Thanks, will do.

 

Thanks

I need to look at the service records but according to Cobalt they replaced the booster and it did not fix the issue, so the original was reinstalled. He had his shop do a smoke test and it passed. I can live with it but I hate having the warning message, and according to my guy it will cause a failure for the inspection. I'm going to do the inspection this afternoon so hopefully clearing the code will allow me to at least pass and get that behind me.

 

I am referring to the vacuum pump, not the booster itself which relies on the vacuum the pump generates. You can't smoke test the electronic pump. At best you can run it on a bunch for a while with a vacuum gauge and see if it pulls consistent vacuum at a low enough current draw according to spec...

 

OK, thought I would update the thread as I found the solution for my turn signal bulb issue, although it was a pain to figure out. As I have said previously, I am a pretty adept DIY'er but am still wrapping my head around working on this thing so I have missed some things that should have been obvious to me at first glance, read below.

I had a road trip down to NJ/NYC last weekend so I wanted to get the signal bulb sorted before I left. I purchased a couple more bulbs just to have them and swap in if needed. Prior to plugging the headlight back in I cleaned all of the contacts, applied dialectric grease, and tested the continuity to the bulb. All seemed ok but of course when I put the headlight back in, nothing worked--no low/high beams, cornering lights, etc. It was dead. I tried reinserting it a few more times to no avail. At this point I was out of time and had to hit the road so I put the headlight back in and cursed myself as I would just have to deal with a dud headlight for the trip. If I was advising myself, I would say to not mess around with things just before leaving for a trip, but I am the worst at following my own advice, oh well.

Halfway down I stopped for gas (a common occurrence in the vehicle lol) and the damn headlight was an inch out of its home. More cursing ensued, and I then went to the tool kit to get the headlight release tool. In my infinite wisdom I left it at home on my garage workbench. More cursing immediately followed as I wrapped the harness in a plastic bag and threw the headlight in the trunk as I had no way of properly securing it in its housing. Upon arrival in NJ, I searched online and found the size of the hex bolt so I could buy a standard wrench and at least get the headlight back in and secured, even if it didn't work.

The next day, on my way to NYC I stopped at a lowes and got the proper sized socket and a long t-handle tool and upon putting the headlight back in I noticed that the headlight wasn't "seating" as well as it should have been. In my haste before leaving I probably never noticed it but what happened is the section that holds the end of the harness was not mating up to the headlight properly and was basically bending backwards, which is why the whole headlight went dead. At this point there wasn't much that I could do but get the the headlight in and deal with it when I got home. I was able to secure it, although if you yanked it from the front the headlight would just come out, with the the tray bending backwards it put pressure on the release bar so it wasn't 100%. Got home without any issues, aside from only having one headlight.

After getting home I unclipped the harness and immediately noticed that the harness itself was in really rough shape. If I had looked at it from the very beginning I would have just gotten a new harness. from a few feet away it looked fine but just after removing it the insulation was just flaking off, exposing bare wires. I then immediately ordered a new harness but for the time being I wrapped the bare wires with electrical tape and plugged the headlight directly to the harness without putting the headlight back in all the way. Of course, everything worked perfectly, turn signal and all. So, after changing the bulb multiple times and screwing around with it, the root cause from the beginning was a cheap wire harness. I also ordered a new tray which was around $60 so that I can put it back to OEM everything and it should work 100%. I am swapping the harness and tray this evening.

Additionally, I read about modifying the harness with a dremel and with a new harness on the way I wanted to try it out. I cut the tabs that hold the harness into the slot at the back of the tray and by hand, plugged the harness into the headlight, then pushed the headlight into place. This worked perfectly, all lights work, the headlight slides in and is 100% retained. In the future, it is good to know I can do this in a pinch or if someone doesn't want to buy the harness/tray. I will note that I modified the tabs in such a way that the back of the tray still holds the harness into the headlight. I will take pictures later but if you have messed around in this area you should know what I am talking about.

TLR
Lessons learned
-Don't mess around with important stuff just before a road trip (turn signal: not a big deal, headlights: big deal)
-Don't be stupid and leave the headlight tool at home
-The little, inexpensive headlight wiring harness is most likely the cause of headlight-related wonkiness
-Don't be ham-fisted about reinserting the headlight

Cobalt did mention to me prior to buying the car that this headlight occasionally threw a dipped-beam error, I am going to go out on a limb and say that the harness was the culprit. Hopefully I will have fixed that too although I never saw that fault myself, aside from when the whole thing went dead.

