How to UPGRADE HEADLIGHTS on a Porsche 911 996.1 or Boxster 986 | Halogen to Bi-Xenon HID Conversion
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- Опубликовано: 21 фев 2021
- This video shows you how to install a bi-xenon conversion kit from RetrofitLab into your Porsche 911 996.1 or in my case, your Porsche Boxster 986.1.
It is not a process for the faint of heart, but with this video you should be able to do it! The only instructional video provided by the company is not only incomplete, but it is wrong in places. Mine is a LONG video, but will show you everything you need to know.
No, I don't get a commission or anything from RetrofitLab if you order them, but here is a link to the ones I bought if you are interested:
www.retrofitlab.com/en/porsch...
Here are the options I got:
Version: Aharon Optimus NT - right hand traffic (European, US)
Ballasts: Aharon Ballasts - 35W Speed Start Slim Non Canbus - AMP
Bulbs: D2S 4300K
Shrouds: Panamera - LED (DRL)
Liquid Electrical Tape: amzn.to/3dBUbGD
Spade bit set: amzn.to/3dBNFiR
Power Probe: amzn.to/2OY6dzD
101 Projects for your Porsche Boxster book:
amzn.to/2uZOeyO
986 Service Manual:
amzn.to/2JPdgVr
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This video description contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I'll receive a small commission.
I am a Do It Yourself, also known as DIY, mechanic. I am NOT a professional mechanic. I do not have any formal training in the automotive field.
Help Me DIY assumes no liability for anything you choose to do to your car, before, or after watching one of my videos or utilizing the content from this web site.
All DIY repairs or modifications you perform to your car are made at your own risk. Sometimes, even if you've done everything the right way, you can destroy or damage one or more things on your car. You must understand this, but by leveraging knowledge and patience, the probability of encountering one or more problems can be reduced.
Also, if for some unfortunate reason, I do give incorrect instructions and something breaks because you followed my instructions, I will NOT reimburse or pay in any way for whatever cost that may be incurred due to following my wrong instructions.
Lastly, please don't do anything to your car unless you yourself feel comfortable and confident in doing so. 
Авто/Мото
Impressive result.
+Michael Welschmidt thanks! I’m happy with it.
Thanks. You convinced me I didn’t want to get into this project 😊
+Michael Scott haha I don’t blame you!
One of the best videos for Porschelovers. I would like to have those lights too. There are thousands of Boxters out there with burned lenses! GOOD JOB!
+luchris747 thanks! Still loving them ❤️
I just ordered this kit. I didn't exactly know what specs to pic, so having yours was very helpful. Thanks for the honest review. Will follow up once done.
+Shane Thompson yes please let me know!
Well done! Just picked up a 1999, and have watched a bunch of your videos! I'll put up a few videos and link back to ya. Couple of items in here for the next person taking this on: The ground for the daytime running lights could terminate inside the light assembly, so only the power wire protrudes. Use of a T tap, or quick-splice snap connector for hooking up the dimming wire (and ground) would save a bit of time, and no soldering! Cheers!
+Patrick Mariani that would be great, thanks!
Good day sir I really enjoyed your video because I thought I was stuck with these old style headlights and now I am going to order the retrofit lab kit for my 996. Respectfully sir, I understand the use of liquid electrical tape however, the way that I do repairs such as that is to clip the wire, slide on some heat shrink, which you can get in various colors, then solder them back together, using flux. It is a very clean and durable repair. That is very neat and safe for the wires without any mess. I hope this helps. There are many videos and instruction on how to solder and heat shrink connections. I use this on nearly every wiring repair that I have to do on my Harley Davidson, it is nearly necessary because of all of the moving vibrating characteristics. I cannot imagine repairing them any other way. Also, in the video I noticed that you could have potentially gotten to the ball and socket mounting points by removing the housing, electrical connection and unscrewed both of the ball joints before popping them out. However, the way you did it worked and I am very excited to do this modification to my car. Excellent video and thank you for sharing. Have a blessed day, sir.
Thank you and good luck in your conversion! Let us know how it goes 🍻
I kept on waiting for the wire insulation to disintegrate, like they did on mine. LOL.
Good job!
+Fred Larracuente 😂 thanks!
Not something that I'd choose do on mine but they do look very impressive and you've done a great job👍
Always enjoy your vids BTW.
+jon edgar appreciate it, thank you!
Thanks to your video I was able to do this, I don't know how I would have done it without your tips. Took me about 4hrs on the first light then 3hrs on the second light. They seemed to have fixed a couple issues, they do send double sided tape and the small screws in the kit I purchased late June '21 as well as the butyl tape.
+Jason Burrell that’s awesome! Glad they took my advice :) 🍻
Hi The white Cap with the ball joint at the end is a blank for a manual headlight levelling motor that is controlled by a wheel switch next to the light switch in the car for the 996.1 European models, great !
