Both cornering lights out

[Mike80911]

Hi all maybe someone had a similar problem or can offer some advise. The check right cornering light warning sign came on in my 04 Cayenne so I checked and it was out, I changed out the bulb and still the same warning light and bulb still not working. I then noticed the left one was also out so thinking they work together I changed that one and guess what still no lights. I checked the fuse, could Porsche make the fuse location diagram any more confusing? But the fuse appears to be good. Any suggestions on what might cause this would be appreciated.
Thanks and Have a Happy New Year

[island911]

If the headlight assembly isn't properly seated contact can be lost. (it will act just like a bad bulb, and throw fault)

Pop the assem out, and take a look at the contacts. Actually, before that, just give it a push , inward. ...see if it moves.

[Mike80911]

Yes I thought of that had that happen once and the entrie left side went out. I tried reseating it but no luck thank you for the input.

[island911]

I just had a similar issue. The left corner light faulted, I found that I had a new 55W H3 (same used in my 911 fog lights). I put the new bulb in and . .. nothing. I also noted that opposite (right) side was not working.

It turns out, that new bulb was bad. --where the lead wire meets the bulb-prong was corroded and not making contact. I cleaned that up, soldered, tested (ok) installed, and both sides now work.

[Mike80911]

Thanks Island I will look it over again maybe one of the bulbs is bad

[stealthn]

The holders are usually the issues in these situations, i think you can get replacements

[island911]

Replacement holders? ...the H3 bulbs (w/ holders) are ~$4.00

Anyway, the faulty one that I had had a bad (corroded) connection here...




zoomed in...



..Apparently soldered, or spot welded, to the holder.

[RandalJ]

My symptoms were front turn signal out and headlight intermittent on the passenger side. Cornering light was OK. I tested all contacts, and nothing appeared wrong with the headlight assembly or components.

In my case it was the harness connection at the back of the headlight assembly. The plug on the wiring harness must be completely engaged into the socket at the bottom of the assembly for everything to work. There is a plastic bracket, part of the headlight assembly mounting bracket, that is supposed to hold that wiring plug firmly in place, enough that re-installation of the headlight assembly causes the plug to go all the way into the socket. Apparently the holding bracket can wear out of be damaged with careless re-installation of the headlight assembly. Not the greatest quality of design.

If you've eliminated burned out bulbs or bulb socket connection problems, run this test:

Remove the headlight assembly, and unsnap the harness plug from the holding bracket so that the plug can reach further. Slide the headlight assembly back in, like you are going to re-install it, but just far enough in so that you can connect the socket into the back of it by hand. Be sure to get the headlight assembly in far enough that it will rest on the mounting bracket and not fall, or you'll have a bigger problem. Note that it takes some pressure to get the harness plug all the way in, because there are 16 or so electrical contacts that you are engaging. You should feel it "give" as it goes all the way in. Now test your lights to see if that was it.

If it was, then your bracket is not holding the wiring harness socket as securely as it should. If you don't want to buy the whole plastic headlight assembly holding bracket, which the harness plug clip is part of, then an alternative is to manually push the plug in from the engine bay, with the headlight assembly installed.

Snap the wiring harness plug back into its clip. You'll need to do this so that the plug is at least close to being all the way home when you re-install the headlight assembly. When re-installing the headlight assembly, look at the guides (two on each side if I remember right)and the shark fin along the bottom of the assembly. Make sure they go in their respective channels on the mounting bracket, otherwise the guides ca be damaged. Then make sure you hear a resounding snap when you lock down your headlight assembly.

Once everything's in, go to the engine compartment, and find the back of the headlight. The back of the headlight assembly protrudes over the plug location, and there's lots of other stuff in the way, making it a chore to get to the plug. It's that way for both headlights. You may have to take off the air cleaner "top" covers. I ended up using a 12" ratchet extension for reach and leverage, pushing on the back of the plug until I felt it give. Make sure you feel it give because you can be pretty sure then that it's all the way in. You might get everything working again with the plug not all the way in, but the problems may return. Once the plug is fully in, it won't shake out again. The bracket should at least put tension on to help keep it in, and with 16 pins, I don't think it would come out due to vibration or temperature cycling anyway.

All the lights should now work, same as when you ran the test.

Avoid removing your headlights again unless absolutely necessary.

Hope this helps.

[Mike80911]

OK so weather finaaly permitted me to work on the car a bit and I still cannot get the lights to come on. i took everything apart to get to the back of the lights and pushed in the connector as hard as I can and still nothing. The weird thing is both lights are out but only the right side shows up on the warning display. Anyone have any ideas what to check next.

[island911]

If one bulb is out, neither will work. (weird, I know)

also, when they do work, they will both be on (low) and cornering makes that side go high (bright).

[Mike80911]

I thought that might be the case so I changed both bulbs and still nothing.

[HKFEVER]

Mine is so stupid.

High beams works fine, but the dash shows warning light about the high beams