

[Blakk11SS]

Hello OP, I know what you are describing with the HID shake when driving rough road surfaces. It is possibly the mechanism that allows the high-beam lens/reflector to move. I see it occasionally with my SS when driving at night, but it has to be a fairly sharp bump or road surface dropoff to make it happen, like a recessed manhole or uneven concrete segments. It is annoying, maybe some diy fix will appear someday. I only notice it when on low-beam light, I have not seen it with high-beams on.

.

[LiquidDragon]

Originally Posted by Blakk11SS

Hello OP, I know what you are describing with the HID shake when driving rough road surfaces. It is possibly the mechanism that allows the high-beam lens/reflector to move. I see it occasionally with my SS when driving at night, but it has to be a fairly sharp bump or road surface dropoff to make it happen, like a recessed manhole or uneven concrete segments. It is annoying, maybe some diy fix will appear someday. I only notice it when on low-beam light, I have not seen it with high-beams on.

.

I will have to take the car out and see if i notice it with the high beams or not. never payed attention to see if it does it with high beams or not. The dealership said they noticed what i was describing but they said they had no idea what was causing it but thought it was the halo rind which wouldn't be bright enough to see with the HID's on.

[KJZ28]

Did anyone ever get this sorted out? I have the same issue on my left headlight only.

[Blakk11SS]

Originally Posted by KJZ28

Did anyone ever get this sorted out? I have the same issue on my left headlight only.

So its been a couple years since my post above on the HID bounce going over bumps in the road. I have since replaced the driver-side HID bulb as the original had burned out due to what appeared to be breakage inside the bulb where the glass tube the filament is encased had cracked open.

The bulb fits in the headlight real snug, so it's not the bulb, it has to be the moving reflector for high-beams that bounce when you drive over a bad road bump or pothole. I still see the low-beam bounce on occasion, I've gotten used to it, but i still try avoiding holes in the road as there sure are alot of them out there. I have noticed, when i have the winter tires on, the softer tread absorbs much more than the hard Pzero's thus less light bounce for half the year lol.

[KJZ28]

Originally Posted by Blakk11SS

So its been a couple years since my post above on the HID bounce going over bumps in the road. I have since replaced the driver-side HID bulb as the original had burned out due to what appeared to be breakage inside the bulb where the glass tube the filament is encased had cracked open.

The bulb fits in the headlight real snug, so it's not the bulb, it has to be the moving reflector for high-beams that bounce when you drive over a bad road bump or pothole. I still see the low-beam bounce on occasion, I've gotten used to it, but i still try avoiding holes in the road as there sure are alot of them out there. I have noticed, when i have the winter tires on, the softer tread absorbs much more than the hard Pzero's thus less light bounce for half the year lol.

Now that you mention it, I think I was noticing it less with my snow tires as well.