+Nathan Dan oh really? Thanks for the info!
Great video!
+Jan Bauer Thank you, and thanks for your help Jan!
They look nice and good job on video. When I switched my bulbs to LED I had the same problem with the wire flaking. I tried the liquid wire covering but wasn’t confident with it, so I rewired the harness. I did a similar thing to my pickup and drilled the 1” hole for the rubber boot. I ended up getting moisture in my assembly so I would suggest to put silicone over the rubber boot to make sure it is moisture tight.
+Dutch K9 thanks! And thanks for the silicone tip. 🍻
Great video bud!
+David Mihalic thank you sir! 🍻
@@HelpMeDIY when you had the lenses off, isnkt possible to wet sand the amber off?
@@e55_wagon yes I believe a lot of people do that.
Have to hand it to you Aaron, your not afraid to tackle anything. Great video. By the way I just ordered the Joe Toth spoiler yesterday.
+Kevin Sheehan thanks man! I figure what’s the worst I can do? Break it and have to pay for a new light or a real mechanic to fix it? Well, that’s what I’d be doing anyway if I didn’t try it myself 😉
+Kevin Sheehan oh and I know you’re going to love the spoiler!
@@HelpMeDIY Your right about that. I try to do everything myself. Just had the CV joints replaced, didn't want to tackle that myself, but anything else I'm game for within reason. Keep up the vid's and I told Joe you recommended me.
@@ksheeh I don’t get any kickbacks or anything from him but I hope I’ve helped get him a lot of business because he has a great product!
@@HelpMeDIY Absolutely Aaron, just figured I'd mention you as a previous customer.
thanks, tons of helpful info.. love that you included the goof ups... helps us to possibly avoid the same. tc :)
+Scott Shrader you’re welcome! Yeah the wrong way is also important to know sometimes 😆
Looks way better than those chintzy aftermarket LED headlights imo, not sure I fancy doing it myself though, enjoyed the "enlightening" pun at the end.
Thanks!
Good day, sir I noticed, as you were talking about the failed lifter that the upper camshaft or the intake camshaft on that bank with all the damage was extremely rusty, which probably caused the big hole in the lifter and its failure. Pieces from the lifter probably got trapped between the camshaft on the exhaust side as it was turning, and Broke the valve cover where the small hole is and the initial shock of that inertia broke the chain and caused your bent valves. It’s very unlikely that you have any damage to the connecting rods from bent valves, but I would definitely have them checked for straitness at a reputable machine shop after you disconnect them from the crankshaft. The pistons, unless they are cracked which again is highly unlikely should be able to be cleaned and reused. I would definitely replace the rings, rod and main bearings, and make sure you clean the wrist pins very well, because upon installation they need to be able to slide into the pistons very easily. I noticed you also said you wanted to cut the bend off of the retaining clips for the wrist pins. I would absolutely not do that because the installation tool uses that tang to assist you in installation. There is a great video on RUclips, where a guy uses a broom handle to do just that. The broom handle is modified on the end to install the pin retaining clip into the piston pin hole. I think because you’re already into this engine deeply. If you spend the money to rebuild this engine correctly then you will have an exceptional car with only 80,000 miles and a brand new engine. That being said if you’re not keeping the car and you’re doing this to sell it, I would, as mentioned before, either part it out, or find a good running cheap Boxster engine. You would be money ahead, finding a rack with a good motor. However, if you are keeping the car straight to use for content , then why not build it with good parts and make it right. At the end of the day you have to consider that it is a boxter with a tip, Tronic transmission, and really isn’t worth all that much. What would be cool is some experimentation with maybe some dish top pistons and a power after such as a turbo. Then it would be a fantastic track day car. I look forward to seeing what you do with it, and watching the videos of the rebuild. I love it that you are tackling all of these things with your car and producing great content and entertainment. Even though you’re learning as you go, it is absolutely good video. Good luck and God bless.
Thanks so much for the kind words. It’s definitely a great learning experience for me as well as the viewers I think 😉🍻
that ball is a design for active lighting system, it is where a motor is placed to adjust the headlight beam tilt automatically
+millionaire idealist yes! I just realized that the other day when I was reading the technical manual about the Litronic lights and saw a motor mounted there. I guess it’s just essentially a plug for an unused accessory for Halogen headlights. Thanks for posting the info!
@@HelpMeDIY btw, i actually converted my 996 tt hid to led, its cooler, friendly on plastic headlights and consumes less power. i chose the braided heatsink design so it can protude out together with the heat. light is so intense! i love it!
@@millionaireidealist4459 Nice! I love these compared to the halogens for sure.
Man, that's a ton of work.
+NoComment NoName it is! But it looks so much better now.
@@HelpMeDIY How about swapping out the old for units from 2004 model which I believe will fit.
