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I adjusted the low beam HID headlights on my 02 C2. While I was adjusting the passenger side, the headlight went dark, the fuse blew. I removed the headlight assembly, and found most of the insulation was cracked or missing. When I made the adjustment, it seems two wires touched. I removed the drivers side, and it was the same. All the wiring , parking etc, is cracked. I used electrical tape the insulate all the wires on both headlight assemblies. Has anyone else seen this? I would not expect this on a 2002 car.
I agree...same thing here. Last time in there wrapped as much as possible with electrical tape. Funny thing is, you can order a new wiring harness for the tail lights, but for the front lights....forget it. Figure one day I'll have to take it all apart and replace all the wiring with new. I think somebody could make a bit of money making and selling a new wire harness for the front lights. But then again, for the numbers probably not going to happen.
Owning a 20 year old sports car is not for the faint of heart.
"I think somebody could make a bit of money making and selling a new wire harness for the front lights. But then again, for the numbers probably not going to happen."
I believe there were around 170k 996's sold worldwide. I would guess there are close to 100k still on the road... That's a "real market" in my book - especially for a company that specializes in European specialty parts. Real problems need real solutions...I'm sure there is a nice margin in there as well being for a Porsche and all...
I've seen it on later model BMWs.(2007-2013)
Wrap it with electrical tape, or better yet, unpin everything from the connector and use heatshrink tubing.
It is a LONG tedious repair on a BMW.
Hopefully the repair is not too bad on a Porsche.
At least on a 996 you don't have to pull the front bumper off to get the headlight out.
Yup, had the same happen to my beater 01 CLK Benz. I rewired the entire headlight harness for both driver & pass side. Guess heat and age tend to degrade the insulation on the wires. I do believe Dporto is on to something. As far as the after market replacement harness business.
Only two reasons for that-a loose connection resulting in an overheating condition or too much current for the wire. Either way, it is certainly a fire,waiting to happen.
This is a common concern from euro cars. Its the type of material used for the insulation. The latest craze has been using soy based insulation on wiring harness. Now rodents love to climb in and eat the wiring on cars. Sadly it has become a common repair at work. And expensive too. It can be a time consuming process, but as a previous poster said, de-pin the connector and use heat shrink tube to wrap over the issue. We have been doing that for years and it is very successful. The reason most companies wont get involved in selling replacement cables is because alot of these cars are sold with a majority of the harness inside the sealed headlamp assembly and it cannot be easily removed. Since car manufacturers don't recomend the assemblies be taken apart, there is not a market for it.
The big thing is fixing it before it becomes a big issue. If the wrong wires short out it can just melt wires and connectors. Worst case is car fires or major repairs due to other shorted modules. Older fords for an example used a Lighting Control Module. Short out a signal wire and good bye Module. Ask me how i know!
Time , patience and a little know how and its an easy fix.
I believe biodegradable wiring is now a federal requirement for German vehicles.
Some of the first models degraded sooner than expected.
I've had to replace a few BMW HID ballasts due to degraded wiring that caused a short.
09-11-2018, 01:49 PM
HID headlight wiring insulation cracked
