Boxster headlight problem

[Ace1]

I have a 2001 Boxster S that has developed a headlight issue and I could use some assistance from the collective wisdom of the forum.
It has aftermarket HID headlights that were in the car when I acquired it a little over a year ago, and seemed to work just fine until recently.
When the headlight switch is turned on, both headlights will illuminate, and then after about 10 - 30 seconds, the passenger side headlight will then go out. Originally thinking the bulb needed to be replaced, I had this done.
Within a week the issue returned. We swapped the ballast with the drivers side which has not experienced any issue, either before or after and works fine to this day. However the issue remained with the passenger side. At first when the problem returned, after the light would go out, turning the switch off and then back on, the light would come back on and stay on. Now this "fix" does not work, as the light will just go out again within 20 - 60 seconds or so.
We are stumped with what may be the cause. Could this be a loose connection somewhere or might this be a headlight switch problem ? .... Or something else ??? And if it is the switch, why does this only affect the passenger side and not both headlights ?
Appreciate in advance any suggestions or solutions !

[pteam]

I'm not sure but somebody here probably has some ideas

[thom4782]

I had a similar problem with my driver side light. I would turn on the light and the low beam would blink off after a period of time. I generally associated this with going over a bump, but it seemed to happen at other times. If I switched the lights off and back on, the driver's side low beam would light back up and stay on for short to long periods of time. It seemed random

Eventually, I found I had a loose connection at the point where the headlamp unit plugged into the electrical socket on the tower. I stumbled across the solution for me by removing the headlight unit, pushing the socket downward in the tower to seat it, spraying both the plug and socket with electrical contact cleaner and then carefully pushing the headlight unit back into the car. So far, the lights have worked for 6 months without the driver's side low beam blinking off.

My guess is that you have an electrical continuity problem. It could be where the headlight plugs into the tower like mine. Or, it could be a loose bulb socket. Or it could be in the wiring that was modified, if at all, when the aftermarket lights were put in.

[RedlineDrifter]

Originally Posted by Ace1

I have a 2001 Boxster S that has developed a headlight issue and I could use some assistance from the collective wisdom of the forum.
It has aftermarket HID headlights that were in the car when I acquired it a little over a year ago, and seemed to work just fine until recently.
When the headlight switch is turned on, both headlights will illuminate, and then after about 10 - 30 seconds, the passenger side headlight will then go out. Originally thinking the bulb needed to be replaced, I had this done.
Within a week the issue returned. We swapped the ballast with the drivers side which has not experienced any issue, either before or after and works fine to this day. However the issue remained with the passenger side. At first when the problem returned, after the light would go out, turning the switch off and then back on, the light would come back on and stay on. Now this "fix" does not work, as the light will just go out again within 20 - 60 seconds or so.
We are stumped with what may be the cause. Could this be a loose connection somewhere or might this be a headlight switch problem ? .... Or something else ??? And if it is the switch, why does this only affect the passenger side and not both headlights ?
Appreciate in advance any suggestions or solutions !

I too now have this problem. Did you ever get this fixed Ace?

I have a UK spec year 2000 Boxster S manual with stock litronic HIDs, and covered over 40k enjoyable miles in the last 2.5yrs. Headlights never gave me any issues before. Last week while driving along the driver side headlamp just went out. I was on a smooth motorway (highway), so it wasn't a bump in the road that caused it. Got back home and removed the offending headlight unit and opened it up to check the connections inside. Everything was clean, tightly fitted and nothing looked out of place. Cleaned contacts on both plugs on the back of the headlight unit and the contacts on the plugs from the wiring on the car. Refitted it and tested. No change.. comes on for about 20 - 30secs then goes out again. Switching off and back on again seemed to offer a temporary cure but it would eventually go back out after another 30secs or so. Problem is only on the driver side. Had to use the car for work so continued to drive around with the problem and it seems to be getting worse..!! After a week of use, the driver side light only comes on once in every 5 or so attempts to switch on, and when it does come on it goes out again after only about 10secs. Happy to buy whatever it needs to get it working again, but I'm certain I don't need a whole new headlamp unit assembly (£300-400) so I just need a bit of help to diagnose the right replacement part(s) to buy.

Please help! With one light out the poor Boxster looks like it has a black eye from a fight! Lol

Any help would be very welcomed!

Thanks guys

[Ace1]

Redline,
I took the offending headlight assembly out, cleaned All the connections,
then sprayed all the contacts with an electrical contact cleaner acquired from the auto parts store ( about $5) and put it all back together.
This seems to have cured the issue, which "Knock on wood" no problems since.
Hopefully I have not jinxed myself.

[RedlineDrifter]

Originally Posted by Ace1

Redline,
I took the offending headlight assembly out, cleaned All the connections,
then sprayed all the contacts with an electrical contact cleaner acquired from the auto parts store ( about $5) and put it all back together.
This seems to have cured the issue, which "Knock on wood" no problems since.
Hopefully I have not jinxed myself.

Thanks for the reply ace, ok I'll give that a whirl and see if it also cures my issue. Fingers crossed yours remains good