Please help me identify headlight type - 996 Headlights

Hello everybody, I recently bought a 2004 Porsche 911 at an auction and am in the process of sorting it out. Mechanically, the car is sound, so that's good. However, in the process of cleaning my headlights, the plastic reacted poorly to the clearcoat and I trashed my passenger headlight. I am looking to buy one on ebay now to do a lens swap, but in case I need to replace the whole thing, I would really appreciate if you could help me identify what type of headlight I have since there are no part numbers on the headlight itself and I have never seen the car at night. I cannot turn on the car at the moment to see what color the light is because the seats are getting repaired... so it is what it is... any help is appreciated. I am going to try to restore it starting with 80 grit sandpaper tomorrow, but it looks too far gone unfortunately. I feel like an idiot. Thank you - Moerbeck

Thats the none HID style of headlight. The HID style has an integrated headlight washer. Guessing by your user name you are in Europe...if so grab the (Euro) parts catalogue, it will be your friend in this and many more future questions: https://www.porsche.com/all/media/pd...96_KATALOG.pdf (Euro models) https://www.porsche.com/all/media/pd...SA_KATALOG.pdf (USA models) BTW, I would guess you will be able to restore the damaged one OK after a full sand and polish. You'll find some good write ups of the different abrasives and coatings people have used to get a good finish.

Im in Florida even though my name is German! :-) there are no washer nozzles on this one. Are they halogen lights or xenon? It really doesnt look like xenon lights to me but I cant be too certain. Thank you for your help!

Plain Halogens - not Xenon/HID, so not crazy expensive to replace (But still much less expensive to restore it...). Good Luck

Agreed with dporto. Plain old Halogen H7, no washer nozzles. I have them on my 2002.

If it's not cracked or damaged, I would have that one restored. It will need to be sanded with a few different fine grades of sandpaper and paste, but it looks nice and clear, as opposed to yellow, and should turn out great.

That looks like an easy restore job.

Tell us what you used so no one else makes the same mistake.

^Yes!

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First thing that came to my mind!

Do not use the clear coat from Chris Fix's video. It basically clumped up on the headlight... I obviously made it worse by trying to use paint remover to remove the clear.. just a bleeping disaster... I am going to fix it tonight. Thank you for your help!

I used the Sylvania headlight restore kit from AutoZone. It worked well on mine. There are several good threads on headlight restoration. There is a product that is a clear vinyl wrap that has gotten lots of praise. I would use it instead of trying to clear coat. I forget the name of it, but you can find it in several threads on this forum.

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XPel http://www.xpel.com/paint-protection..._US_and_Canada

I agree with the crowd, halogens. Your pictures show (in addition to no washer nozzle) no ballast on the housing or projector inside. I'd hesitate to start sanding with 80 grit; seems a bit aggressive. Try something finer first. I also agree that the xpel covers work well. I put them years ago with no degrading with time. The instructions give two options, one mounting the covering dry and another using an alcohol/water solution so that it can be moved into exact position. I recommend method two, the only disadvantage being that foggy areas will remain for some days until the traces of the trapped mixture fully clear. GLWS

on my 996.1 I had factory xenons without a headlight washer nozzle. Apparently its different for 996.2 3M also makes a clear vinyl protective film that works for the covers

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That�s really odd. Are you sure they weren�t added later? Headlight washers were a DOT requirement for HID headlights.

you are correct, they were taken off another 996.1 and installed on my 99 when I bought it. Was the headlight washer incorporated into the headlight or added on to the bumper cover for a Mk1?

It was in line with the turn signal, incorporated into the headlight. Factory HID headlights also have auto-leveling to prevent dazzling oncoming traffic at night. There are axle sensors for the leveling system.

I really feel like an idiot because I repaired the other headlight and it looks amazing. I just panicked over how the clearcoat reacted to the plastic and by trying to paint strip it instead of just sanding it I made things worst. I sanded it back yesterday starting from 80 grit all the way to 3000. It isn't perfect (some deep scratches show), but the headlight is usable. I am definitely buying at least the lens to fix it. I will take a picture as soon as I get back home... I have seats getting re-upholstered and I am going to start wrapping the entire trims since the previous owner replaced the original interior trim pieces with fake carbon fiber ones and they look hideous. Anyone has any ideas where I can buy aftermarket trim pieces... can't seem to find a place... Thank you very much for your support! Much appreciated! BTW, there aren't aftermarket headlights for the MKII 996... only MKI - that seemed odd to me. Anyone knows of an aftermarket headlight for the MKII?

Good luck with it; I hope you're able to restore it to your satisfaction. To my knowledge, you can't purchase the lens alone. I haven't seen an aftermarket light for the MK II cars. The MK I cars shared headlights with the Boxster, so the market for aftermarket lights was much larger.

I've seen just the lens on eBay for around $100 before. Call DC Automotive http://www.dcautocatalog.com/illustr...ndex/966143513 Or keep checking eBay for headlights/lenses. Be patient and you'll find them on eBay. I waited and nabbed some xenon 996.2 headlights for $250 each. One is for a Turbo, so I occasionally look for a matching headlight. (Turbo or Carerra) Turbo will fit and work, it just doesn't quite match.

I spoke to DC... they don't have anything in stock unfortunately. I am lurking around eBay and found some that are perfect, but they are broken (not the lens, but the headlight) and the seller won't accept anything less than 300 bucks. I might bite the bullet and buy some for about 600 bucks which is the cheapest I found on ebay... or I will lurk some more. The car isn't registered yet - awaiting for a clear title from the county and the seats are getting re-upholstered as of now. I bought a damaged seat that had a great frame and switch that worked, so from 3 crappy seats, we are making 2 good ones... otherwise, car is mechanically in order. Needs a good clay bar job and a polish... I am very excited to get to drive it.

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Ouch. That sucks doesn't it. Unless you're very patient and skilled at this sort of thing, I always tell people to take it to a pro. Our local body shop will make them look like brand new for about $150 per headlight. While that may seem high, its less risky than trying to do it yourself, and unfortunately, the only option for the Mk2 owners is OEM or used. Moerbeck, if you buy one off ebay, make sure you get the halogen type and NOT the HID (i.e. Litronic). Yours are definitely not the Xenon based headlights. The easiest way to look for used replacements is look for one without the headlight washers. For some reason, the Halogen type headlights for the mk2 996 didn't come with lens washers.

Yep - I bit the bullet and bought the broken one off of Ebay for $300. I will take a look at its condition and if it isn't terrible (it didn't look like it was terrible from the pictures) I will lightly sand and buff the lens and do a complete swap. It is what it is... I am taking the L and moving on Thank you for your advice... definitely buying the halogen ones. No Xenons for my car. I don't have a headlight washer and I prefer it that way anyways. Thank you once again!

They could be Porsche Techequipment models from dealer, I had them on my Boxster S, Dealer made me a good deal to get them out of parts inventory. No washers as the Triangle was separate part number. What does you Option code show, that is determining fact.