Michael Benno

I cant seem to figure out how the additional headlamps (aux lights / side lights) are activated.

I reviewed the manual and can find any reference to how these are activated. Are they activated with the Parking light setting on the headlight switch?

Mike Benno
1988 Porsche 928 S4 5-speed

MainePorsche

The owner's manual made no reference ??
What happened when you turned the headlight switch to each of it's settings ?
As always so the Forum knows what they are commenting on, what year is your car ?

Michael Benno

Oops so sorry, I forgot, my car info 1988 s4

The owners manual gave instructions for changing the bulbs, but not how they are activated.

I cannot figure out how these are activated. When I turn on my parking lights, do get a dash warning, so I am suspecting that both bulbs are out.

Speedtoys

Page...22?

MainePorsche

Under your headlight switch there is another switch that has a light icon on it. Push this one in. This is your foglight switch. This switches your fog lights on. Turning your headlight switch to position 1 will turn on the sidemarker lights, the tail lights, and the front parking lights (the little orange ones). Turning the headlight switch to position 2 will add the main headlights.

dr bob

What MainePorsche said, plus... The "auxiliary headlights" are actually "auxiliary Main Beams", so they go on when you activate the "High Beams" with the lever/stalk on the left side of the steering column. These aux main beams are needed so you can use them to flash other drivers in the daytime when needed. With the main headlights folded back, no way to do that without the aux lamps. US law says that heedlights need to be at least 24" on center off the ground. Using those aux lamps as main headlights wouldn't cut it legally, at least in the US.

MainePorsche

Unless you angle them up a little.
Up here in animal country I don't need to illuminate the ground in the very front of the car.

dr bob

There's separate guidance on aiming, 'targeted' at where the light hits the ground for low- or dipped-beam headlights, and a maximum height at a maximum distance for fog lights. No limitation on main- or high-beam aiming.

The requirement I shared on bulb height was a critical point of contention for me a few decades ago, in my very early Lotus Europa S1 series 1 "homologation" car, such as it was (#17). Roofline at 34" (about desk height) there was just no way to have headlight centers meet the US requirement. The later "official" US versions were larger and sat a lot higher for this reason, along with needing to meet the minimum bumper height requirements at the time. The actual bumpers on mine could have been painted on and provided the same protection really; plastic car had a dry curb weight of just a hair over 1000 lbs. Body was barely thick enough to hold the paint up. It was a road-going go-kart on steroids though. I met a LOT of officers and judges...

Michael Benno

Thanks for the help on this. I was able to determine both my aux lights were disconnected. I reconnected them and volia, they do work with the high-beams active and when used to flash to pass.

axis of evil

[QUOTE=dr bob;12527559
Lotus Europa S1 series 1 "homologation" car, such as it was (#17). Roofline at 34" (about desk height) there was just no way to have headlight centers meet the US requirement. The later "official" US versions were larger and sat a lot higher for this reason, along with needing to meet the minimum bumper height requirements at the time. The actual bumpers on mine could have been painted on and provided the same protection really; plastic car had a dry curb weight of just a hair over 1000 lbs. Body was barely thick enough to hold the paint up. It was a road-going go-kart on steroids though. I met a LOT of officers and judges...[/QUOTE]

And the whole body melted like cheese in a microwave if a wayward spark hit anything flammable.

dr bob

I only had one small fire, electrical at the massive holds-4-fuses panel conveniently located high in the engine bay. Put it out with the fire extinguisher conveniently located in the rear behind the fuse holders. Did I mention that the fuses were immediately above and aft of the fuel tank?

This was not a car for the faint of heart.

There are still a few from my collection hanging around (literally...) in storage in SoCal. That earliest Europa went on to a collection in Oregon, probably near where I am now, in 1997. It was severely damaged in an accident about a year after I sold it. Buyer said he drove it regularly until then. "Severely damaged" could be almost anything -- it was like riding around in a light bulb. A rippin' quick light bulb.