@@nocommentnoname1111 that’s pretty much the same light
@@HelpMeDIY I was just thinking that it would be much easier taking out one unit and replacing it with another. Have the same exact Boxter and am thinking about the upgrade.
Dave, a very helpful video! you commented about the change in spacers. I have not heard from the manufacturer on them. Did you wind up using the original sizes (20mm and10mm) or did you end up with the change (30mm and 20mm)? Also, did you ever implement the daytime running light function?
+Bob Trimpe who’s Dave? 😆
I used whatever I showed in the video (don’t remember sizes now). Never did the DRL option.
Thanks for the look.
My Boxster has the cracked/yellow stock lights from hot bulbs. They look bad....
But that looks like a helatious job.
How motivated am I?
+blairman Stevo201! I feel you on the dilemma! The good thing is that with this video you know exactly what you need to do so there is no uncertainty ;)
Awesome documentation of a very complex upgrade! It's unfortunate that the original instructions were so lacking.
The only thing I don't like about this kit is the "black hole" around the projectors, making the internals of the headlight visible. I would be much more interested in this kit if there were some type of silver reflector to feel the gap and make it look more like the stock lights. Is there any possibility to reuse/modify the stock reflector to fill the gap?
+Project Biehlmeister thanks! I never notice the “black hole” as you call it, so I’ve never looked for or even thought about a possible mod for it. 🤷♂️
Great! The black liner at 55 min in, where can you get new ones? Mine are destroyed. Also, do you think that the orange lenses could have been scrapped to mêle it clear? And does the fog light work as well?
+Francois Ducharme I heard that they had stopped selling them but then somebody else mentioned today that you can get them at pelican parts. Orange lens CAN be sanded down to clear. Fog lights should still work though I haven’t actually tested them (or ever turned them on come to think of it)
Great video and great detail buddy , the end result looks really modern , but what a horrid quality kit.
+Mike G thanks! I think the quality is actually good, it was just the companies execution on getting me the right parts that was awful 😣
hello , I love your videos , well on my go around o broke the little white thing your holding at time index 9:26 do you have any ideal where i can get one or four :) also i cooked my for 30 minute at 220 popped open crazy easy :) thank you
+William Axenfield thanks! Best bet would probably be finding a trashed set of headlights and cut it open. I doubt the part is sold at a dealer but you could also check that.
Aron I've the Litronics on my 986 S, and sure would like to upgrade them to all LED. I really do not want to put out 1k or more for LED lights and a kit would be nice. Do you know of one or Is it even possible. I upgraded all the other bulbs in the head lights to LED except for the low beam and they look super and very bright. The high beams will take a LED very nicely. Thanks and well done.
+otter25702 I don’t know if a way to swap LEDs into a litronic. Sorry
Am about to tackle this job myself Aaron. Any hints before I start?? 😂
+ItsKenAllen75 yes. Watch the whole video and double check that they sent you ALL the parts and that they are correct! Good luck my friend :)
the white ball question.... could it be that the ball isn't exactly centered, and by turning it, relieves some pressure? just a thought.
+@gumpster66 🤷♂️ 😆
The lights look fantastic. However, the small triangle needs to be replaced with a sprayer because when they get dirty they will blind others.
+Tomasz S thanks!
Are you using the LEDs on the shroud? Not sure that I like them. I’d like to keep as OEM look as possible and still get an improved visual performance. Moving to Litronics seems a hassle without the leveling sensors.
+MiegmaishMenas yea I am. I love the look!
@@HelpMeDIY is there a place to see more of your boxster? Day time, night time, etc. Like instagram or something? I know you have a channel with hundreds of videos :D but in most of them you can see a part of the car, difficult to find what you want :)
@@MiegmaishMenas haha yeah I have a video where I walk around it and go over all the upgrades (at the time) and instagram is @helpmediy_official
that looks awesome. do they ship to the USA?
+gary g yes, that’s where I am. I actually have an extra set to sell. Message me on IG or FB if you’re interested.
Hello Aaron. I have a 1997 boxster and it is equippped with xenon and washer. I was wondering that is from factory or it is an upgrade made by someone else. Did they started to put xenon from 1997 ?
+Mihai Munteanu good question. I’m not sure. I would guess if it has the washers then it may be factory just because I don’t know who would bother installing that themselves 😂. Thanks for asking though!
in 1997 they had the xenon as an option (very expensive one) . I got a 2002 with this option as well and I am stuck with the ugly washers :D
@@cosboc5719 My condolences :P
What's that ring called on the front lip ofyour car for towing/hauling also how do I remove key cylinder from driver's side door?
+Scorsese Sneakercon Don that’s a tow hook. I’ve never removed it so I can’t give you any guidance on the key cylinder.
