Pelican Technical Article: Litronic Headlamp Kit Upgrade Wayne R. Dempsey
Time: 4 hours
Tab: $2700
Talent:
Tools:
Ύ hole saw and drill
Applicable Models:
986 Boxster (1997-04)
Parts Required:
Litronic headlamp upgrade kit with wiring harness
Hot Tip:
Good way to upgrade your lamps to clear corners
Performance Gain:
Brighter lamps
Complementary Modification:
Install clear side lamps, headlamp protector film
This article is one in a series that have been released in conjunction with Wayne's new book, 101 Performance Projects for Your Porsche Boxster. The book contains 312 pages of full color projects detailing everything from performance mods to changing your brake pads. With more than 950+ full-color glossy photos accompanying extensive step-by-step procedures, this book is required reading in any Boxster owner's collection. The book is currently available and in stock now. See The Official Book Website for more details.
Check out some other sample projects from the book:
One of the more exciting upgrades you can perform on your Boxster is the installation and upgrade of your lamps to the Bosch Litronic High Intensity Discharge (HID) system. While the poor man's version is detailed in Pelican Technical Article: Budget HID Headlamp Retrofit, this project shows what's involved in installing the factory upgrade kit. There are quite a few compelling reasons why you would want to install the factory Litronic over a retrofit kit like the one detailed in Pelican Technical Article: Budget HID Headlamp Retrofit. Firstly, the factory upgrade kit replaces your entire lamp assemblies. If your existing lamps are getting old, the lenses might begin to appear cloudy. Installing new headlamps with new lenses creates a dramatic facelift for your car. In addition, the Litronic upgrade kit uses the updated clear corners instead of the standard USA-spec orange ones.
It is important to note that the Porsche Litronic upgrade kit is different than the one installed at the factory when the car were new. The factory-installed Litronic option is tightly integrated with the rest of the car's subsystems and as a result has additional features not found on the upgrade kit. The factory-installed kit will adjust the lamps up and down when the car is accelerating or braking, to keep the light pattern aimed at the same level in the road at all times. In addition, the system is integrated with the central computer bus to pass fault codes if there is a problem. These are neat features, but they are not important enough to discourage you from installing the upgrade kit.
The procedure for installation is as simple as replacing the actual headlamp, as detailed in Pelican Technical Article: Replacing Lenses and Blubs / Adding Clear Corners. However, there is an add-on controller module that you can install that will automatically rotate the orientation of the lamps up 1.5 degrees when the high beams are turned on. This change in the beam creates an improved light-filled pattern when the high beams are activated. Installation of this controller module is the primary focus of this project, and is relatively easy if you're somewhat familiar with basic electrical wiring. The Porsche factory installation instructions can be found in Tech Bulletin 9415 for the Boxster.
The first step is to remove the battery cover and disconnect the battery (see Pelican Technical Article: Battery Disconnect Switch / Battery Buddy Installation). Then, remove your old headlamps (see Pelican Technical Article: Replacing Lenses and Blubs / Adding Clear Corners). Unplug and remove the CD changer and/or amplifier from the front trunk if you have one. Remove the spare tire. Now, remove the front trunk liner. It's held on with plastic rivets that will almost guarantee to break. I suggest ordering new ones before you begin, part numbers 999-703-456-40 (qty 1), 999-703-432-40 (qty 8), and 999-703-455-40 (qty 2).
Next, remove the covers on the brake booster (see Photo 1 of Pelican Technical Article: Master Cylinder Replacement), and the right side panel that covers the cabin filter (see Photo 6 of Pelican Technical Article: Air Filter / Pollen Filter Replacement). Drill the wire harness holes as per Photo 3 and 4, and run the wire harness through these holes to the inside of the left and right fender. The left side fender uses the longer portion of the wire harness. Insert the harness through the holes using the supplied grommets to seal around each hole. Next, install the pins into the connectors as detailed in Figure 5. Plug these connectors into the back of the headlamp assemblies and install them back into each fender.
Mount the control unit to the side of the front trunk compartment. Photo 3 shows an ideal spot for it where it will mount well, and be hidden under the front trunk carpet. Install the three wires that power and control the module. Attach the brown wire to ground. The white wire is tapped into the existing white wire in the connector assembly (see Figure 3) - this will signal the module that the high beams are on. The red wire is installed near the battery area where it gets constant power (see Figure 4).
After you install the Litronic kit, you should check the fuses in your fuse panel: they may need to be upgraded. Fuses A9 and A10 should be 15 amp fuses. If they are less than that, then swap them out. If you leave the stock 7.5 amp fuses in place, then they will probably blow under the increased current flow (see Photo 5 of Pelican Technical Article: Roof Rack System (Roof Transport System - RTS)).
Also important to note is that the small corner lenses do not come with the kit: you need to purchase them separately. The corner lenses are different depending upon whether you have a headlamp washer system or not. I recommend purchasing the clear corners instead of the standard unattractive USA-spec amber ones.
Figure 1
This photo shows the complete wiring kit that is required in order to install the factory Litronic headlamps. 1-Electronic control unit, 2-Harness connectors, 3-Wire harness end-pins, 4-Complete wiring harness
Begin the process by drilling a Ύ hole in the inside of the trunk on both the left and right side. Use a standard hole saw available at your local hardware store. The wires for the headlamp will run through this hole. Affix the grommet in place (lower right).
Install the control unit in the front trunk on the left side. Use Velcro or double-sided tape to affix the unit to the side of the trunk in the flat spot shown (green arrow). Thread the shorter of the two headlamp harnesses through the hole you drilled in the sheet metal and affix the grommet in place (yellow arrow). Attach the brown wire from the harness to the ground point (red arrow). Using a standard wire tap connector, tap the white wire from the new Litronic wire harness into the front side of the white wire exiting out of the connector (blue arrows). Finally, route the red wire up the existing wire harness and poke a small hole through the rubber plug in the firewall bulkhead (orange wire).
The red arrow shows the location of where the Ύ hole should go on the left side of the car. The upper left shows a rubber plug located on the firewall, as shown from the side of the bulkhead right next to the battery (green arrow). The red/black wire needs to be tapped into the black/yellow wire that is connected to the plug for the right windshield washer nozzle (yellow arrow).
After threading the wire harness through the Ύ hole that you drilled in the sides of the front truck, place each of the pins into the wire connectors. 1- Pink, 2-Green, 3-Grey, 4-Purple (upper left). Make sure that they are well seated in the connector housing (lower left). Finally, plug them into the back of the Litronic headlamp unit.
Not only do the Litronic Xenon lamps look great at night, but you also get the clear corner look that vastly improves the look of your Boxster. Gone are the unsightly USA-spec orange turn signal lenses. The Litronic lamps use clear corners and orange-colored bulbs.
Comments: You mention changing the fuses from 7.5 to 15 amp if needed.Have not checked mine yet'99 996,but is that risky to change to double the amps or can the original wiring handle the increase?
April 13, 2012
Check out some other sample projects from the book:
