oprevot

Hello everyone,
I have a 1986 Carrera coupe and I love it! The lights on the right side of the car do not work. The low and high beams work fine but everything else is out. I checked the light bulbs, they all seem fine. I replaced a couple of fuses thinking this might be the problem, but no.
Do any of you know what may be wrong?

Thanks in advance.

Amber Gramps

Welcome to Rennlist.

You have got to get yourself a Bentley manual:

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/por...y-3535-21.html

Mine, unfortunately, is at my house or I'd flip it open and tell you what color wire to follow out of the fuse panel.

I want to say it's a black/red stripe coming out of the front fuse panel, but who knows.

Amber Gramps

Check wires coming off of fuse block #2, fuse #6 (3rd from front). The front is black/red, the rear is grey/red.

Also check the common ground (brown) connections.

oprevot

Thanks for the info. I just ordered a Bentley manual from Amazon for $86. I should get it early next week.

ron mcatee

Make sure the flat copper spring material the touches the center of the bulbs make good contact. I had one that looked OK, but wasn't making contact. Just a possibility.

Amber Gramps

Awesome. It will save you a fortune.

Repo_Man

As soon as I saw the thread title, I knew your car was a 1986. The problem is most likely the 1986-only diode, it is under the dash off the headlight switch.

You can check by removing the diode (it unplugs) and reconnecting the wire directly. Some on the forums report that it works fine without it, but when mine went bad I replaced it with one I found on ebay.

I don't think it is in the Bentley manual, this is just one of those wierd model year quirks.

oprevot

@ Ron and Repo_man. Thank you for the insights. I will check everything when I get home and let you know.

ricster

Ron is right, had this issue years ago on my 1986.

jar0023

+1 on the 86 only diode. When mine burned out I was lucky enough to get to see and smell the smoke. Can't miss it under the dash behind the ignition switch. Clear and maybe three inches long.

When I asked I got lots of responses saying just to remove it and forget about it. I ended up wiring in a fuse holder and going with a five amp fuse. It's been that way for 15k miles now. There was a recent post on Pelican stating someone is now making this diode again. -J

Repo_Man

Hmm, maybe it's worth a call to the dealer to get a price on the "new" diode. The one I have in my car at the moment actually has a 928 or 944 part number, it is completely functional but thicker and heavier than the stock one, it's harder to keep in place where it should be under the dash.

In theory, I like the idea of having a steering diode to keep high voltage transients off of our old, flimsy electrical systems, and I figure porsche must have determined the same.

When mine went bad, it was also a good time to fuse the dash lights and put in a headlight relay kit so the high beam switch doesn't melt.

oprevot

I think I'll take your advice repo_man.

savantauto

I have the same problem with my 86 930!

The right side standing light and blinker work. This has been driving me nuts!

redridge

A diode! WTF?... so the lights wont surge on bad alternator reg?

oprevot

I tried to replace the diode, it's not it. I checked the flat copper springs, they seem okay. I am taking the car to Erocar-Werk this week. I will let you guys know what the actual problem was. This is driving me nuts!