'03 Litronics Retrofit

[kristap]

I have an '03 coupe without xenons & want them pretty badly.

Was this a 'not easily remedied' resolution?

[percymon]

Well i've done the HID upgrade by swapping the bulbs out and replacing with the Xenon units and ballast boxes. Theres so much room behind the light unit in the 986/996 that securing the ballasts to the rear of the headlight unit presents no fouling issues.

Get a lot more light output.

Negative is that the beam pattern is still limited by the std headlight glass lens.

Second negative is that for the UK i should have headlight levelling and washer system. Will not pass the annual inspection test (MOT) but since this doesn't kick in til the car is 3 yrs old i'm not bothered at the moment.

Xenons Upgrade

Sample of before and after...

Edited November 25, 2004 by percymon

[kpeden]

Well i've done the HID upgrade by swapping the bulbs out and replacing with the Xenon units and ballast boxes.  Theres so much room behind the light unit in the 986/996 that securing the ballasts to the rear of the headlight unit presents no fouling issues.

Get a lot more light output.

Negative is that the beam pattern is still limited by the std headlight glass lens.

Second negative is that for the UK i should have headlight levelling and washer system.  Will not pass the annual inspection test (MOT) but since this doesn't kick in til the car is 3 yrs old i'm not bothered at the moment.

Percy,

thanks for the pictures - it looks nice but I'm really interested in the light output. Much better, would you say or just better? (I know, its relative) Were did you get the xenon units & ballast?

k

[perlfather]

I am working with Gert to figure out the correct wiring (or pins to move). You will need a pin removal tool to do this. 

When we tried this last weekend the Bi-Xenons plugged in fine and the low beams lit right up... unfortunately the high beams did not come on (lights stayed on low beams) nor did the fog lights come on. You will not be able to retrofit the auto-level since you would have to run a new wiring harness and sensors to each wheel.

Stay tuned I think we can make this work...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Is there an update to this upgrade problem? There are occasionally some Xenon lights for sale and I am wondering about the complexity of retrofitting it to my 2002. Thanks.

[Eli at Pelican]

It's not a big deal.... As I've answered this question time and time again on other boards.... I've done my own as well as supplied the parts needed for both Xenon face lift and non-face lift conversions.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions: eli@pelicanparts.com .... I'll be more than happy to explain your options.

-Eli

[delirium]

So if the headlamps are upgraded to the litronics ones with the ballast attached to it, how do you wire the new plmp? Dont we need a new headlight socket too?

[Mochec]

NOTE REGARDING XENON BULBS:

Do not install Xenon bulbs into your non-Litronic headlamps. HUGE MISTAKE. They are so hot they will melt the headlamp lenses!! I made that mistake and in short time the lenses were burnt brown to total distortion. Which is why I decided to go Litronic since I had to replace my entire headlamp units.

Anyone who wants to do the Litronic conversion can easily do it themselves. I did mine and it was cake. The headlight unit plugs in exactly as the original units do. Even though there are additional plug sockets, they will actually work without adding the controller unit. What they WON'T do, however, is rotate a few degrees upwards when you turn the high-beams on. That's what the controller unit does. I drove for a week with mine that way until I decided to install the wiring harness/controller unit (which only takes about 1/2 an hour). I didn't bother buying a pin removal tool, and simply did a wire splice with crimping sleeves. Pelican Parts has an excellent step-by-step article (for a Boxster but essentially the exact same set-up).

Suncoast Motorsports (a Porsche dealer in Sarasota) had the best prices, fast shipping I could find and the staff was great to work with.

[delirium]

NOTE REGARDING XENON BULBS:

Do not install Xenon bulbs into your non-Litronic headlamps. HUGE MISTAKE. They are so hot they will melt the headlamp lenses!! I made that mistake and in short time the lenses were burnt brown to total distortion. Which is why I decided to go Litronic since I had to replace my entire headlamp units.

Anyone who wants to do the Litronic conversion can easily do it themselves. I did mine and it was cake. The headlight unit plugs in exactly as the original units do. Even though there are additional plug sockets, they will actually work without adding the controller unit. What they WON'T do, however, is rotate a few degrees upwards when you turn the high-beams on. That's what the controller unit does. I drove for a week with mine that way until I decided to install the wiring harness/controller unit (which only takes about 1/2 an hour). I didn't bother buying a pin removal tool, and simply did a wire splice with crimping sleeves. Pelican Parts has an excellent step-by-step article (for a Boxster but essentially the exact same set-up).

Suncoast Motorsports (a Porsche dealer in Sarasota) had the best prices, fast shipping I could find and the staff was great to work with.

Hi Mochec, You are talking about the 99-01 models right? The 02+ models with the updated headlights supposedly are not the same connectors. (Halogen vs. Litronics)... I saw the DIY on this forum, but it looks kinda complicated & I dont think its complete.

[delirium]

NOTE REGARDING XENON BULBS:

Do not install Xenon bulbs into your non-Litronic headlamps. HUGE MISTAKE. They are so hot they will melt the headlamp lenses!! I made that mistake and in short time the lenses were burnt brown to total distortion. Which is why I decided to go Litronic since I had to replace my entire headlamp units.

Anyone who wants to do the Litronic conversion can easily do it themselves. I did mine and it was cake. The headlight unit plugs in exactly as the original units do. Even though there are additional plug sockets, they will actually work without adding the controller unit. What they WON'T do, however, is rotate a few degrees upwards when you turn the high-beams on. That's what the controller unit does. I drove for a week with mine that way until I decided to install the wiring harness/controller unit (which only takes about 1/2 an hour). I didn't bother buying a pin removal tool, and simply did a wire splice with crimping sleeves. Pelican Parts has an excellent step-by-step article (for a Boxster but essentially the exact same set-up).

Suncoast Motorsports (a Porsche dealer in Sarasota) had the best prices, fast shipping I could find and the staff was great to work with.

are you talking about a HID conversion kit or just blu painted ulbs with higher wattage? a HID converstion kit should run cooler than the factory halogen right?

[delirium]

anyone figure out how to retrofit a 2004 halogen to litronic?

[mokushiroku]

This is my first post. I need help on some wiring for 01 Litronic Headlights to 04 Turbo. I have a 2001 911 and I am doing a front end conversion. I had the Litronics for the 01, and I now have the 04 litronics. I am attempting to hard wire them, but the 12 wires do not correlate. I know this can be done, but for some reason there is nothing on this forum for 996 front end conversions. I am ready to put everything on, but I need to know the wiring schematics. If anyone could help it would be appreciated. Since I had litronics already, I thought it wasteful to purchase the 04 wiring harness. Its quite expensive and would entail more work. I had the opportunity to convert to the 997, but its like stepping back to the 993's. Great cars, but for the era. Maybe its me, but I loved the 04 turbo front end, one of the best Porsche's of all time.

Thanks