Got some used Litronics and having problems - output dim & they don't always come on
 

I got some used Litronics and I installed the driver's side light to compare with the other light and see what the difference was. What I found was:

• The Litronic light doesn't come every time. I have to cycle the lightswitch a couple times and then it comes on. Sometimes the halogen light on the other side comes and and sometimes I think it doesn't. (Sometime I get no lights, sometimes I get halo only, sometimes I get both)
• When it does come on, it flashes kind of bright (I think the high beam might be coming on for a second) and then it settles down.
• It is barely any brighter than my halogen light. I took a little drive tonight and could see farther out the passenger side. My son who was riding with me agreed. I am not impressed :) I was expecting to be tons brighter.
• If I shut the car off with the lights still on, they go off by themselves.

Some things to note:

• The ignition switch was replaced 3/12/2012 by Kevin at the Porsche Specialist in Broomall PA (he rocks, thanks Kevin!)
• I don't know how old the battery is (since I heard that sometimes an old battery can cause weird/random problems)
• I have never had any symptom of electrical weirdness such as lights flickering or anything like that before installing the driver side litronic light.
• I am pretty sure it is seated and locked correctly. I got a nice little "ping" when locking it in using the 5mm socket and visually it lines up.

Should I put the passenger side in too and see if that "evens" things out?

Folks that have had both halogen and litronics, did it make a big difference in visibility?

Any hot tips or ideas to try?

I don't really want to send them back but they are not in as good of condition as described (seals pretty badly degraded and some corrosion/pitting on the lens that was not disclosed) but if I can't get them to work they are going back :(

Thanks,

Steve

Hi Steve,

When the light worked, did all bulbs illuminate, lets start with a baseline of everything was functional.

When I upgraded to Litronic headlights from oem halogens, my light switch started to act up as you described. It would sometimes come on if I tap the switch or click it back and forth but mainly no light. So I did some research and it turned out that the Porsche light switch goes bad more than you think. I bought a new switch unit and installed it. Put the Litronics back and it works every time. You can try getting a new switch module (pictured in the red round thing) a new one should take care of the problem.

best

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1379728006.jpg

Ahhhh... I don't think my lightswitch has ever been replaced, just my ignition... I will check my service records.

All the individual lights come on, the fogs and the high beam and the blinked.

Good thing to check, thank you.

Steve

Edit: would a bad switch give me low light output on the hid low beams?

On mine, they both worked fine low/high. Hard to tell if the Litronics electronics are bad on yours. If I were you, I would pay the $100 for a new light control switch, put both HID headlights systems in place and test out all lighting. You could have a bad bulb or connection in the system as well especially being a used part.
see my posting on how to do this: http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/46421-replacing-your-light-switch.html
Best

I repalced both of my lights at the same time, plus I had the comptuer module, which could make a difference in what you are perceiving vs. what happened with me. However, what I can say is both of my lights worked, but one bulb was dimmer than the other. I purcahsed a pair of brand new bulbs on eBay (Phillips DS2 if I recall as that is what the manual stated it used). Made a significant difference. If you pull your bulbs and see yellow spotting ont he glass, that is the metallic salt fromt he Xenon gas (if I cam describing this correctly) and indicates your bulbs need replacement.

From previous experiance with Xenon type lighting, I can tell you that it may not fire up properly if the bulb is bad, the ballast is bad - or going bad, you have poor electrical connections, etc. But I'd start with a look at the bulbs. These are what I bought on eBay - except I paid $65 each at that time ...

New Philips D2S HID Xenon Bulb BMW Audi Acura Saab | eBay

Make sure you tell him what catr they are for and stress the DS2 (if that is what is in your lights - you can check to make sure).

I don't have a new switch yet (I am ordering one today) but I removed my existing one and cleaned it with MAF cleaner; I saw that on a few threads at renntech I think. That resolved the lights coming on/off problem; everything comes on right away like it is supposed to.

I went ahead and installed the 2nd litronic light and went for a little test drive last night... Again I am not impressed. Output is *maybe* 75% of what I had with the halogens.

I am going to pull the bulbs out and take a look at them today to see if they are exhibiting any sign of aging and if I can get a replacement bulb locally I am going to try that.

Steve

PS I really though that these Litronics were going to be significantly brighter than my stock halos. I am wondering if maybe they are not and I just had the wrong expectation going in?

I have been reading some threads where folks had lights that were out of adjustment that looked very dim. I'm going to try and adjust them tonight. The autoparts store has a nice big white wall and parking lot that I can use.

Steve

The Lits should be significantly brighter than the halogens; check your grounds as a weak ground will cause the Litronics to act up.

I adjusted the lights (after putting them both in) and it made some difference but the left one is less bright. I pulled it tonight to verify the bulb type and take a look at the bulb and this is what it looked like:

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1380162270.jpg

I put a rectangle around some discoloration in the small circular part of the bulb (it is kind of blurry but it is a yellowish spotting). I am going to order to new bulbs and see what happens.

Thanks

Steve

I saw these for $10.99 but decided to take a pass :)

http://www.amazon.com/Pair-6000K-Xenon-Diamond-White-Bulbs/dp/B006RYVULG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380163941&sr=8-4&keywords=d2s

^That's normal. At room temperature, the material inside becomes salt state. Why not switch the bulb from one side to the other instead of spending $?

That amount of deposit doesn't look as bad as my previous ones, but if you do decide to buy replacements, stick with the Phillips brand. The link I posted previously is a good deal. I read an interesting thread on the quality of the various bulbs and have to admit that the "copies" really are not made nearly as well. From the quality of the glass to the grounding and support structure.

I kept my old bulbs. If you want them, I'll send them for you just the S&H. One bulb is OK. The other is dim (probably like yours). Just PM me if interested.

I bought two new bulbs from that link that you provided. They should be here in a couple of days.. I am looking forward to giving them a try.

Thanks

Steve

Did 986 ever come with projector headlight as stock form? If so, were they HID or halogen?

Yes, look at the thread title ;)

Litronic HID projectors, OEM.

I didn't ask the right question. I guess obviously the 986 did offer HID projection (Litronic) headlight at one point, but when was that? Was it on the S model or year specific?

Are all 986 and 996 projection headlight HID?

I know other cars like IS250 all came with projectors but in two flavor, halogen or HID as option.

The early cars (986) came standard with non projector halogens, or the optional Litronics projector HID; model did not matter.

Closing the loop on this old thread, I got the Philips bulbs linked earlier in the thread and they are awesome, much better than whatever it was that came with the lights when I got them.