2018 expedition headlight assembly ballast replacement

[platinumexpy]

Hey everyone. Has any body replaced the ballasts on the headlight assembly of the 4th generation expeditions? I have the passenger side LED strip that is not fully working anymore. I have noticed this issue from other owners of the 4th generation and was told it's most likely the ballast. Apparently I might have to take the whole front bumper off since to replace it through the wheel well is impossible since half the ballast is covered by a piece of the metal frame. I would like to try this solution out and hoping this is it, or I might have to pull out $1200 to get a new headlight assembly. Thanks

 

[Fizzy]

But... LEDs don't use ballasts... HID bulbs do, but not LEDs.

You have a 2018 Platinum? That came as standard with LED headlights. And they all came with LED running lights.

Your vehicle doesn't have any ballasts in it.

Edit: I just checked, and no gen 4 comes with HID. Only LED and halogen. So no ballasts anywhere. Where did you read about ballasts in a gen 4?

 

[HILLY]

Not entirely true...

LEDs still use a driver similar to that of a ballast driver that HID headlamps use. Symptoms of a failing module is also similar to that of HID (flickering, noise, etc.)

See diagram for item 13C170 (FL3Z13C170B) in this case.

 

[Fizzy]

Good info @HILLY - drivers I've heard of for LED, but not ballasts. I wonder why they elected to intentionally use the wrong term.

 

[HILLY]

I've worked for a couple high end OEMs for over 20 years and seen technology changes. Sometimes components may be different enough for the technology (HID vs. LED), but not in physical shape and basic function (as in this case), so instead of completely renaming, the device name stays the same. This also can quite simply come down to a translation crossover or even the person sitting at the desk during a new product launch, looking at current and previous diagrams, and not knowing better to call it an LED Driver vs a ballast.

 

[Mr Big]

Hey everyone. Has any body replaced the ballasts on the headlight assembly of the 4th generation expeditions? I have the passenger side LED strip that is not fully working anymore. I have noticed this issue from other owners of the 4th generation and was told it's most likely the ballast. Apparently I might have to take the whole front bumper off since to replace it through the wheel well is impossible since half the ballast is covered by a piece of the metal frame. I would like to try this solution out and hoping this is it, or I might have to pull out $1200 to get a new headlight assembly. Thanks

To answer your question, my 4th gen Platinum had a halo fading at the bottom part. The only fix was to replace the entire assembly at a cost of over $1000. Luckily, I noticed it before purchasing the vehicle and made them replace it before pickup.

 

[Mr Big]

Not entirely true...

LEDs still use a driver similar to that of a ballast driver that HID headlamps use. Symptoms of a failing module is also similar to that of HID (flickering, noise, etc.)

See diagram for item 13C170 (FL3Z13C170B) in this case.

View attachment 79942

Is this a HID schematic from a Ford Explorer? If so it's nothing like the LED assembly for the Platinum Expedition. Dealership claims entire assembly has to be replaced.

 

[HILLY]

Is this a HID schematic from a Ford Explorer? If so it's nothing like the LED assembly for the Platinum Expedition. Dealership claims entire assembly has to be replaced.

Look closer at the schematic and headlight assembly. It's for an Expedition.

 

[platinumexpy]

But... LEDs don't use ballasts... HID bulbs do, but not LEDs.

You have a 2018 Platinum? That came as standard with LED headlights. And they all came with LED running lights.

Your vehicle doesn't have any ballasts in it.

Edit: I just checked, and no gen 4 comes with HID. Only LED and halogen. So no ballasts anywhere. Where did you read about ballasts in a gen 4?

Yes I do have a 2018 Platinum Max. And this is the part that I'm talking about. It sits right under the headlight assembly. Some vehicles, not specifically this one, with bad LED strips, they just change this piece to fix the LED issue. I'm just here to see if anyone had that same issue and fix.

 

[platinumexpy]

Yes I do have a 2018 Platinum Max. And this is the part that I'm talking about. It sits right under the headlight assembly. Some vehicles, not specifically this one, with bad LED strips, they just change this piece to fix the LED issue. I'm just here to see if anyone had that same issue and fix.