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All the HID brands have a significant amount of fake bulbs floating around. They shouldn't weight less than the originals. I'm all for saving money by getting parts straight from the OEM instead of through Porsche, but the cheapest I've ever seen a D1S bulb that isn't fake is from ECS. It used to be really easy to spot them, but now, you really do need some kind of magnifying glass and a guide to look for specific differences.
I could see maybe finding a set of genuine D2S bulbs for under $70, but those bulbs are *just* the bulb. A D1S bulb has the built-in ignitor in the (square metal piece), which adds a lot of cost to the bulb. So, if you bought D1S bulbs on Amazon, and you paid $20-30 per bulb, you got fakes.
Just run them until they start to dim or flicker, and then buy a real set of bulbs. If you have good strong ballasts, I really suggest the Osram 66144 CBI. It's a nice upgrade to the factory bulb, and it is definitely brighter. I had to pull mine out as I think my ballasts are aging a bit, and they struggle at keeping them ignited. I paid $200 for them.
The bulbs I purchased were from Amazon and are the 66144 as listed in your post, paid $45 each for the bulbs. They came in the Sylvania packaging and appear to be correct but who knows. I will just see how long they last and if they have a short lifespan, I will look to the OEM bulbs that are around $165 each.
When my Treg was still under warranty they replaced one of the bulbs that went out at no cost. Eventually that light started flickering and I thought - GREAT, another reliable part from VAG! So I decided to have a look and removed the headlight unit - sure enough them smart techs put the light bulb in upside down!
Anyways years later the opposite side started to go pink and I decided to order new bulbs online.
I got a pair from this fella and installed them late 2012 - that is about 40k km's ago and still no issues. They claim 100% genuine!
Started having another Dipped Beam problem, checked the wire harness and the right side was in pretty bad shape and was the beam that was going out. Replaced with new harness, hope this fixes the issue, if not, it still needed to be replaced. I replaced the left side some time ago due to the same issue.
Was just looking around for another part, and noticed some dealers say this cable is NLA.
I guess this is the beginning of the end for the 955? Last USA models are now about 10 years old...
Recently bought a 06 Titanium with 32.5 k on it. Had the dipped beam issue and simply put silicone lubricant around the male side of the plug and it has solved the issue. I'll see how long it lasts…
Also noticed that if I put the high beams on first, the dipped beam problem did not occur.
my 08 gts pig passenger side light went off and mesg says check dipped beam .
I replace the bulb but still doesn't work.
Anyone know wich hardness might be broken and needs to be replace?
my 08 gts pig passenger side light went off and mesg says check dipped beam .
I replace the bulb but still doesn't work.
Anyone know wich hardness might be broken and needs to be replace?
The 07 and newer cars are a little different, from what I could tell, it is not a replaceable harness, like the old ones.
You might be able to replace the plug (I need to replace mine as PO broke the release clip)
Either way check dipped beam, might also be a problem with the motor or something with the headlight itself.
I have seen both 955 and 957 look OK from the outside, but if you open the back panels you can find that some sort of hard shock or something happened and the inside of the mount is broken (over torque during lamp install at factory?)
So on a 957 I would pull the light and do a much closer inspection on the inside.
At least only one light shuts off, on the 955s if one fails they BOTH shut off, pretty bad design.
The 07 and newer cars are a little different, from what I could tell, it is not a replaceable harness, like the old ones. You might be able to replace the plug (I need to replace mine as PO broke the release clip) Either way check dipped beam, might also be a problem with the motor or something with the headlight itself. I have seen both 955 and 957 look OK from the outside, but if you open the back panels you can find that some sort of hard shock or something happened and the inside of the mount is broken (over torque during lamp install at factory?) So on a 957 I would pull the light and do a much closer inspection on the inside. At least only one light shuts off, on the 955s if one fails they BOTH shut off, pretty bad design.
I finally figure out the control unit is toast and i bought a hella d1s bolt right in but now my radio and wipers don't work.
Brought it to the dealer and they had no idea how to reprogram it so now im stuck with 1 headlight and having to buy 2 control units from "STEALERSHIP"
Thank you! Worked perfectly on my 2006 Cayenne S. One corner bulb was out, but we've had the "check dipped beam" light since we bought it a year ago. Did the harness hack, and its perfect.
I would also recommend putting "TOP" on the plug before unhooking it, as the OP suggests...
Thank you! Worked perfectly on my 2006 Cayenne S. One corner bulb was out, but we've had the "check dipped beam" light since we bought it a year ago. Did the harness hack, and its perfect.
I would also recommend putting "TOP" on the plug before unhooking it, as the OP suggests...
Glad to help! My 955 is long gone, but not forgotten.
Two posts up RE 957, I looked up the harness, $400 for the whole harness, it ties into turn signal, side markers, etc...
If I recall, the two are connected and then attached so push towards the back of pig, and it comes free from its clamp. Choice two - break it free and zip tie or leave loose.
After I did this easy fix, the frequency of bulb failures decreased, though I would still get the occasional flickering headlight or inoperative turn signal. Really annoying.
I finally decided to replace the electrical harness. But the new connector only makes contact when I pushed hard against it. With the headlight assembly installed on the car, non of the bulbs worked. I haven't had the time yet to figure out why the new wiring harness doesn't work.
In the mean time I went back to using the modded harness. I cleaned the plastic around the connector on the back of the headlight assembly and used electrical tape to hold the harness in place. I applied pressure in direction of the connection when I put the tape on. Reinstalled everything and it has been working flawlessly for the last week or so.
02-08-2015, 11:32 AM