Good day, sir additionally, that tow hook should be in the tool kit that comes with your car. It literally screws into a socket inside the bumper and is very easy to install. You will find a small plastic cover on your bumper cover that can be removed to expose the socket. In addition to remove the lock cylinder from your door, you have to remove the door panel, and there should be a clip or fastener on the inside, connecting the cylinder to the door , when you remove the clip or fastener, the lock cylinder will come out from the outside and you can remove it that way. Be advised there will be a rod connected to the lock cylinder on the inside that you will have to disconnect as well before you can pull the cylinder out of the door. I hope this helps or have a blessed day.
Great video! Why did you go with bixenon vs LED?
+Chris McCann thanks! Because I liked the kit 🤷♂️
@@HelpMeDIY I noticed that retrofit lab sells a similar kit but it's LED instead.. not sure if that was an option when you ordered. It's not totally clear to me which one is better
@@ChrisMcPorsche yeah I'm not sure... I don't remember seeing it to tell you the truth.
well I went ahead with conversion on my 2001 996, and after many hours i had sucess with low and high beams which work fantastically, have to say, the quailty of the product from retrofit lab is tops. but, ive no luck with getting the daytime running lites to work at all, the instructions from retrofit are vague, so im at a loss now, having tried numerous options, so any advise on how to hook up the small red, black, and white wires would be very helpfull
+richard metcalfe yeah seemed more complex than it was with to me too 😆
so did you get running lites working?, i cant figure the correct way to get them on, tried many different hook ups
@@user-cm7sc7gy3r no, I never tried
I'm not 100% on it, but I think that ball and the socket are part of the self-leveling system on the headlamps.
+Brad Emery 🤷♂️
@@HelpMeDIY also, your upgrade looks fantastic!
I did this to mine a few years ago, but not with a kit- Just a couple cheapo no-name bi-xenon projectors, and LED halos that fit the shrouds (ended up wiring those as parking lamps). I may have to replace the halos, soon. Not looking forward to removing the outer lenses again. I used the oven method and some plastic pry tools last time, which worked pretty well.
@@modvavet yeah it’s not fun!
Aaron, I noticed that you touched the projector dome with your hands accidentally during the installation-is important to make sure that they are clean before sealing the headlight?
+Viktor Klang yes I bumped it with my palm while installing the shroud. I assume is like most bulbs that don’t want any oils on because they get hot, but honestly their video made zero mention of this. I did wipe it down though afterwards.
@@HelpMeDIY Good! The end result looks fantastic. From a product PoV I'd preferred if they had included a molded or 3-printed new back cover so one wouldn't have to make arbitrary holes in the original one.
@@viktor_klang I would prefer a lot of different things... for example some COMPLETE and CORRECT instructions 😂
@@HelpMeDIY :D Agreed-I've given up on such things TBH. Not one single things I've installed on my 986S has been with excellent instructions from the manufacturer. :D
@@viktor_klang they really need to hire me 😉
Why didn’t you just wire up your DRL to side light connection? As it looks like you are not using that bulb anymore.
Great video by the way.
+Zaheed Sankriwala that is how they do it in their video, but if you do that then you have to use the physical headlight switch to turn your parking lights on for the daytime running lights to be on. I’m going to wire it so they automatically come on when I start the car
@@HelpMeDIY fair enough
Too bad you can't get rid of the amber lens as Porsche did in the '02
+Uncle Fjester I have clear corners now and there IS a way to sand off the headlight amber, but I haven’t gone that far
Cool how much just curious?
+Sean Denny should be a link in the description
Sadly, not an option (legally) for those of us in the UK, as regulations require the car to be fitted with a type-approved headlamp unit plus washers and auto-levelling.
People still - illegally - sell conversion kits, and, technically, these should fail the annual roadworthiness inspection...I wonder how many do, though?
+Tony Fisk that’s a shame since it sounds like the stock ones don’t meet those requirements either 🤷♂️
@@HelpMeDIY US stock requirements may not be the same as European, but the wiring diagrams I have show levelling and washers on both US and RoW cars. What appears to be missing on the US version?
@@tonyfisk8081 my stock lights didn’t have washers and were not auto leveling
@@HelpMeDIY Sounds like our lighting laws are a bit stricter!
Like for music free video
+Саша 5 лет so simple yet so nice, right?! 😆
Be really helpful if you said how much those were compared to buying a pair of totally in the box likes how much money you say that would be interesting
+Sean Denny good point. I’ll try to start mentioning prices more.
thi is a dicey operation at best. before you do it understand that a lot more can go WRONG than RIGHT trying this
+Danial Howe I think that’s true of almost any Automotive project 😂
What a royal pain, can't imagine it could possibly be worth the effort. The lack of instructions, the wiring that changes color, the extra bulb left inside all seem Mickey mouse, not to mention the cost. There must be a better cleaner way.
+Richard Calon if you find one let me know! 😁