Headlight Flickering & Dipped Beam Issue

[FSUKXAZ]

Hi, I'm having issue with my Cayenne's headlights flickering. Also, I'm getting the infamous "dipped beam" message on the computer. I saw in some other websites forum something about a fix, but I wanted to hear it from you guys so I know for sure what to do. I fixed the issue once before at the dealer, or so I thought. Then when the issue arose again the dealer said that they had fixed the passenger side and that it was the driver side. The computer doesn't tell you which side it is. It just says "dipped beam". So how would they know that without looking at it? The dealer here in Tampa, Thieves... I mean Reeves... is not that great. I even took it over to another place and they seemed to know nothing about headlights. I don't want to spend a lot and I want a fix that's going to last. So what do I do? Where do I go?

[mazingerv1]

I have the problem before and I fixed it myself.

if it is flickering, you should know which side has the problem.

just follow the user manual to pull out the headlight module.

The problem is likely the loose contact between the headlight plug and the socket.

Pin 5 is for the low beam light. Just clean the metal contact and put back in.

Hope this helps.

Edited March 11, 2011 by mazingerv1

[CharlieS]

Same issue here. There are two level sensors that are supposed to detect when the vehicle is tilted with the front higher than the rear and then that causes the headlights to dip so they are not shining in someone's eyes. sounds like a feature I coudl almost do without?!? Replaceing the sensors is not cheap. Like you, my last service call I had one replaced and then the symptom returned so does that mean the other sensor needs to be replaced or the sensors are not the problem at all?!

One thing that seems to trigger erratic behavior is stomping on the brakes and causing the front end to dive -- then I get the beams dipping and the sensor going off. I was coming to a stoplight once and the beams started dipping and then coming back up and dipping again - cycling back and forth - and I felt sorry for the poor guy stopped in front of me. He must have wondered about the whacko behind him giving him a light show!!!

[joshmoney]

Same issue here. There are two level sensors that are supposed to detect when the vehicle is tilted with the front higher than the rear and then that causes the headlights to dip so they are not shining in someone's eyes. sounds like a feature I coudl almost do without?!? Replaceing the sensors is not cheap. Like you, my last service call I had one replaced and then the symptom returned so does that mean the other sensor needs to be replaced or the sensors are not the problem at all?!

One thing that seems to trigger erratic behavior is stomping on the brakes and causing the front end to dive -- then I get the beams dipping and the sensor going off. I was coming to a stoplight once and the beams started dipping and then coming back up and dipping again - cycling back and forth - and I felt sorry for the poor guy stopped in front of me. He must have wondered about the whacko behind him giving him a light show!!!

The rear sensor is what went out in mine. The way I fixed it is that I just disconnected the arm from the suspension. ha. sensor is like 100.00 bucks so I'll just deal with no movement up and down for awhile.

[mazingerv1]

I eventually found that it is not the pin/socket contact issue.

The root caues was the aging/malfunctioning D1S bulb

The symptom was very misleading, the"check dipped beam" appears intermittently when I was driving on bumpy road or uphill, but with no consistent pattern.

that led me to believe it must be something to do with the pin contact.

after numerous tries to ensure the pin contact is right for several months, problem remains.

I then turned to my last resort, changing the bulb, the problem is now gone.

Same issue here. There are two level sensors that are supposed to detect when the vehicle is tilted with the front higher than the rear and then that causes the headlights to dip so they are not shining in someone's eyes. sounds like a feature I coudl almost do without?!? Replaceing the sensors is not cheap. Like you, my last service call I had one replaced and then the symptom returned so does that mean the other sensor needs to be replaced or the sensors are not the problem at all?!

One thing that seems to trigger erratic behavior is stomping on the brakes and causing the front end to dive -- then I get the beams dipping and the sensor going off. I was coming to a stoplight once and the beams started dipping and then coming back up and dipping again - cycling back and forth - and I felt sorry for the poor guy stopped in front of me. He must have wondered about the whacko behind him giving him a light show!!!

The rear sensor is what went out in mine. The way I fixed it is that I just disconnected the arm from the suspension. ha. sensor is like 100.00 bucks so I'll just deal with no movement up and down for awhile.

[deilenberger]

:thankyou:mazingerv1,

THANKS for posting what the actual

solution was. So many of the threads here - someone posts a question, people

make suggestions, and we never hear what the conclusion was. That makes the

threads less then useful. Nice to see one where the solution was posted!

[hahnmgh63]

Yea, seems like there are many causes for this one. My '05 Cayenne TT had this problem and it was the right side, I didn't even know how to pull the headlight at the time (about 3 months ago) so I pulled the inner fender lining and pulled the connection and shot some contact cleaner http://www.amazon.com/CLEANERS-LUBRICANTS-CAIG-BRAND-PROGOLD-Solution/dp/B00006LVEW in there and it has been fine since. I had heard that the bulbs can cause this too on another list. I also had other faults from the All Wheel drive to other things popping up but I spend a day pulling every connector that I could find underneath and in the engine compartment and used the Pro-Gold cleaner on them and they have all went away. I'm not saying that the connectors are eveyone's problem but they seem to cause a lot of them and I know the Pro-Gold is a favorite in the electronics industry as it is a cleaner and contact enhancer.

