duncs

hi folks

just had my 944 (eleanor) serviced and returned to me. running like a dream however when i turn the headlamps on they pop up no problem. thereafter, i turn them off, and they pop back down.....and then pop back up again.....and then pop back down....and then pop back up again.....etc. and much to my neighbours' amusement. and my chagrin. i manage to stop it by just keeping pressure on the closed passenger side headlamp. sure that stops it, but i get the feeling i ought to fix it properly....

unless my car is getting coy and fluttering her eyelids at me, can you tell me what the mechanic has done to bring this on, and if it's a quick fix i can rectify myself?

thanks for any help!

duncs

83na944

Could be the relay on top of the headlight motor or the contacts on the headlight motor. My guess is the relay. Easy to swap out. If that doesn't work, then look into the contacts.

IceShark

Those headlights can be frustrating. You are in the UK and most likely have the articulated headlights that you can adjust headlight aim from the cockpit. Whether that feature still works or not is another matter.

What did your mechanic service? Wherever he was is where you need to start but I would take the car back to him and say it didn't do this before you got your hands on it, so fix it for free!

I'm not sure exactly how much Porsche changed on the headlight wiring on the articulated lenses but start out on checking the relay and connectors on the headlight motor itself. There is also a little "racetrack" inside the top end of the motor that has contact springs that can get buggered up. If you ever have headlights that won't close down all the way that "racetrack" is almost 100% sure to be the problem. Just clean things up to solve.

Clark's Garage has a pretty good writeup on how the motor works so you can try it yourself if the mechanic is an **** about fixing you up. My warning on doing this yourself is make sure you mark the splines the motor connector fits over the headlight bar drive before you pull it off so you know where to fit when you bolt it back up. Otherwise you may be monkeying around with alignment for an hour or two. And make damn sure you pull the negative/earth off the battery so no juice in the car. The motor is a powerful little sucker and if you get a finger in the works and it starts up unexpected you could break your finger. Some guys think it could actually tear your finger off. You don't want to be the test subject on either proposition.

duncs

thanks for the help folks. luckily the mechanic is open today so we'll see how i get on.

interestingly the auto gear indicator on the dash has never worked yet now when i pop the headlights up it lights up in second! i am sure the car is trying to tell me something. like buy one that works! i am hoping that means the gearbox indicator might work and just needs tweaking. anyone else experienced this, think it's just dodgy wiring?

duncs

944_S_TYPE

Mabyee you have a ground issue if there is more than one elec issue.....

icat

Here in "the states" we call that the Herbie effect. DO NOT HOLD THE LIGHTS DOWN TO STOP! You'll bugger up the works. The culprit is the headlight relay and I seriously doubt the mechanic did anything to cause the issue. All you need to do is to pull the headlight relay and replace it. The relay is located right on one of the motors (just can't recall which off the top of my head). Looks like a large pack of gum and simply plugs in. They're pretty inexpensive, so replacement is likely the best idea. However, if there are none available in your location, you can try cleaning the relay yourself. Be advised that the relay was not intended to be pulled apart - but you can do it. I pulled mine apart and cleaned it several years ago and it's worked fine ever since. You can pry the top of the relay from the base with a screw driver, then use a business card soaked in a solvent to run between the contacts. Snap it back together, plug it in, and you're done. About a 30 minute fix.

IceShark

It is curious that all these changes occurred at the same time.

The relay is an industry standard one that is pretty cheap. 5 or 7 bucks retail for a first class one. I wouldn't bother cleaning up the contact points unless you were on some desert island with no replacements available. The contact points have a design cycle life and once they carbon up and pit you are pretty much at the end of the road. You can rehab them for awhile as Keith said but it probably won't last long.