986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Issues with Retrofit Projector HID Lights!

Smallblock454 · 06-22-2016, 02:02 PM

Hi nine8six,

well, in general modern cars have "ECU's" (Steuergerät is the german term for that) for light. That means there is not always a physical relay for headlight switching, but an electronic circuit with power transistors. That also means that you can control how to switch something (ampere, load, soft start, etc.). I can't find something like that in the 986 circuit diagrams. There is just a bulb, a simple switch and a fuse.

I understand how the fuses work. But from an electronic point of view that is not near a perfect or modern solution. So under some circumstances this system will really wear and fail over time.

just my 2 cents, because i don't know better.

Regards, Markus

06-22-2016, 02:02 PM	#14
Smallblock454 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: LB, Germany Posts: 1,515	Hi nine8six, well, in general modern cars have "ECU's" (Steuergerät is the german term for that) for light. That means there is not always a physical relay for headlight switching, but an electronic circuit with power transistors. That also means that you can control how to switch something (ampere, load, soft start, etc.). I can't find something like that in the 986 circuit diagrams. There is just a bulb, a simple switch and a fuse. I understand how the fuses work. But from an electronic point of view that is not near a perfect or modern solution. So under some circumstances this system will really wear and fail over time. just my 2 cents, because i don't know better. Regards, Markus