Zakowsky

So I swore I would sell the car before going to the dealer, so I am really hoping for another solution. To make sure, I think I need a new ballast/headlamp control unit on one side - one of my D1S bulbs finally died (after having occasional problems lighting up). I replaced it with a cheaper version from Amazon, and at first it worked, but the very next day the bulb wouldn't fire up and I got the check dipped beam warning again. The high beams and cornering lights were fine, as is the auto leveling system. Checked all the wiring and connections, they are fine, and the new bulb works on the other side, so it's not the bulb.

I searched the many threads on all this and wanted to make sure - are there any fuses for just the Xenon Low beams? I could just find #17, which is also for the turn signal, which works.

So I am assuming the ballast in the control unit is dead - could be the cheap blubs that caused it, but the other side is fine (I replaced that one as well). Or maybe this is why it had been cutting in and out for a while. The only other thing that is weird is there is a small blub next to the cornering light blub that is always on when the car is running. Don't even know what it is for.

So if I have to replace the control unit, does it have to be recoded by Porsche? It is a Valeo, LAD5G 89032133, which I believe is 95563119301. Same as in many vehicles like the Touareg etc. Has anyone been able to buy an identical unit (maybe used from another Porsche) and not have to recode it? What happens when you don't recode it, will the car still start and run?

I use a VAG COM with my 2004 CTT and it does almost everything but it can't access module 55 to recode it yourself like Touareg owners can. I have pins 3 and 7 jumped, Uwe at VAGCOM suggests sending pin 15 to 3 to get all control units - has anyone tried this? Maybe 55 will come up that way; it's on the CAN bus which is where most of the modules I can't connect to are.

Any help with any of these questions would be appreciated.

Edit - Also wanted to ask, has anyone opened the control unit up and tried to fix it? Supposedly an IC that usually blows and can be replaced. If you have, does it retain registration so no recoding is necessary? Thanks.

Dilberto

No coding needed.... just be sure to replace ballast with identical model and rating.

Zakowsky

Thanks Dilberto. I wonder how to get an identical one though; the LAD5G 89032133 can be found in lots of vehicles, maybe the S: 02.12 D1R/S-35W and H: 02.0B D2R/S-35W designations make it unique for the Cayenne with air suspension? The one from Pelican said you have to recode it, but it is slightly different in that it is S: 02.11 rather than .12 - anyone know what these numbers mean?

Also while I was continuing to search, there was a site that said the cheap Chinese D1S bulbs can blow your ballast, which seems to be exactly what happened to me. But they were also a seller of Osram blubs...anyone think this is true or not?

Dilberto

Cheap knock-off bulbs will fry everything. Only buy Osram Xenarc with authentication code. Start calling boneyards for your matching ballast:

www.car-part.com

Zakowsky

So to wrap this up with some info in case others search the subjest; things worked out, but in a very strange way. After weeks of searching I finally found a match to my ballast, the numbers matched close to perfectly - both LAD5G 89032133, same S: and H: codes, just the production date was different. It came from a 2004 Cayenne S, so probably didn't have air suspension like mine but I don't know that for sure. So the numbers were good, but the casing was slightly different - lighter (aluminum rather than steel), and a few mm thinner. Not sure why.

So I installed it and put in a good but old Osram bulb, and the light fired up but I immediately got the Check Headlight Alignment error on the dash. Man, did I start swearing. After all that searching, and I paid more for this ballast than a new one, just to avoid this problem. Plugged in the VAG COM and reset every module I could, but as I have mentioned VAG COM can't access the important ones to align the lamps. Error still there.

Now the weirdness. I didn't have a good D1S in the opposite side (just a burnt out bulb), because I just took that trustworthy Osram to put in with the new ballast for testing. So even though I had the recoding problem to deal with, while waiting for my new 6000K Osrams to be shipped here I wanted two real Osrams in on both sides, so I went out and bought a standard 4300K D1S Osram off Kijiji for 40$ to hold me over until my CBI's came in next week. Alignment error was there while I drove to get them. To my amazement, when I put the new Osram in the side opposite to the new ballast, the error cleared, and hasn’t returned for several on/off cycles!

Now this really doesn't make sense, but I suppose the message to others would be if you get an old ballast to avoid recoding, and you get the Check Alignment error anyways, make sure all the bulbs in both headlights are good and functioning. Who knows, the error might go away for you too.

Btw, I fully expect it to come back, just when I start to feel like this is really fixed!

deilenberger

You might consider canceling the 6000k bulb order. If you're looking for useable light rather than bling - the 4300 ones provide more light, less glare and less reflected glare in fog. Blue'r isn't better - it's simply bling.

Zakowsky

Yeah, I have tried the different K temps and read the tests; it might be just my eyes, but 5500-6000K range seems to work best for me personally. I will have both sets so can compare. Actually, while I was comparing them once I had one of each in, and really liked the blend - and it makes it easy to ID from a distance!

RKD in OKC

Have 3 extra zenon contorllers/ballast. Ended up ordering several trying to get rid of the alignment error, and was using a PIWIS. Finally changed the bulbs and bam, they worked without any problems. Swapped out to another ballast and it worked fine as well. The bulb we replaced was already a new bulb. Go figure. Now I've got 3 new ballasts to put on ebay.