Carrera Instrument Cluster Transplant To Boxster

[Paul Fraser]

If you find anywhere with lots of secondhand LHD surrounds, let me know -- it would probably be worth my time getting it sent across the pond.

[Tool Pants]

I made these labels a few years ago on my Boxster when someone else was asking questions about a 996 cluster swap.

The 996/986 covers are different. The 996/986 surrounds are different. A 996 surround with not work with 986 cover.

If you want to go with a 996 surround so that you do not have to cut your 986 surround, then you will also have to buy a 996 cover.

In the second picture 1999 Boxster owner Savinor went with a 996 cover and surround when he did the swap.

[Paul Fraser]

OK, I took the cluster out last night to have a look and noticed a couple of things

(a) I think if you cut to the right angled part on the back of the surround you will have a gap between the edge of the carrera cluster and the surround. The cluster doesn't seem to go right up the the ridgeline.

(B) notwithstanding that, I'm not sure I'll be able to cut/dremel the plastic without leaving an obvious cutline at the sides of the cluster -- you know what plastic is like if you bend or break it, it goes white. I assume this will happen if you dremel it. Aluminium rings might be a way of masking this but I believe that the 996 rings won't fit on a modified surround -- can anyone confirm this?

Think I am going to wait to see if I can get a secondhand one to practice on, or, alternatively, get a 996 surround (but I take TP's point about the latter probably being prohibitively expensive, especially a Boxster red one).

Wasn't a complete waste of time as I wired in the connection for a three lever OBC stalk I'm going to fit this weekend (hopefully).

Edited April 10, 2007 by Paul Fraser

[whall]

Paul,

I found that fitting the Carrera instrument cluster to the Boxster instrument surround to be the single most time consuming part of the retrofit. I can only suggest that you mark the back of the Boxster instrument surround as carefully as you can and start grinding. I can't think of a way to make the process dead accurate and painless. I found, as I got closer and closer to the final cut configuration, I started making smaller and smaller cuts and more and more trial fits. And, as I got closer to the final fit, I tried to bevel the edge of the the instrument surround to try to match the angle of the gage bezels. As you can see in the photograph showing the final installation, there is a significant gap between the instrument cluster and the instrument surround at the lower arc of the oil pressure gage. As I mentioned, the 120 grit sanding band will remove material very quickly. I did not experience any problems with the plastic turning color or leaving any evidence, on the edges of the surround, of having been reshaped.

I think trim rings for the Carrera instrument cluster will fit IF you are willing to cut the surround about an eighth of an inch grater radius than required for a normal fit. (I was happy to just get the fit good enough to assemble the two pieces.) The Boxster instrument surround has a shallower contour from the left and right edges toward the center of the surround. Thus, the rims of the Carrera voltmeter and oil pressure gage don't project as far forward from the fascia as they would in a Carrera instrument surrround. (The Carrera instrument surround is more deeply "cupped" on the left and right edges.) If you made the radius of the cuts a little larger, I think there would be room to mount the trim rings.

Having a Carrera instrument surround/cover would be the deluxe route. If you can find the Carrera bits and pieces, don't forget to get the Carrera hazzard light button/switch assembly and surround. While the black plug is common to both the Boxster and the Carrera, the button/switch assemblies are different.

Listening to the whine of the Dremel reminded me of the dentist saying, "this won't hurt a bit." Good luck.

Cheers,

Bill

[Paul Fraser]

Thanks for your helpful followup. Still don't think I'll grind the original but I'll have a go at a spare when I get one.

[Cloudsurfer]

I just completed this mod as well. Very straightforward install, and thank you for the help. A couple things I noticed:

1. I did the mod on an 02 Boxster S with a cluster from an 02 Carerra 2.

2. The "idiot light only" stock oil sender is a 24mm fastener, not a 22mm, at least on my car.

3. I did not have to check for a bulb in the convertible top annuciator, since in both the old and new cluster, they are all LED.

