Tommy Tuite

Ugh... I hate upgrades.

Previous owner upgraded the headlights to "Dynamic" headlights(Xenon?)

The wires look cracked in some places telling me this isnt something I want to continue with.

Anyone have a link to how this can be removed to make future bulb replacements easier or should I start shopping for OEM used early 986/996 lights?

T3C

Jesus. What a mess. Replacement lenses (front and rear) on the 996 are outrageously expensive--something like $500 each. It'd take a lot for me to buy a new or refurbished pair, but if I was in your situation that might be the tipping point. I'm sure there's a solution to this, but it's probably much more involved than simply removing that rat's nest of wiring. Hopefully some gurus here can provide some insight.

strathconaman

What does the bulb look like? Is that a fan on the back of the bulb?

rogazilla

Looks like HID ballast mounted on the cover and LED for the one with black ballast. You should be able to just remove them and stick the regular bulbs back in provided they didn't modify the mount for the LED bulb. (The HID one looks unmodified with the wire clip still in place)

dporto

Why not just change out the bulb with what's in there? Why would you want to go back to Halogens? Are the housings burnt/melted/damaged in some way? Many of the cars with stock wiring are also cracked/disintegrating.

5CHN3LL

That cracked insulation is the stock (Porsche) wiring - the headlight wiring is notorious for falling apart as it ages.

Definitely want to replace all of the dodgy wiring. As far as the aftermarket HIDs, you can throw $20 at eBay and hit 50 different HID vendors if you find anything wrong with the ballasts that have been installed. You might want to look at LED upgrades if you're going to mess with new ballasts and bulbs anyway...

While that install isn't exactly neat, there's no neatness requirement for an HID install. I'd be far less concerned about the messiness and more about a short...

Mark I

What Schn3ell said. A good remedy for the flaking insulation -- remove anything that's loose or brittle. Apply a couple layers of liquid electrical tape. Something like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/Plasti-Di...-Tape/16888975.

sasilverbullet

I used old fashioned electrical tape, either way, easy to remedy. Now I don't blow bulbs every month...

soverystout

Where have you seen replacement front headlight lenses? Each headlight is still $2500 each. My headlights work fine but the yellowing of the headlights is too far gone to fix. Already had them professionally wet sanded and it helped but didn't fully restore the headlights.

Tommy Tuite

Thank you all so much for the excellent information.

Grabbing some liquid electrical tape and attempting a wiring salvage first before bulgs are ordered. If that and bulbs don't work, time for stock bulbs.

Fingers crossed that a clean reinstall will work in my favor. Notably, the additional outside wiring made the removal of the assembly sort of tough.

Thanks again,
-Tommy

Mbren1979

I de-pin the wires and slide heat shrink tubing over the damaged wires. Takes a little longer but it protects the entire wire and not just the current bad spot.

SoCal911t

$510.00 for replacement made by Magneti Marelli on Ebay. $1,176.00 from Sunset Porsche.

pdxmotorhead

Unless the housing is messed up,, looks to me like you can strip the HID kit out, and replace
with new or go to a H7 LED for the Low beam and a H9 LED for the high beam.

I don't see much that un-fixable cleanable.

JB weld painted ont he lastic housing can work wonders.. Just cant put it in the track contact areas.. (Done it on hondas and such in the past.. )