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Why Did Your Porsche Headlights Go Off Without Warning?

The technology behind Porsche headlights is not terribly complex. Despite this fact, there are still several issues that can force your headlights to suddenly fail. The best you can do is to find the root cause of the failure and fix it.  To get started, find out whether both or just one of your Porsche headlights have failed. Find out too whether or not the car’s high or low beam mode is still intact. Then note that anytime your headlights stop working, the problem could be either an electrical one or a physical issue with the bulbs. In rare cases, the problem could be both physical and electrical. Here’s what you should do.

When One Headlight Goes Out

The most common culprit here is usually a burn out. Simply replace the bulb. If this does not work, the problem has everything to do with a faulty fuse or a glitch in the wiring. Have an expert replace the fuse for you. While at it, inspect the wiring for any glitch. Then note that even high intensity headlights (HID) can also fail because of poor wiring or a burned out fuse. Fix them as you would the other headlights.

When Both Headlights Go Out

This happens mostly as a result of burned out bulbs. It can also happen because of a power or ground hitch. Inspect power and ground to fix the problem. You can also try replacing the bulbs. Note that bulbs do not usually burn out together at once. So in this case, you may have a deeper underlying problem with the wiring system. It could also be as a result of a faulty component like the relay, module or the fuse.

High And Low Beams Don’t Work

Again, a burned out bulb could be the problem here. You may also have to inspect the relay and the high beam to get to the root of the problem.  Replace the relay, the switch or the bulb. If just one bulb fails to turn on either low beam or high beam mode, the problem is the bulb. Replace it. Most, if not all headlight failures that are limited to low beam or high beams can always be traced back to the high beam control switch or to the relay.

Headlights Work But They Are Dim

This could be because of foggy lenses, a charging system issue or worn out bulbs. The solution here is simple. Clean the lenses thoroughly then repair the charging system and replace the bulbs. Do not though that the charging system should be fixed by a Porsche wiring expert.

Point To Note

Nearly all headlight malfunctions include a few basic components like the relay, the fuse, the switch and of course, the bulb. It is easy to figure out how problems arise. When you turn on the headlights, the switch immediately activates the relay. The relay then provides the electrical flow between the battery and the headlight bulbs. Fuses step in to prevent current overflow. So headlight failure in most cases includes all these components. Be sure to also check if your battery is fully charged as it can also cause headlight failure. Then by all means, have an extra set of bulbs with you as you do with the spare wheel, just in case the headlights go out in the middle or nowhere.