Mike Elgin

Was out in my 88 S4 a/t last night and had the headlamps stop working and the tail light and stop light warning indicators come on. With a little investigating, found the headlight actuator had lost the "c" clip. Fixed that temporarily (don't want to destroy the radiator),and went to investigate the rear lighting. Found 2 bulbs on the left side were bad and one compartment was filled with water. I had been wondering where all the condensation was coming from. I got replacements from the station up the street and popped them in. I did not have time to clean and sand the contacts, but the stop light indicator problem was solved. Now none of the 3 tailights are working on the right side, but when I hit the brakes, the stop lights (all 3 in the back left) work perfectly. The tail light indicator is still lit. I read on Nichol's page to get bulbs from Porsche or the big three only. Are improper bulbs the problem? And where can I get a "c" clip for the headlight actuator to fix the problem permenantly? Sorry to ramble. Any help is appreciated. <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Mike Elgin

Correction- the tailights are not working on the left side only, but brake lights on left work fine. All lights on the right side work fine.

namasgt

I can not find a proper thread to guide me in to fixing my tail light problem, so I'm just updating this one.

All the lights on my drivers side tail light are weaker compared to the passengers side. More specifically the brake light is so weak that you cant see it during daylight. I have changed all the bulbs and checked the ground behind the spare tire (they were free of rust but I lightly sanded them anyway). I have also swapped the fuses out and nothing has changed. inside the bulb holder is clean and free of rust on the drivers side. What else should I check ?

car is a 88 S4.

Thanks
Ali

rgs944

Check for good connections at the bulb control unit. I had a bad connection there that was causing a similiar problem. It is located on the passenger side above the ECU. It is actually mounted to the tray under the glove box.

namasgt

Is that control unit for both tail lights?

I disconnect it and every thing looked clean, tight fit. Its still weak compared to the passenger side.

Thanks