Headlight Failure 2002 Bxstr S

[TexasBoxster]

Last weekend, I turned on my headlights and nothing happened. I pulled the light switch to "driving/fog light" mode and still nothing. I noticed that the indicator light on the light switch did not illuminate when I turned on the driving/fog lamps either. All of the park lights come on as usual. If I pull the turn signal stalk the high beams function as usual. Any suggestions!!!! The vehicle is garage kept and I drive it a few days out of the month.

[Jaxonalden]

Fuse? Wiring to the switch?

[Lil bastard]

My guess is that either the headlight switch or the ignition switch are bad (assuming you have checked the fuses).

[BoxsterLewis]

My ignition switch went bad and i had to jiggle it to get the headlights to work. That was a nice 750 dollar bill from Porsche.

[TexasBoxster]

I checked the fuses slots A-9 A10 and A-7. All of them had been completely removed!!!! When I looked in the fuse boearlier I did not have the diagram available to me. I assumed they were blank spots in the box. I checked all of the other installed fuses and they were all fine.

I am now on my way to the dealer that services my car. I recently had it inspected, so he was they were the last people to touch my Boxster.

[jhandy]

mine did the same thing. I have a 2002 S. I found that it was my light switch. It was dirty and did not make the internal contacts. I used some electrical cleaner in a can and shot it into the switch. let it dry, and flicked the switch a few times.
Like snapping your fingers and turn the switch. Three seconds later, I had lights and it has worked there after.

James

[kimbo]

My 2004 S headlights only come on after the switch has been turned on for anywhere from a few minutes up to 45 minutes. All the other light positions work properly. The colder it is the longer it takes.
It's going to the dealer for repair under a certified used warranty in a few weeks so with any luck the cost will be minimal.

[gbox]

I appear to be experiencing similar conditions, when I first switch the lights on they come on, but if I switch back or flick the high beams on I lose the low beams entirely. I can switch back to "start"mode and then my daytime running lights work again. Has replacing the headlight switch helped others?

Thanks
Gary

[roadracer311]

My car had similar symptoms. I pulled my headlight switch, took it apart, filed the contacts with a points file (use for smoothing down ignition points on motorcycles) and put it back together. That was about 6 months ago and no problems since.

The switch is not intended to come apart. It wasn't easy to re-build.

Try pulling the fog lights on and then smacking it back in. If your headlights come on, then it's probably the headlight switch. The switch isn't that expensive, and as long as you're not re-building it yourself, it's pretty easy to swap out. (you'll need to find one of the DIY guides that have been posted here or on Renntech about switch replacement though, since there are one or two little tricks to getting it out.)

[roadracer311]

Mine just failed again, a bit more than 3 years later. Took it apart again, and applied the same fix again. Worked like a charm. Hopefully, I get another 3 years out of it.

[paulcbiggs]

Originally Posted by roadracer311

My car had similar symptoms. I pulled my headlight switch, took it apart, filed the contacts with a points file (use for smoothing down ignition points on motorcycles) and put it back together. That was about 6 months ago and no problems since.

The switch is not intended to come apart. It wasn't easy to re-build.

Try pulling the fog lights on and then smacking it back in. If your headlights come on, then it's probably the headlight switch. The switch isn't that expensive, and as long as you're not re-building it yourself, it's pretty easy to swap out. (you'll need to find one of the DIY guides that have been posted here or on Renntech about switch replacement though, since there are one or two little tricks to getting it out.)

Hey Roadracer311 - The Litronic headlights on my 03 S just flickered a bit then stopped working. I followed your lead and pulled the light switch out to engage fogs and pushed the switch in briskly and, the headlights are on again.

When you say "switch replacement", are you speaking of the knob used to turn lights on/off or an electronic relay of sorts??

All the best!