Is there such a thing as permanent-on headlights?
 

I've had a couple of cars that have the headlights on permanently. I like driving with the headlights on all the time for that extra little bit of safety. I know in our Saab there was a fuse you could pull to have it so your headlights are always on when you are driving, and they turn off when you stop driving and you could never leave them on and walk away and drain your battery. (To turn them on when the car wasn't running, you would turn them off and then back on again. After an hour they would turn themselves off.) Also, with that as a feature of the car, we got a discount on our insurance from State Farm.

Is there anything like that for the Boxster (specifically a '99 base)? I would love to not have to remember to turn the lights on and off.

They are called Daytime Running Lights (DRL). Here is a link: http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/35094-drl-hack.html

DRL thanks
 

Thanks! Will give it a shot. I searched but didn't think to use DRL as a search term.

DRL in action... next level
 

So, I bridged fuses 6 and 9, to have the headlights on at all times while driving. That's great, thanks for the tip.

To take it to the next level: Is there a hack to get it so that all the lights are on at all times that the engine is running?

I would love to get it to where I never have to think about the lights, and just know they are all always on. TIA.

This will be the result:

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...6452A370_2.png

http://i875.photobucket.com/albums/a...FC0937E436.jpg

;)

Yikes. But that will be the result of what- having all the lights on all the time? Bridging the fuses? Why would that be?

That happens from normal operation with stock bulbs. With the headlights on all the time, it will happen much faster.

Hmmmm.
 

Seems like that would be something I would have heard about by now. Perhaps those weren't quite stock bulbs...

Nope. Common issue with stock bulbs.

There's a reason people use the fog lights, equipped with LED bulbs, as DRL's.
These headlights are nearly $1000 new (sometimes more).

After 4 whole weeks of Boxster ownership? Yeah, that seems odd. :p :D

There's a search tab at the top of the page. Good luck! :)

Often times when you see foggy headlamps on a boxster it's actually from burning on the inside of the lens rather than oxidation on the outside. Granted, I thought it was mostly an issue with high beams.

@particlewave? Is this still a threat with litronics?

Mike, Knowing what to look for in a search to get the right results isn't always simple. Here's a quick Google search of the forum that shows what PW is talking about:
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3A986forum.com+h7+burn&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The only time I've seen actual burning of the main outer lens is when someone does the fog light DRL hack while using halogen bulbs.
I think you may be referring to UV discoloration, which can change the color of the lens throughout. You can remove the outer oxidation and apply new UV resistant clear coat, but still have discolored lenses. There is no fix for this as the problem has permeated the material itself.
And yes, this can happen on Litronics. The only fix is new headlights. :(

To the OP: I'm not knocking your efforts. It's always great to see people putting work into a project. I'd just hate to see you ruin your headlights as they are not cheap.

Why not just one of the DRL kits designed specifically for the Boxster? Do you really have to have those headlights on? That made sense in the days when it was just a $15 bulb but now getting at some headlight assemblies is a heroic task and the darn things can run serious money. Look into the specifics of the law. Also consider some protecting film on the front of the car and the mirrors as the increase in bug collisions is very significant.

I believe in DRLs even though they aren't required here. I believe enough I even put some on a Prius.

When the Boxster was new in 1996 there where a mandatory law that said that you had to use the headlights daytime in my country Sweden. I´ve never seen anything like the pictures above on any car using the correct bulbs.

I´ve heard that you can do damage to the reflectors using the wrong bulbs. There are other bulbs that are better if you want to improve the vision in the dark if using halogen lights. Car manufacturers often use the cheapest bulbs from Osram to mention one manufacture. There are better version also from Osram and Phillips to mention another one. I usually change bulbs in my cars to improved versions from those two manufactures to get better vision during the dark winter season in northern Europe. Never had any problems other that at some point the reflectors will will be affected by age when the cars become old enough. We are talking 15+ years of daily use all year around in all weathers leaving the cars outside at all times. On some cars you can change the reflectors separately. On some you can't. Something to think about for sure as the whole light assembly can be very expensive.

If using litrnonics. There are different manufactures of those bulbs too. I would not turn to Porsche dealers to buy new ones. They are much less expensive elsewhere.

Thanks, everybody.

My main interest in having lights on (DRLs or otherwise) is safety, as statistics and common sense indicate that it keeps you safer on the road. (Illinois law only requires lights during daytime while you're using wipers.) I'm more than a little surprised that any automaker, especially Porsche, would engineer stock headlights that destroy themselves. In looking at cars for decades, I haven't seen this before.

Thanks for the help with the search. I read every thread and post from the first page of results, and, as with everything on the internet, if you look long enough, you find the answer, and then if you keep looking, you find contradictions. On one hand, it looks like there's no predictor for whose lenses get burned and whose don't, with the stock setup. On the other hand, it looks like if you stick to 55watts, you will not cook your lenses. Keeping in mind that few people without problems would bother to post, and most Boxster owners aren't on the forum, I'd love to be able to discern whether it was some random unknown factor or if there is a 1:1 correlation between hours of usage and melting lenses.

Look at TechnoLite LED DRL - Daytime Running Lights (LED) for Porsches

Another factor to put into the lens burn calculation is how often the car is driven at night, or with the headlights on. Many U.S. Boxsters are never driven in rain, snow, or night. I'm curious how often the burn occurs in places where DRL/headlights on is mandatory at all times. ?

Look at that ($199 + S&H), but then consider buying over a dozen of these for the same price:
*http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1496178477.jpg
(eBay)

*Might not be as durable and looks like it might use lighter gauge wiring.

DRL links
 

Thanks for the links, mikefocke and 78F350. I'm assuming in my '99 base, they go in the top of the air intakes, but don't inhibit airflow measurably.

78F350, I'll buy a full set of the cheapies for your car and mine and all the pizza and beer you can handle if you come over and show me how to hook them up without frying my car.

Ha, I already have a set, but haven't gotten around to installing them yet. Here's a quick pic this evening, stuck in place temporarily. This kind has the amber turn signal and DRL LEDs. Maybe I'll get around to it this weekend. If I do, I'll post my install.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1496283921.jpg