gnochi

Thank you, Evan! Completely different note: are you aware of any decent LED high beam projectors?

@dlbvanos: are you referring to the clear cover for the headlight assembly, or the lens that's part of the projector?

twinturbowagon

Are you referring the the lenses for the headlight housings?

dblvanos

Clear cover, as the cars age the lenses are crazing. $500.00 to replace the lenses vs $2000.00-$3500.00 to replace the whole litronic assemblies would be great.

sfv_rider

I'm interested in finding a source for the exterior lens for the headlight and turnsignals. Mine are showing their age.

twinturbowagon

I have been on the hunt for those a while now and in short: no. There are some small led pods like the like the Rigid Dually but they don't offer the intensity needed for proper high beam function, once you get to to a light which might offer the performance like the VisionX Light Cannon you are looking at LED lights which are in the 5"-8" dia range and $500-$1,000, neither of which would look particularly good in a headlight and neither are projectors which is what we are after.

For actual LED projectors there are a couple bi-LED projectors which perform OK like the units found in the current Gen Prius and some low beam only projectors like the Nissan Murano, Infiniti QX50, etc. which could be mounted inverted to offer a high beam but the intensity is sub par.

What I have found to be the best alternative is take a good ol' HID projector which offer a nice high beam pattern (I prefer the Morimoto D2S 4.0) and pair it with a ballast that offer a fast warm up speed. This is what I did on my personal vehicle, I took the D2S 4.0, removed the shield essentially making it a high beam only unit, and then boosted a gen 3 Hella ballast to 55w (same as the 996 has) and the results are as good as it gets, warm up is fast and light is intense. With the Hella ballasts "boosted" especially to 55w they become real power hungry and warm up gets even faster. At ignition they are instantly at about 70% intensity and get to 100% in ~3 seconds. Think of it as having an instant-on 35w ballast which swells to 55w shortly thereafter.

Here are some pics of my personal setup...





The RSR lenses we have for this build were sourced from FVD.net for a completely reasonable $150/ea but I think they are now discontinued. I poked around looking at some Porsche part catalogs but I didn't see the lenses listed with a part number, so not sure what the options are for tracking down new oem lenses. I come from the BMW world and although BMW doesn't sell lenses or internal headlight components individually, there is a seller from Prague on eBay who sells oem lenses, not sure how he got his hands on them but maybe went factory direct and worked out a deal? Btw some of those replacement BMW lenses I have purchased are made by Hella who also makes these 996 housings...
My thoughts above...

strathconaman

twinturbowagon:

Can you post some pictures of the "guts" of the leveling swivel assembly (that the projector and helper are mounted on). I have wanted to replace the E55 projector with a modern projector, and maybe the "helper" reflector with a LED array, but I can't figure out how in my mind without seeing how they are all mounted.

twinturbowagon

The bracket and projector mounting points are pretty visible with the rear cover removed, you should have access to take some measurements if inclined.

I will get some additional photos for you.

JayG

Check out this thread for more HID retrofit info
http://986forum.com/forums/diy-proje...ng-finish.html

twinturbowagon

Unfortunately that info pertains to the halogen lights and "strathconaman" is looking for info on the facelifted Litronic units.

Furthermore I really respect the amount of effort Fred put into creating these PNP projectors + shrouds for the 996/986s, he came up with some creative solutions to make an upgrade which is relatively easy to install for the masses. However I have one of those on hand and I am using the shroud, the very lustful precisely CNC-machined shrouds which look incredible, on another Bi-LED 964 project I am working on and the projectors, bulbs, and ballasts used are well to be kind, they are not good. To his defense he was working with restricted space so component options were limited but and he has a lot of satisfied customers but there can be a significant difference between "retrofits" depending on component selection and execution.

Here are some pics to show the difference between some easy/cheap/PNP HID solutions and a retrofit featuring high end components.

The "GT Collection" clearly has a HID bulb which has been compromised, I received this kit brand new never installed so I can only assume the bulb is not supposed to be a red color. lol Also, notice that the intense light is in the middle of the beam pattern, it should be at the top near the cutoff, this misalignment is usually due to a low quality bulb with cheap optics.

"Flat 6 Illumination" are complete housings for the 964 chassis and the company has been bought out by The Retrofit Source and now these headlights if bought through TRS come with the Morimoto H1 projectors which are a decent performer. These output pictures were of the original output Flat 6 Illumination offered.

Evan

GT Collection


Flat 6 Illumination


Lexus SC430


Lexus RX330

gnochi

Irksome, but good to know. I'd like to be able to flash an instant-on high beam for passing, etc., without risking rapid burnout, as well as having sufficient light for low beams, and this looked like it might fit the bill.

If it's not up to par, it might be good as a "high beam assist" but for $460 there's got to be a better option.

Are you going to be integrating the matchbox ballast into the housing, or adding a separate plug?

kmagnuss

Hey twinturbowagon... any idea how to get this connector out? I'm trying to repair the destroyed wiring in my Cayenne headlights and can't get that last plug out to save my life.

Attachment 1353360

Thanks.

-Mag

twinturbowagon

The ballast for the Matchbox fog projector will be externally mounted, no space to mount it inside and I only like to mount ballasts or drivers internally when they can be easily accessible in the off chance there is a failure and needs to be replaced.
Most of those 10-pin connectors have small inward facing lips which can be released by creating space between the housing and the perimeter of the electrical connector, if viewed from the inside you can see the lips and the small retaining clips on the housing. It is easier to release them from the inside but you should be able to do so from the outside. Try using a small/thin spackling tool or a very thin butter knife and wedge it between the top of the connector and then again at the bottom, you will need to apply pressure inward while wedging to release it.

If the headlight isn't opened then this may all be for not as once the connector is released it will be inside the headlight and only able to be removed if the headlight lens has been removed.

Evan

dporto

What's up with all the burnt/melted insulation on those wires?

kmagnuss

This is the reason why I'm fixing it all... apparently it's very common on 955 Cayennes... looks like 996's suffer from it a little also, but most people don't open up their headlights so they never actually see it. The insulation deteriorates and literally turns to dust... if you breathe on it, it falls off. Can you say fire hazard?

twinturbowagon

That is just deterioration of the protective coatings, it happens on some headlights depending on the age, environment, and use of the headlight over time. I have noticed it more on Hella headlights than other brands.