4. I chose to not risk damage to the oil sending wire and rather than route it under the shifter assembly, ran it to the side zip tied to the Eclipse iPod cable.

If you have the time to do this mod, I highly recommend it!

Patrick

[whall]

Patrick,

Thanks for the input. You are correct, the wrench size is 24 mm for the stock oil pressure transmitter. That will teach me not to rely on my memory. The mind is a terrible thing :D . I've edited the thread to reflect the proper wrench size.

You are also correct about the LED's in the annunciator panel on the "improved" Carrera instrument cluster. Owners of MY97-MY00 Boxsters using MY98-MY01 Carrera instrument clusters will still have to insure all of the light bulbs are installed. And, I've still got an issue with my car concerning the convertable top indicator light not illuminating when the top is in motion.

Do you have any photographs of the routing of the new wire in your car? There is a forum member in Dallas with a Tiptronic who may find your process better (easier) because of the difference in shifter assemblies. Did you use the existing Boxster instrument cluster surround and cover? And, did you have any issues with the radio other than needing the appropriate code?

Please add anything you can think of to make the retrofit easy and risk free for the others who are on the cusp of making the desision.

Cheers,

Bill

[Tool Pants]

I spoke to a local mechanic about the top indicator light not working. He said that when a 996 cluster is replaced it has to be coded, and part of the coding is to select cab or coupe.

[Thumper]

I would suggest that you not spend any more time or money on trim parts until you can get that 996 cluster working on your Boxster.

You are going from a 2001 Boxster to a 2002 996 cluster with unknown specifications. I do not know anyone who has updated like this.

Too late, I spent the money on trim parts, installed the 2002 996 cluster w/ unknown specs into a 2001 Boxster and wha-la, it works just fine.

Lucky me. :D

I do have to admit that the first cluster I tried was a bad one, but the second one worked great. I still need to get the cluster coded to let it know that it is in a cab so the top light will work, but tholyoak was kind enough to share the procedure. I am taking his instructions to RUF to have them code the cluster and then it all will work. I also did the 4 stalk OBC hack at the same time (great DVD's - made the job a breeze). The dot matrix display is very cool. I need to take a pic of the cluster with the engine running to show all the gauges lit up. Thanks to Bill for an excellent write up and for his continued help and support throughout the entire process. :clapping:

[whall]

There has been one nagging glitch since I installed the MY02 Carrera C2 Coupe instrument cluster in my MY03 Boxster. The "top in motion" warning light wouldn't illuminate either in the test mode or while the top was in motion. I initially thought it might be because there were missing light bulbs. But, it was then pointed out that MY02 and later Carrera instrument clusters have LED's instead of light bulbs.

The problem is, even though there is no differentation among the three Carreras (Coupe/Targa or Cabriolet) as far as the instrument cluster part numbers go, the instrument cluster in the Cabriolet has to be specifically coded so it knows that it's car has a convertable top....not to mention pop-up roll bars. The coding is done with a PIWIS or PST2. But, nothing is that simple. As far as I can tell, after spending considerable time and effort, the Carrera instrument cluster can only be coded to turn on the top in motion light when it is installed in a Carrera.

Initially, the PIWIS was hooked up to my Boxster and a control module search was done only to find out that the instrument control module had a question mark and wouldn't allow the Porsche technician access to change anything. Later, prior to doing the control module search, the type order code was changed from US Base Boxster 986310 to that of a US Carrera Cabriolet....996310 (996311 ROW). That allowed the technician access to enter the instrument cluster control module. But he still couldn't code the "convertable top" function. It is my belief that the Boxster's DME wouldn't allow the PIWIS to change any of the Carrera instrument cluster parameters.

Finally, I found a Carrera that I could use for a temporary instrument cluster swap. It happened to be an MY03 Cabriolet C4 (more about that in a second) but any Carrera could be used provided that before the control module search was done, the type order code was verified to be or changed to 996310. The type order code on the Cabriolet C4 was found to be 996610....so, although it was a Cabriolet, the type order code was changed to 996310 to eliminate any instrument cluster problems with the C4 fuel quantity gauge system.