 

Kraeburn,
great info. Do you know the part number and cost for the harness?

cheers,
c

 

Headlamp Wiring Harness,
Brand: Genuine PORSCHE
Part #: 955-631-239-11-M100

I probably spoke too soon regarding the fix/adventure outlined previously. Currently the right turn signal still doesn't work, even after changing the harness, bulb, and tray. I even modified the harness so it could be plugged directly into the headlight by hand. The socket where the bulb sits looks fine and tested out ok too. To add more frustration to the mix, the left front turn signal stopped working as well (intermittently). I spent most of the last 1.5 weeks up in VT with no access to a garage so I just dealt with it as I was not going to fool around with the headlights in 0 degree weather.

Last night I finally had the time to troubleshoot what was going on. The left one I didn't want to mess around with as the harness looks fine so I cleaned the contacts and reinstalled the headlight with the reassuring "click." The right side tray already appears to have stripped gears and I cannot get it 100% secured--it probably won't fall out but I can yank it out fairly easily. Not exactly the most confidence-inspiring thing in the world. It only gives a very faint click now and while I was probably a bit ham-fisted in my frustration, It is really surprising how quickly it stopped working as intended, maybe there was a revision in this part or it was a dud. The other side still clicks in with a positive action.

If this wasn't the dead of winter I'd probably pay someone else to deal with this but I need the Cayenne as my other car probably couldn't get out of my driveway with the snow and temperature. I have a replacement tray at the local dealer so I should be able to swap the tray (again) and get it secured. As for the turn signal I am going to delve into it deeper this weekend.

A couple other small annoyances I want to deal with:
-The soft close tailgate doesn't work for ****. I have to slam it for it to engage. Cold weather makes it worse. This is one item I have not been able to find info about on the forums. Nothing is visibly wrong with the latch mechanism.
-The overhead light switch has the typical burn-out many others have reported. I plan to take this apart this weekend as I need to get up in there to hardwire my radar detector anyways. Based on what I have read I should be able to DIY this fix.
-Slow cranking in cold temps. The battery is fairly new so I am thinking starter? I would prefer to hold off on this until spring. It works every time except for one time in -10 degree temps where it fired up on the second twist. I recently learned about the "rest" function of the HVAC which I would love to use but it definitely makes starting more difficult if you use it for 10+ minutes. This makes me think battery...though again I can get by for now and have not delved more deeply into troubleshooting this.

Aside from that, it has been flawless. It drives great for my needs and is a wonderful winter attack vehicle. I actually wish it rode a bit more smoothly (I drive around in comfort 90% of the time) but it is pretty comfy. I am not looking for it to be a sports car since I already have one but I still do find it fun to drive. I like how the torque is split since you can actually steer with a throttle some on slippery conditions. Also, the party trick of mashing the gas and having those turbos spool up is still fun to me, it feels like the truck is REALLY working hard, but in a good way.

One last thing I thought was funny--whilst I was in VT, my mother was there in her new Bentley Bentayga. I hate it deeply but it is a neat car in its own way. One day I notice the back of it seemingly on the bump stops. I figured it was in a loading position of some sort but she had me start it to clear snow off and it turns out it is a suspension fault of some kind as it gave a fault code upon startup. It was able to raise back up but after shutting it down, it went, well, back down. Meanwhile the old Cayenne was sitting proud next to it in special terrain mode. I thought it was pretty funny.

 

Sorry to hear you are having these problems. I never had any turn signal issues that I can recall the occasional dipped beam warning but they worked properly despite the code and it was always intermittent . The only time I removed the headlights was about a year ago when I replaced the headlight seals which had disintegrated. I didn't notice any harness or gear issues but wasn't looking or expecting it either.

As far as the soft close tail gate. It never worked all that great and required a slight slam to some degree to make it work. Never thought much of it since it was always that way from day one and we didn't use the tailgate all that often. The battery was just installed within the last year. The previous one lasted 13 years so I am surprised to see this as a potential problem.

One more thing regarding ride quality. I noticed if the tire pressures drop especially in cold weather the ride becomes a bit harsh. You might look into your pressures and see if adding a few pounds makes an improvement. I always ran in the center setting with ride hight set to low and it rode well.

