34 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHNEW!! 996 OEM Taillight LED bulb kits!
Reported repair
Use heat gun and a small screwdriver
Reported resolution
1
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that report a fix
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported fix
So I used a heat gun and a small screwdriver to soften and scrape off the silicone from the contact point. That did the trick and now the side marker LEDs are solid.
Leading evidence: 'Use heat gun and a small screwdriver' (1 discussions report resolution; 0 report an unsuccessful attempt). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'huge benefit at night if you�re reversing' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Use heat gun and a small screwdriver' (1 discussions). For that action, 1 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. The most frequently reported fix is 'Use heat gun and a small screwdriver', supported by resolution reports in 1 discussions. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Install adrian's taillight bulbs and resistors over the weekend
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I installed Adrian's taillight bulbs and resistors over the weekend.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
I replaced the silicone in the back of the socket with candle wax.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suspected cause
Probably a huge benefit at night if you�re reversing.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Use heat gun and a small screwdriver
1
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report a fix
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported fix
So I used a heat gun and a small screwdriver to soften and scrape off the silicone from the contact point. That did the trick and now the side marker LEDs are solid.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
I like the CHMSL light, would have saved me the effort of this which I did when attempting to replace my bulbs and the housing clips started to fail, so I went
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion · Original poster
Installation is as simple as removing the taillight from your car and replacing each bulb, and even for that we include a link to our how-to video, walking you through the entire process step-by-step.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Use heat gun and a small screwdriver
1
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that report a fix
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Reported fix
So I used a heat gun and a small screwdriver to soften and scrape off the silicone from the contact point. That did the trick and now the side marker LEDs are solid.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
34 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
1 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Outcome without a verified action link
It�s not as bad as it sounds, but I want to have it fixed sooner than later!
Hi everyone!
In the past I've had a few requests from customers that were not quite ready for the halo LED conversion we offer for the 996 taillights, asking if we had something to convert the taillights to all-LED bulbs.
We did our research and sourcing, resulting in our new offerings, the "996 LED Taillight Bulb Kit! We have one for the narrow body and one for the wide body.
Each kit contains high quality LED replacements for all bulbs. The narrow body has five bulbs per taillight; the wide body has six.
They come in a nice box with all bulbs labeled and a schematic of where each one goes, so no guess work on your part!
The box also doubles as storage for your OEM incandescent bulbs; in case you ever want to switch back or convert to stock upon sale of the car.
Obvious pros of this upgrade are brighter bulbs and thus better visibility, and that nice "instant on" feature of an LED bulb, which will improve the reaction time of the person behind you.
Installation is as simple as removing the taillight from your car and replacing each bulb, and even for that we include a link to our how-to video, walking you through the entire process step-by-step.
The kit also comes with a plug-and-play resistor for each taillight, that eliminates ANY chance of an error or so-called "hyper-blinking".
Here is a side-by-side comparison of our LED bulbs (left) and the OEM incandescent bulbs (right):
In addition, we offer an optional, very bright reverse mini light bar that mounts on the license plate screws. It is plug-and-play as well and easy to hook up to one of the taillights. This option also comes with its own how-to video walking you through the installation.
Kits are in stock and live on our website today!
sorry, I don�t. My c2 is in the shop after I was rear ended by a semi last week! It�s not as bad as it sounds, but I want to have it fixed sooner than later!
Looks good. Just bought a kit for my C4S.
I�ll install the left side and then keep the right side stock, then take some photos for comparison for others here.
Just FYI, I have purchased the 996.2 Headlight Harness kits to replace the old, fraying and shorting wires inside the assembly. The kits are perfect fit, install very easily, and are supported with a very professionally -produced step-by-step video guides, and advice.
While working with Adrian on this project, I got to know him firsthand. Few interesting observations:
He answers the calls himself. Returns voice messages within an hour.
He is very knowledgeable, informative, and generous with his time with you
Found hm a very engaging person, and a man of integrity, empathy, and high creativity
Packing and shipping are excellent, and he does not charge exorbitant shipping costs like others do. I have seen vendors requiring shipping cost of $25+ for a $10 part, ground, via any of the carries, He does not.
Other than being a highly satisfied customer, I have no affiliation this company.
ooops i was looking at the "
Porsche 996 wide body taillight LED retrofit kit
"
it's actually "
LED taillight bulb kit for Porsche 996 (wide body)
" which a reasonable cost of $175
ok now i am in!
I found all the LED bulbs I needed for my 996.2 on Temu. Also,
www.superbrightleds.com
, has a handy app to determine the size and spec of each bulb you need for just about any car or truck. More expensive than Temu and digging around on Temu takes time, so Adrian's kits are a quicker solution.
