My headlamps sometimes (only sometimes) won't go back down after I turned them off.

Sometimes they will go down after a few seconds or a few minutes after I turned them off.

What should I troubleshoot? The motor, relay, etc.?

Thanks for your help in advance.

- Alex.

 

Looks like oxidation at first impression.
Check wiring (grounds) first.
The motor ground is on the body right below the motor, M6 bolt (10mm hex size)
The relay contacts in the box can be corroded as well.
Happy hunting...

 

I have this problem Once or twice a year, I just tap the bulge on the side of the motor and the problem goes away. That bulge contains a mini circuit board with a relay on it, it's probably the relay that my tapping is affecting. I don't want to try to fix it because the rubber covering on the thing is so old and dry it would probably disintegrate if I tried to remove it.

 

Yes, it probably is that relay and connectors. Clean them up and slap some dielectric grease on them. You can also get a new rubber boot from your Porsche dealer for fairly cheap, like USD $10.

It is a problem putting it on though because you need to pull the pins from the connector body to fit the wires through the boot hole. I forced mine out from the face with a needle nose pliers tip, straightened up the tabs that catch on the plastic connector and everything worked out OK. I don't know how else to do it.

 

That's pretty cheap for the boot, I'll have to get one; I'm not sure mine is actually protecting the circuit fully in its current condition.

 

I have the same problem every once in a long while. Just wiggling the wire that comes off the top of the light motor does the job. The rubber/plastic sleeve on the wire is old and is starting to crack. I porbably won't replace it until the lights cease to come up/down at all.

 

Thanks everyone!