That's really amazing if it would solve the problem some of us having ... it would be grate if u can share the steps and items needed to do this job

 

Please post on this thread it would be nice to be able to use my lights again.

 

yes please, I so want to fix my left tail light going out by itself!

 

I'll put it on this weekend guys.
The fix is cheap & easy to do yourself.
I'll post what's needed & show steps with pics.
Will also show my car with BOTH tail lights on & NO RED exclamation mark in your face all the time!

 

Any news. I'm desperate waiting for a solution.
Thanks very much for sharing

 

I'll get this fix posted tonight. Just been too busy this weekend so far.

 

Okay, now that it's Sunday night ~ 9pm & I promised many of my fellow 997 enthusiasts the fix to the common Dectane problem, here goes.

Now this fix is for Dectane lights, I'm not sure about other lights b/c the wiring harness is probably different on other lights.

The common problem of the red exclamation mark appearing on your instrument cluster along with the message check L (or R) tail light, & then shortly afterward the actual tail light being referred to goes out!!!

If you are getting a different warning code than this, I may have a solution & will get to that later. Please no hi-jackers of this thread fix

I'm going to start explaining this, by telling everyone what items they will need to fix the problem.

Tools & items required for fix

Phillips screwdriver & T25 Torx screwdriver or small ratchet with T25 socket
these are for removing the rear tail lights from your 997.

A stand to place your lights on while still connected to the car, so it has to be about the same height as the tail lights of the car.

Masking tape - used for protecting the paint when you slide the tail light out of place.

2 sided carpet tape - used as an adhesive on the resistors for applying them to the inside of where the light mount.

Basic meter tester or voltage light indicator tester.

4 x basic electrical resistors (6 ohm 50W) I'll post picture of what I used & give a link to a supplier. These could be purchased from any electrical supply store.
http://www.ledssuperbright.com/2-pcs...-ohm-50w-p-143

Along with the resistors 4 T-taps are required to link into the light system wiring harness. Also some wire T-tap connectors along with a couple feet of 14g wire.

Now that we have the required bits, lets get to the fix

 

Take two of the 6ohm 50W resistors & connect them in series like the photo.
I'm no good at soldering so you can use wire connectors if you want, I'm also a bit lazy so I got my resistors from Shane at DelRey Customs. Thanks Shane! Connect the T-tab connectors onto the ends of each resistor. Once done meter your resistor arrangement to check if your connections okay. 6ohm + 6 ohm = 12 ohm on your meter.

 

What I did was first turn my light on (had the battery charger connected on too!)
I used my meter & checked the funtion of each wire. On the Dectane arrangement. The Black wire is ground.

I used some masking tape to make small labels for the wires & their specific function on the light. For instance & a photo will show this, a solid green wire is for the tail light power.

 

When you turn on your lights & start metering, you need to have the tail light illuminated to detect signal on the meter. This requires you to turn the lights ON & OFF a few times because it's unlikely that you will be fast enough to meter the right wires before the light indicated by the code to goes out.

Hint: Look closely at my photos which are labelled & just make sure your lights have the same wire powering the tail light. It's green on my set, you just have to check your set with the meter to MAKE SURE you have the right wire marked.

YOU HAVE TO FIND THE POWER WIRE CONNECTED TO THE LIGHT INDICATED BY THE ERROR CODE For mine it was check L tail light, so that's the wire I was looking for.

 

If you look closely on the photo you will see 3 wires going into the unit. The two wires which have RED T-tab connectors on them are the ones you need to mark. The wire with the white stripe is for the brake light & you don't touch this one. The SOLID GREEN WIRE is the tail light power wire.

 

Now that you have the correct wire identified, separate the white plug, so you will have better access for splicing in your T-tabs

Put one on the BLACK wire & one on the GREEN wire

After you have done this connect up your IN Series Resistors to the T-tabs on the wires. Just make sure you push them in hard enough to ensure a good connection.

Then don't forget to re-connect that white plug!

 

Your arrangement should look something like this.

 

Before you think of putting anything back together, you need to test your fix

Once the resistors are connected in place, turn off ignition, then on & turn on your lights.
Wait for atleast 10 min to see if an error code appears. If you have done everything right & you did the specific side indicated by the warning light, you have fixed the problem because even after a long while the light will remain on. That is why I had my battery charger going as well.

 

Now that the light is working, no error code appearing, & you have had a coffee it's time to get back to work!

Cut small pieces of carpet tape & apply them to the back surface of the resistors. Also the dust out of the tail light enclosure on the body of the car so the resistors can stick.

You will notice in my photo, I also had added the additional resistor that came with the lights. It really doesn't do much of anything because it's for the signal light which was never an issue with my car. Some cars require this & some don't, however it's useless for the tail light going out scenario.

Get your favourite small flash light & look into the tail light enclosure on the car then apply the resistors to the back metal wall of the enclosure.

This is important because these resistors do get warm & when attached to the metal will allow them to dissipate heat.