ReducedSpeedAhd

I drove my GTS across country last week from FL to CA...

upon arriving in Austin, i went to switch the headlights on and was greeted by "Check Dipped Beam" followed by "Check front side lights"

I went to try the high beams, and got "Check High Beam error"

THEN

I went to signal to get off the road and received "Check direction indicator"

I have fog lights on both sides.

My driver's DRL (LED) is out

On the passenger side, I have NO turn signals front or REAR, even if i use my hazards or I activate the leyless, the turn signal lights will not blink.

I have brake lights on both sides.

I got to CA and dropped the truck off at South Bay Porsche. $700 diagnoses quote - the tech now says I need a "Module" to even properly diagnose the issue.

$705 in labor and $613.84 for the part.

and no guarantee this will fix the issue completely.

HELP!!! !

I just dropped $1500 in service before leaving to prep it for the trip...

Any thoughts????

slavie

Could be anything from a blown fuse to a blown control module. Hard to tell without diagnostic. Any moisture issues? Electrical gremlins can be a real pain to track down, you need a tech that is experienced with electrical troubleshooting.

The way I would interpret the response from the dealer is that the tech may not really know how to troubleshoot this sort of issue and is ready to start firing parts at it to see what sticks. That can be a very, very expensive diagnostic technique. I'd take it to a different dealer, or even an independent shop, though ask if they have a tech that's good with electronics.

ReducedSpeedAhd

Fuses all check out. Living in Florida (previously) I am **** about watching for moisture issues, so nothing there, dealer even cleared it of moisture concerns.

I'm hoping the dealer is NOT one to do as you say and "See what sticks" as I will NOT tolerate that.

I went to the dealer partly for the free loaner, figuring it would work itself out.

I'm having them do the module, and if that clears it, i'll spring for an extra key. LOL

ReducedSpeedAhd

UPDATE:

Been at the dealership for two weeks. Picked it up, dealer gave up, they can't figure it out... Taking it monday to another dealer.

They removed my LED interior bulbs, and LED licence plate bulbs, Disconnected my hard-wired radar, found out I had a LoJack (disconnected that), disconnected my USB outlet.

They replaced the lighting module, still had the issue.

They swapped out turn signals and headlight switches.

Still same issue.

two Gold Master Techs, the entire service staff.. No one has a clue.

HELP!!!!

DIYDanCars

I just went through this with my Cayenne over the weekend. After replacing the rotted out wiring harness from the car to the headlight a week earlier the passenger side headlight wasn't working again. I too was getting "dipped beam", "check right corner light", "turn signal". etc. This time I pulled the headlight and took the cover off and found the internal wiring to the headlight was rotting out too (insulation flaking off) and shorting itself out. I did a quick fix by sliding marine grade shrink wrap over the exposed wires to prevent them from shorting out. Enclosed are a few pictures. Before spending that kind of money, I would pull the headlight and see if the internal wiring is rotting out like mine. I spent about $10 in shrink wrap and my headlights now work perfectly again. Good luck!

Edit:Sorry! Looks like rennlist isn't allowing me to upload the pictures for some reason. I have them on my instagram at DIYDanCars

ReducedSpeedAhd

Thank you... Funny you say that because this is what I found when I opened up the light the first day.

You would think the dealer would check it.

I dropped it off at McKenna Porsche this morning, and asked them to check this as well.

If they can't figure it out, I'll have my insurance company total her out! ugh!


y

ReducedSpeedAhd

Lights fixed.

Looks like it was a fuse. Found a 5a in a 20a socket.

Lots more to share about the ordeal... I'll go into depth after work.

RSbob

DIYDanCars

"two Gold Master Techs, the entire service staff.. No one has a clue."

So after the so called experts looked at it and no one had "a clue", it ended up being a simply fuse after all?! Wow!

Situations like this are exactly why I work on my own car. For what the dealer charges per hour this has to be pretty embarrassing for them.

Brainz

I recently swapped a headlight on one side. I took a look at the jumper harness behind the light -- the one with all the brown wires. As others have experienced before, the insulation was cracking. I painted the whole thing with a heavy coating of "Liquid Tape" to seal it up and get some more mileage out of it.

One other note, there's a soft, orange weather-proof gasket on the car side of the connector that plugs into the back of the headlight when you slide it in. You should remove and clean this gasket, but don't expose it to oils or hydrocarbon-based cleaning products (like contact cleaner) as it likes to swell up. If it gets swollen, it will prohibit the headlight from seating right on the connector and you'll get all the headlight errors you mentioned in the post above. I cleaned that gasket put it in the freezer for 10 mins to shrink it down before reinstalling on the connector as I was having trouble getting the headlight to seat properly.

iamjpad

Wooooooow... Fuse was actually the first suggestion.
I still don't understand how that would be an issue. A low rated fuse (5A) would simply blow out whenever the load exceeded 5A and would have needed replacing.
Any "Master" tech replacing the blown out 5A fuse would see that socket required a 20A fuse as written on the panel.
Am I the only one wondering how the problem persisted for so long with so many expensive trial and errors???