[Fabianrou]

Hi, I'm having issue with my Cayenne's headlights flickering. Also, I'm getting the infamous "dipped beam" message on the computer. I saw in some other websites forum something about a fix, but I wanted to hear it from you guys so I know for sure what to do. I fixed the issue once before at the dealer, or so I thought. Then when the issue arose again the dealer said that they had fixed the passenger side and that it was the driver side. The computer doesn't tell you which side it is. It just says "dipped beam". So how would they know that without looking at it? The dealer here in Tampa, Thieves... I mean Reeves... is not that great. I even took it over to another place and they seemed to know nothing about headlights. I don't want to spend a lot and I want a fix that's going to last. So what do I do? Where do I go?

I'm going to try a few things tomorrow including removing the little harness from the cradle (white one) and the other end (Black) and cleaning all female and male connectors well with a good electronic cleaner plus I'll put some dielectric grease on them. I think I will shave off the clips that hold the white connector, place it firmly on the headlight bucket and then try to slide it back into the little cradle it came out of. This way I know I'll have a good connection on the headlight and by letting the white plug move freely in it's little cradle, the plug itself won't dictate to the headlight where to line up instead the headlight will tell the plug where to sit and behave. Hopefully I'll find the room to stick my hand in there and do all this, plus the wires form the HID hit are also living around there so the wire "traffic" will sort of be in the way but we'll see... I'll keep you posted but you're welcome to call me anytime.

[Scarpoolla]

I was having the same issues with my left headlight assembly, however my issues also included turn signal, dip beam, cornering lights, highs and low beam). I was able to narrow the problem down to connections issues with the rear of the headlight assembly and the wiring harness that is situated at the back of the headlight tray that holds the headlight into place.

I was able to finally fix the problem by doing ALL of the following:

Clean all the contacts with a good contact cleaner. I sprayed the contacts (male and female) and let that sit. I next took Q-tips and sprayed them with contact cleaner and then scrubbed the male end contacts on the headlight assembly.

I next coated the male and female contact ends with dielectric grease via a Q-tip to ensure each male and female end had some on it.

I also bought a new turnlight bulb holder and new turn bulb. (I was having the most trouble with the turn signal from previous attempts to fix before I did everything detailed in this post). I also took a small wire brush and scrubbed the contact leads that touches the bulb holder when twisted in place. Also put a slather of dielectric on those contact leads as well.

I replaced the headlight gasket with a new one. Mine was falling apart and I felt this might help the assembly hold itself in place when locked into the headlight tray.

[feralc]

sorry to relive and old thread but after start up, there is a specific sequence executed by the two control units for the lights. First the lights are fired on and then the lights are depressed to their lowest angle, raised to their highest angle and then settle into the "level" position that your Porsche tech programmed into the control units

Then while the car is being driven and the Bi-Xenon lights are "on", those programmed, "level reference points" are constantly compared to the data presented via the CAN-Bus by the level sensors at the front and rear left corners of the suspension. When deviations occur that indicate that the vehicle is "tilted" up or down relative to the level position, then the light beams are deflected down (if the vehicle has assumed an upward angle) or deflected up (if the vehicle has assumed a downward angle).

This is the normal sequence, mine does that but AFTER leveling at the programmed reference point, like almost 50% of the time my right headlight stays there and everything is allright, but 50% of the time immediately after leveling it starts going down and level at a lower point, not as low as the lowest but lower than it should be, like the right headlight "thinks" the car is tilted up so it needs to compensate lowering the light, but the ODD thing is that only happends on the right headlight, and as far as I know the level sensor controls BOTH headlights, any ideas???

[LiquidSilk]

I am having the same problem on my 04 TT. The right one was blinking, finally it died. Thinking its the Xenon bulb I replaced it but didn't help at all. I thought the bulb was no good and replaced with another new bulb but still the same. While playing with those my cornering lights stopped working.

I checked all 5 bulbs and fuses, they are all good. I talked to someone and I was told weak battery causes these kind of problems but why only on the right side (tho cornering on left stopped also). And some say I need to change the module.

Anyways... I am taking it to a shop tomorrow. We will see the problem and the damage ($)....

[working4it]

Double check the connector plug from the car. Its at ther very back of the tray. Mine wiggled its way lose from taking in/out and i zip tied mine together along with a pair of new bulbs and it seems to have fixed my dipped beam.

[LiquidSilk]

problem fixed. here is the story...

first guy to help me was my mechanic friend. he told me that he had no idea about porsches but wanted to take a look. he couldn't solve the problem.

second guy I went to was a porsche mechanic! :blink: he is a club member and goes to track racing etc and uses racing knowledge on his shop while fixing cars etc. His rate was $140/hr. He said he checked the module, bulbs, fuses and wiring and all were good. He called to ask if he could continue working to investigate where the problem was. He wanted to remove the dashboard to reach another module that is located behind the steering wheel somewhere.... I said I need the car tonight.. just wrap it up and we ll continue another day. I was going to pay him but he wanted to take the money at the end once the problem was solved.

I took my CTT and drove to Porsche service. I was ok with $500+ invoice and some serious module or wiring or some type of computer problem. Guess what... one of the sockets was rusted and needed to be cleaned. And I had a blown fuse. They fixed it in half an hr. (probably 10-15mins) and charged me $90. This amount is too much for little cleaning and changing the dead fuse but I am happy to have my both xenons and cornering lights working.

Edited January 9, 2013 by LiquidSilk

[working4it]

Just for clarification...what socket? Are you referring to the Pin connectors and what fuse # was blown.