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Guys, totally tech dumb so need your knowledge regarding replacing my H7 halogen headlight bulbs with LED H7 bulbs. I do not have the Bi Xenon lights.
To those that know better, it says plug and play, so I'd like to know if they will cause an error code, like the cheap LED side markers that I bought and returned.
Also, do LED bulbs run hotter than halogen bulbs??? I wouldn't want to damage the headlight housings.
LED's (even the high-power versions) typically draw less current and run cooler, which is normally a good thing. However, your car will likely detect the drop in current and throw an error. I tried replacing my side markers with LED's, my reverse lights, etc. and always got an error, usually after I replaced the second one, creating enough of a difference in current in the circuit for the computer to pick it up and throw an error. The only exterior lights I was able to successfully convert to LED's without getting an error message were my license plate lights.
Depending on the return policy of the place you're looking to buy the LED's from, you could always give it a try and return them if they don't work. It's not too hard to pop out the headlights on our cars as long as you have the special tool (in the plastic case next to the tow hook behind the back panel in your frunk) and try swapping them out.
If you have issues with the LED's and have to stick with halogen, give the Sylvania SilverStar zXe's a try. They're available at most auto parts stores. I swapped out my fog lights and high beams on my 911 with the zXe's and they're definitely whiter and brighter than most standard halogen bulbs. That might be your best option if the LED's don't work out and you don't want to spend the money on a full HID Conversion.
LED headlights should draw enough power to not generate an error. Stock H7 lamps are 55W I think. LEDs should also be "instant power draw", just like the stock halogen lamps.
From what I read, even the expensive LEDs are not as good as an HID conversion - but it is quite an amount of work to do the conversion.
I did an invasive surgery to my headlight assembly to convert them to HID (35W) and I'm very pleased with them - they put out 3x as much light as the halogen lamps.
For a quick plug n play option, LEDs are quite a good bargain. It will still be better than the OEM halogens. I'd say go with it and let us know how it turns out
LED headlights should draw enough power to not generate an error. Stock H7 lamps are 55W I think. LEDs should also be "instant power draw", just like the stock halogen lamps.
From what I read, even the expensive LEDs are not as good as an HID conversion - but it is quite an amount of work to do the conversion.
I did an invasive surgery to my headlight assembly to convert them to HID (35W) and I'm very pleased with them - they put out 3x as much light as the halogen lamps.
For a quick plug n play option, LEDs are quite a good bargain. It will still be better than the OEM halogens. I'd say go with it and let us know how it turns out
Can you explain the HID conversion steps you took? Are you happy with it/do you have heat issues? I have run aftermarket HID plug and play kits on previous cars but am hesitant to do it here. Would ideally want a kit that would mount inside the housing but can't find many who have done this.
Can you explain the HID conversion steps you took? Are you happy with it/do you have heat issues? I have run aftermarket HID plug and play kits on previous cars but am hesitant to do it here. Would ideally want a kit that would mount inside the housing but can't find many who have done this.
When I did HID conversions on my previous Porsches (86' 3.2 and 996) things were much easier.. no CANBus errors to worry about and plenty of room to stash the components, so I was done in about an hour or so
But I was much "stupider" back then - the reflectors in those assemblies were just not designed for HIDs so the beam pattern was useless... plus no projector assembly meant that I was blinding everyone on the road..
My previous 997 already had the Xenon option - those lights were very good! Craving for those is what made me do the upgrade for this 997.
I did this mod late Nov 2019 (around thanksgiving). The car is a daily driver - through the unending rains we get here in the PNW! Lights are still fine
At first I thought of just retrofitting the OEM components from the Xenon equipped cars..
But using the OEM ballast (Denso Koito) was not an option as the bulb mount we have in the base cars is for H7 and OEM HID is D2S - it just wouldn't fit.
And even if it did fit, the beam pattern might not be good as the projector lens is different for the halogen and HID lights.
If you can source a set of used Xenon headlight assemblies for <$500 or so, just do it.
