This is too funny, I went through this not too long ago and here is this thread! I did exactly what everyone has done with the screw driver to the terminals. I guess it's more common than I thought and mine was also on the drivers side. Gotta love the support from this forum.

 

My drivers side just went out (blinking fast no indication front or rear). Plan to just look at the pins before replacing a bulb...will report back in a few days. Thanks.

 

I pulled the headlamp assembly per the attached instructions. The bulb filament looked fine so I went and bent the tabs on the bottom and sides of the female part (see first picture). I also bent the one tab on the inside of the headlight assembly (second picture). Upon reassembly everything was very snug and worked fine. I hope the instructions and pictures help.

 

I just wanted to thank all the guys who contributed to this list.
I had the same issue on the driver side, using the pictures posted
I took out part and using a dremel tool cleanup the contacts corners.

All is well again and the blinker is bright as ever.

Thanks,

 

More thanks to the 6speed community. Same problem except mine was on the passenger side. I pulled apart and tweaked the pins and prongs and after about the 6th or 7th combination, success. Didn't think it would be so trying. As Jimmy V said - Don't give up, don't ever give up.

 

MANY THANKS to all on this thread. I finally got the turn signal working again after bending the contact "pads" (on the headlight housing) toward the center to enhance the contact. These are spring steel and need to be bent a little more than you'd think (otherwise they'll spring right back to their original position). I also scraped contact areas thoroughly with a small screwdriver. Thanks!!

 

Same issue same solution thanks for everyone with information in here.

The contacts I bent outwards where in the light assembly socket for the turn signal once I removed the lightbulb holder cap. There are two tabs that can be bent to contact more firmly with the turn signal light holder cap. I also put some connector spray on the cap for good measure now it works and I have the fix... 5 Minutes.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ml#post3999025

 

i just had to re-do mine. seems elec contact which created some fusing of the plastic to the contact? and i had to scape it off so cleaner contact was made. all is well again

if i have to bend the contacts again? new part.

 

To all who posted here, thanks very much, as the advice has really saved me time and money.
To maybe just add some more context, and for anyone else that has a 996 with glazing on headlights, my problems all started when I took the headlights out to refurb them. Refurb went well, but afterwards offside and then near side indicators started to malfunction as described.
Offside was first, and I cleaned the contacts which resolved the problem. Then the near side started, and I couldn't resolve the problem no matter how much I cleaned contacts.
Long story short, I extensively cleaned all contacts, including those for the bulb itself, but it was only bending the actual contact points within the female headlight connector that worked. Also, definitely bend in towards the centre point between the two strips of metal contacts, not outwards.
Finally, trial and error, as described here was best, as the first two tentative "bends" made no difference, but on the third push, success.
Don't know if this helps because I'm only adding to what everyone else has helpfully written, but hey ho.
Thanks again everyone.

 

^ this continues to be one of the few things i can ( ahem ) "repair" on my own. still gave some satisfaction i have to say lol

 

So how about a headlight refurb DIY? There might be one I didn't search.

 

I had the driver side 'fast blinker' problem too. I changed the bulb, but could not fix the problem. I consulted the internet & came to this forum & thread. It took me reading only 4 posts to get the gist of the fix… THANKS SO MUCH.

Based on the suggested fix, I carefully inspected both contacts on the male bulb housing. Sure enough, one showed minor burnishing of the contact & a roughened contact surface. At this contact there is also minor melting of the plastic that's in direct contact with the metal contact.

This must be the high side of the lamp & there must be intermittent contact that is actually heating the contact & the leaf spring. This localized heating is the culprit, the cause of the failures! The contact heats up, its surface roughens, it transfers heat to the leaf spring & the spring relaxes over time. This heating causes the melting of the plastic at the high side contact also.

Very unusual, indeed. And there's probably another contributor or two to the failure onset.

Thanks again.

 

^ same issue. melted the plastic

 

i NEED to add my 2c AND a huge Thank You to all of you who offered solutions. Quite some while ago I had my left front turn signal fail and it was just a matter of the center contact for the bulb needing to be pulled out so that it was firmly contacting the bulb. Easy.

Unfortunately my car sits too much so I tend to lose touch with various small things on this car. After a period of storage I brought it back to life with a PMS [Preventative Maintenance Service] and thought all was well. While driving I realized my left front turn signal had crapped out again. EZ, right/ I just removed the light unit, pulled the bulb and again gave the center a slight bend so it was tighter. Results- nothing. So ...

I reread all of this and noted the side connectors.. so I bent them out and .. nothing. I played with this for far longer than it takes for an oil and filter change but it still wasn't working. Finally I pulled the right side light assy out and swapped the 2 bulbs+ insert units.. just to see [I have expeienced failed bulbs with seemingly perfect filaments before and it would double check the insert assembly too. OK_ I still had my right turn signal as normal. I checked everything again on the left, plugged it all in and...nothing. arrrrgh.

At this point I found myself thinking I drive it so little perhaps it doesn't matter that much. After slapping myself for lack of endurance I stopped and reconsidered..everyting. All looked good.

FINALLY I realzied.. the plug in connector unit on the right side unit had a .. push in and a tight but nice seal and it seemed that it was turning -as in twisting in place- further than the left unit. I pulled the light unit again.. and checked it. It seemed it was not as tight fitting on the insert BUT very firm on turning- twisting- it into positiion. So.. I took a very wide blade screwdriver, inserted it and gave it a bit more force..and it slipped into place! I ..think.. I got the contacts on the light housing bent a bit too much. There is so little to grip with using my fingers that it felt like I was solidly locking it into the full locked- and connected- postion. SO, as far as I can determine the problem was that dummie hadn't rotated it far enough to make the connection!

BTW, while playing with this I had plenty of opportunity to think about what is causing this. I am an old hand at DIY car stuff and never experienced a situation quite like this. What I am thinking is that these light units sit directly above the side radiators and when you pull the headlight units you can look directly down at the side radiators. [This could be a handy way of inspecting them if you think one might be leaking?] The point here is these radiators generate a fair amount of HEAT and I suspect this is affecting the plastic and/or tension on the rather delicate contact bits. Just a thought.

Thanks again for your information and perhaps my experience might help someone else.

JR

 

^ well said. SOMEthing is causing the contacts to "fuse" and melt the plastic. perhaps it IS the proximity to a rad!? who knows, but good thought.