Weird light(external) issue!

[Venetian]

After a short drive I noticed the external lights(headlight, parklight, rear light) on the passenger side only were on after the car was parked with the ignition and light swich off. Drove home and tried various combinations of ignition on/off and light switch on/off and could not replicate problem.

Any ideas what may have caused this to happen??

[darrin]

Leaving the turn signal on will cause the parking lights to stay lit on after the car is turned off -- this shouldn't cause the headlight to stay lit though.

[Oh Haha]

+1

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by Venetian

After a short drive I noticed the external lights(headlight, parklight, rear light) on the passenger side only were on after the car was parked with the ignition and light swich off. Drove home and tried various combinations of ignition on/off and light switch on/off and could not replicate problem.

Any ideas what may have caused this to happen??

For the parking lights, most likely it is the diode at the headlight switch.

The diode holder is located under the dash between the ash tray and the steering column.

Here is the circuit.

Good luck,

Gerry

[ths911]

+2 Turn signal ---- start car, turn on turn signal, leave signal on, turn off car. You should be able to replicate

[Oh Haha]

I just checked mine. Keys out, turn indicator activated, the headlight and turn signals come on.

[ths911]

I have been told it is a safety feature if stopped on the side of the road at night.

[stephers]

Absolutely a safety item. This is a throwback from European cars just for what Tom has said. because there are very few lit side roads in Europe, this was how people were able to safely park their cars at night without some screaming idiot coming around the road and careening into them.

Rick

[Venetian]

Thanks for the info. I have owned this car for 10 yrs and never noticed this before. It did happen after making a right hand turn into a parking stall.

[porschenut]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

I just checked mine. Keys out, turn indicator activated, the headlight and turn signals come on.

Your headlight should most definitely not turn on in this scenario, only the parking lights. This is a law in most European countries. Here's the page in the owner's manual for my '86...on the right side of the page:

[Oh Haha]

Thanks for the info. I guess I'll have to look into this. I did replace my headlight switch last year so maybe I have a wire crossed.

[86 911 Targa]

Originally Posted by ths911

I have been told it is a safety feature if stopped on the side of the road at night.

That's right, they are called "Standing lights", but on our '86, only the left, or right turn signals activate.

I have used this function in the past, and never did the headlight activate.

Leaving a headlight on for several hours might deplete the battery.

As per my previous post, if that diode fails, the right side turn signals will activate
with the turn lever in the off position.

It happened to us several years ago.

Gerry