Even without the auto-leveling feature, it's a better solution that's nearly plug n play (not sure if you need to "code" the car though).
Unfortunately I couldn't find any HID kit that would fit within the assembly itself. I even went to a headlight modding shop locally to check out different kits for the size.
Maybe a professional installer like LightWerkz might be able to fit it in within the assembly, but I couldn't devise any easy way.
So my CANBus error canceler module had to be outside (3m-double-velcro'd the thing onto the inside wall of the headlight cavity) - and I had to drill a hole in the lid to pass the wires.
I made a nice quick-disconnect harness - so that the removing the headlight would be easier (no dangling CANBus module). I also sealed the hole with silicone sealant.
Now, I don't know if you can skip the CANBus module altogether and then just "code" the car to think that it has the Xenon options and eliminate the error.. maybe it will work.
Anyways, the CANBus error canceler module has to be connected to the vehicle side of the headlight harness => so, in theory you can intercept the headlight wires from the pigtail in the headlight cavity and place the module there itself.
Then you won't need to drill any holes in the assembly and can directly put the ballast and bulb within. It took a fair bit of thinking and "engineering" a solution, but I'm glad I went with it.
HIDs run much cooler than halogen lamps. And with 35W consumption (OEM low beam is 55W), I was getting 3x the amount of light as the halogens.. and in a nice white color
I had the silver stars super white Halogen H7 bulbs.
I then installed the LED bulb on the passenger side for comparison. As you can see, the LED is much whiter, giving it a more modern lighting.
Finished job
Everything was simple plug and play. I got a scare on the driver side as the light didn't turn on and I had a code telling to check the light, but was simply because I had plugged it in the wrong way.
This is the Amazon LED lights that I got. Very satisfied with the more modern color of headlights.
That is pretty cool. I honestly didn’t even know the 997 came with halogen bulbs. I thought they all came with HID Xenons standard. Will be interesting to see how long the LEDs last. Keep us posted!
Originally Posted by Steph1
Alright, promised to update and here it is.
I had the silver stars super white Halogen H7 bulbs.
I then installed the LED bulb on the passenger side for comparison. As you can see, the LED is much whiter, giving it a more modern lighting.
Finished job
Everything was simple plug and play. I got a scare on the driver side as the light didn't turn on and I had a code telling to check the light, but was simply because I had plugged it in the wrong way.
This is the Amazon LED lights that I got. Very satisfied with the more modern color of headlights.
What year is this? I thought all 997s in Canada were HIDs?! Is it base or Carrera S?
Also, from my past experiences, the LED bulbs ALWAYS worked WORSE in Halogen designed housings, either threw codes, or didn't light up as nicely. On my Audi with Halogens, I ended up using higher end, cooler temp Halogen bulbs by Philips and once by Sylvania that looked almost HID but had great lightning and no issues.
Things to consider:
Lumens (luminous flux) is the total amount of light emitted by a source over a given area. Think of it as brightness.
Lux (illuminance) is the measure of how much luminous flux is spread out over a given area. 1 lux = 1 lumen per square meter. Think of this as intensity.
So if you have a bulb with high lumens but low relative lux the wider the area being lit the more diffused the light will appear. An easy visual representation of this can be done by taking a flashlight with an adjustable beam. With the beam set as wide as possible thought a wider area is illuminated, the light will be more diffused. With the beam set at narrow as possible it will be more intense. Even though the lumens don't change, the lux increases due to the reduced area of the beam. The issue with led bulbs directly replacing halogen/xenon bulbs in headlights is that the reflector and projector housings are designed for uniform light output which led bulbs don't achieve as well because the diodes require spacing between them due to the need for heat dissipation as well as in order to achieve the best output they can they have to be correctly indexed. So while they can have a high lux, because the housings aren't designed for their light pattern, their actual lux will suffer. This is what people are talking about when they say their new LED bulbs don't look as bright as their halogen/xenon bulbs when they swapped them out.
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LED H7 headlight bulb