Is the issue with the Bentayga a fault or do they go into rest mode like the Macan. Key off and suspension lowers to lowest setting and raises upon start. The ones I have seen locally seem to do this.

If I can be of any help or answer any questions please feel free to contact me. Best luck and Happy New Year.

 

The hatch on mine required a bit of a slam to engage the soft-close when I first got it. I also noticed that it was rubbing slightly on the sill. I took it to my friendly neighborhood body shop to see if they could adjust the hatch. They did so in less than an hour and at no charge. Now the hatch closes with finger pressure and there is no rubbing.

cheers,
c

 

OP, have you looked at the wiring inside the headlight housings yet? The wires in there will also lose their insulation and there could potentially be a short in there. It is the next most obvious place to look before tracing grounds and testing circuit continuity back to through the car - especially since the PO never had any blinker problems. Jostling the headlights around removing them likely could of moved the bare wires around inside the light. Also, it is pretty brave to mess with the plastic on these cars below about 40 degrees.

 

I used windshield sealant, the rope style.

 

Thanks for staying in touch. With regards to the soft close tailgate, it is only a major annoyance in very cold temps, not that big of a deal. I think I have noticed it more than you did because I am using it at least twice a day due to me putting my dog back there on the way to and from work. I will have the shop look at it come springtime.

Ride quality--I did bump the pressures a bit. My issue with the ride quality is just inherent to the design of the car and I am ok with the compromise as you make it back with the handling. It does get much smoother as speeds increase which is great. I work in a not so great area and I was hoping for a bit more compliance on the choppy pavement around there. I tend to run it in comfort or normal in the middle ride height, once the roads clear up again from the snow I'll run it in the low setting again. I like comfort mode but it can be prone to some slight hobby-horse motions at times. Overall, it is super comfy and a very relaxing car to drive which is what I wanted. I have already done a handful of trips to Vermont and I find that I am much more at ease when I arrive whereas with my M3 I would be exhausted. Come spring/summer I'll definitely be grabbing the keys to the BMW (some great roads up there) but for now its nice to be pampered for once, lol.

I don't think it was a rest mode since it displayed a fault upon startup. Also, my sister's fiance said that he got woken up in the middle of the night from the alarm going off so I think something gave way and it tripped the level sensor alarm. My mother is pretty protective of her cars and I am known as someone who messes around settings and such so I didn't mention it for fear that I would get blamed for the malfunction. I'm still curious to drive it, I still hate them and I am embarrassed to be seen in it but that interior is unbelievable.

 

I do want to add to this thread that none of the issues with my headlights were present prior to me pulling them to replace the low/high beam bulbs. While I think the design of the tray and wiring harness leaves much to be desired, my grubby hands deserve some of the blame here.

I should have an update later today as I have 2 new wiring harnesses, a new right side tray, and 2 new OEM turn signal sockets ready to go. I don't know if I mentioned it previously but the left side turn signal started working intermittently a couple weeks ago and got to the point where it was hardly working at all. Last night I had a few extra minutes so I pulled the headlight and cleaned all the contacts again, bent the male ends ever so slightly to make better contact and checked the female ends. I was really happy to see that it worked for a short trip then when I went to work this morning they decided to not work again. If they refuse to play ball after today I'm taking it to a shop next week and someone else can pull their hair out. Since I essentially have a full afternoon to devote to this today I will take my time and investigate the actual headlight to see if it is an internal issue. I am not an electrician but I have troubleshooted much more complicated systems than a headlight so I am crossing my fingers that I can figure it out. At this point it has almost become a challenge to me, but, as I said, at a certain point you need to throw in the towel.

As this thread has become a journal of sorts I would also like to add that I mounted 255/50/19 Blizzak DM-v2 tires to the second set of rims Cobalt included with the sale. I have not really tested them out yet because its now spring in New England all of a sudden. I am headed to Vermont this weekend so they should get a good workout. The Conti DWS-06's that were on it were surprisingly good in the winter and would probably be fine for most people but I am used to a dedicated winter so they weren't quite up to my standards in ice and polished hardpack. Also due to my work and the fact that I go skiing so often, if I need to get through a snowstorm I want to have the best. Only thoughts so far on the Blizzaks is the really made a difference smoothing out the low speed ride comfort. Turn-in and steering response seems to have been negatively impacted but I don't care so much on this vehicle.