Plus, IMHO, replacing the individual rear bulbs in the rear lights maintains the factory lens so it does not look like the back end of a KIA.
Just sayin'.....
@Adrian Taillights
Do you have any photos of the license plate light bar with the light off in daylight? Curious what it looks like, hard to tell from the photo with it on.
I installed Adrian's kit in my 996. Easy install- the videos included make it super easy. Just a couple of tips:
1. While you're at it, reposition your emergency cable release closer to the edge of the driver's side tail assembly so you can get to it with a pick tool in case your battery dies.
2. Have some contact cleaner on hand. These are old 26 year old bulb sockets that may need a blast of contact cleaner for proper contact with the LED bulbs.
Taking a video doesn't really do the LED's justice because of the way the iPhone camera adjusts. The tail light is way crisper and noticeably brighter. Great upgrade and it's easy to retrofit back to halogens if there is a need.
I bought LED bulbs from Amazon pre Adrian's kits and these are the pics I took of front and rear. I assume it's obvious which side is LED and which is stock.
I assume you mean incandescent rather than halogen
Yes, and even if you aren't planning on switching to LEDs, it's worth taking a look at the stock incandescent bulbs. When I switched to LEDs, the stock bulbs, which I assumed were the originals installed at the factory in 1999 were seriously compromised. They were supposed to be amber but had cracking like 20 y/o window tint and PPF.
Where was this a few years ago?
Proper LED's can make a significant difference in brake light output. I very much like this kit, but already spent way, way too much time, $ and effort selecting quality LED's for the fleet that appear completely stock except for output and those few milliseconds quicker activation; no points of light, flicker, odd color tones, etc. Brake lights cannot be too bright IMHO.
I like the CHMSL light, would have saved me the effort of this which I did when attempting to replace my bulbs and the housing clips started to fail, so I went
quality
LED and sealed it:
Incandescent on body, led on spoiler (both now converted).
FYI Several of the Boxster's rear lights are reverse polarity; the center contact is - and the base shell is +. Irrelevant for incandescent, but matters for LED's. IIRC it is the running and maybe reverse lamps, but I could be mistaken.
Installed mine today, happy with it but a few notes:
1. The reverse lights are the biggest difference. Probably a huge benefit at night if you�re reversing.
2. The rest of the lights are more subtle, but they are more true to color (reds look red vs reddish orange) and there is more �volume� of light for that specific bulb. Turn signals fill out that area of the twilight much better. Same with brake lights.
Overall, happy with it for the price. Other than the reverse light, you�d never know the lights aren�t OEM, which is a huge plus in my opinion. Big enough difference for safety/reversing, subtle enough to not know it�s aftermarket.
If you have a wide body, like my C4S, each taillight has two drains. There are rubber fittings for each drain. Found out I have one missing, so maybe order some before you pull your taillights off. See pic below. Part number is 996.631.451.01 for my C4S.
Another data point for those installing Adrian's kit. My driver's side rear side marker was being finicky in that it will require some twisting for the LED bulb to work. After further investigation, I found the issue was that silicone got into the contact points from the factory. The side markers use a silicone to weather proof the connector (you can see the silicone in the back of the connector). However, in my case, it looks like the silicone seeped into the connector and one of the contact points. I scraped the silicone off the back hoping that there was a way to disassemble the socket (but there wasn't an easy way). So I used a heat gun and a small screwdriver to soften and scrape off the silicone from the contact point. That did the trick and now the side marker LEDs are solid. I replaced the silicone in the back of the socket with candle wax.
Adrian, just got my kit in the mail. Looking forward to upgrading the lights. Plan on watching your video this weekend. Car is in the shop until early next week getting a few items refreshed but will report back on it.
Hope you keep innovating and bringing out more solutions.
Might as well relocate the engine cover wire release so it's easily accessible while you have the driver's taillight off. The one thing I also noticed after installing Adrian's kit was that my 3rd brake light's function is not as instant off/on as the LEDs. Luckily, Adrian sells a kit for that as well.
Any reason to install leds on the rear instead of fresh bulbs apart from the apparent need to blind the people behind you?
I have never had any trouble seeing a traditional brake light on any car that wasn't completely faulty - but I just LOVE stopping behind a led equipped car and have nothing but a full red bloom blasted to my face. Just lovely, brighter for brightness sake.
One exception might be the reverse lights, these usually suck, but are not used in a way to make them annoying.
"need to blind the people behind you" might be a little dramatic. It's a brighter crisper light but far from blinding. Also better visibility in the daytime or when weather conditions are not optimal.
This is a source reference. Confirm exact model applicability in the original material.