These are the steps we followed to successfully code the instrument cluster:

1. Temporarily installed my instrument cluster in the Cabriolet.

2. Hooked up the PIWIS and changed the type order code to 996310.

3. Turned on the ignition switch to the position 2 ("run") and noted the warning lights illuminated less the top in motion light.

4. Did a control module search.

5 Selected and opened "instruments".

6. Selected "convertable top" and saved it.

7. Looked at the warning light panel on the instrument cluster and was disappointed not to see the desired results.

The long and the short of it was that we tried that routine several times with both a PIWIS and a PST2....and even got out the service manual. When we couldn't determine why we were not getting the warning light to illuminate, we started putting everything back to it's original condition in each car (including resetting the Cabriolet's type order code). When I reinstalled my instrument cluster in my Boxster, I found that the top in motion light illuminated - both in the test and operational modes! On further thought, I think the first attempt to code the instrument cluster probably did the trick. The reason we didn't see the top in motion warning light illuminated is that it and the air bag warning light are only illuminated for about 5 seconds when the ignition key is turned to position 2 provided there are no faults with their associated systems. Had I thought to turn the ignition from position 2 to OFF and back to position 2, the instrument cluster logic would have been reset for another 5 second cycle and we would have seen the top in motion warning light.

Interestingly, my MY02 Carrera C2 Coupe instrument cluster part number is 996.641.223.00.70C; the part number of the MY03 Carrera C4 Cabriolet was 996.641.223.02.70C. The current part number listed for MY02+ Carreras is 996.641.223.03.70C. Except for the suffixes to the basic part number indicating current modification status, i.e., .01., .02., .03., it seems as though a Carrera instrument cluster is a Carrera instrument cluster....at least for non-turbos.

I hope this is a help for those who are either doing or contemplating doing this modification and doesn't stop anyone from considering it. Obviously, an instrument cluster from a Cabriolet would be ideal; the real "plug and play" installation.

I would like to solicit any information or experiences members might have had with this project.

Cheers,

Bill

Edited October 29, 2007 by whall

[LowFlyR]

I got my 996 cluster couple days ago. Today I'll try to put it in, wish me luck. It is from C4S so I might have a problem.... :rolleyes:

[LowFlyR]

Do I run into some kind of legal problem if I do NOT change the mileage?

I know that DMV will notice that, but if I document the change it will show buyers later what was done...

Any ideas?

[Tool Pants]

I would not be concerned with the mileage issue yet.

Put it in and see if it works as a start. Not supposed to use a C4 cluster because of the fuel gauge issue, so I do not know what your plans are for that.

[LowFlyR]

I would not be concerned with the mileage issue yet.

Put it in and see if it works as a start. Not supposed to use a C4 cluster because of the fuel gauge issue, so I do not know what your plans are for that.

I've heard that mentiond before, but what is the issue?

Whall said "Interestingly, my MY02 Carrera C2 Coupe instrument cluster part number is 996.641.223.00.70C; the part number of the MY03 Carrera C4 Cabriolet was 996.641.223.02.70C. The current part number listed for MY01+ Carreras is 996.641.223.03.70C. Except for the suffixes to the basic part number indicating current modification status, i.e., .01., .02., .03., it seems as though a Carrera instrument cluster is a Carrera instrument cluster....at least for non-turbos. "

So I'm confused, I might try it today.

[Loren]

C2 and C4 differ as the gas tanks/gauges are different (4 wheel drive).

[LowFlyR]

C2 and C4 differ as the gas tanks/gauges are different (4 wheel drive).

I know, but how is that gonna affect my display? (which is all over the place nowadays already)

Edited October 28, 2007 by LowFlyR

[Loren]

Fuel gauge will likely be wrong.

[LowFlyR]

Fuel gauge will likely be wrong.

Any idea which way? Or am I gonna be the first one to try?

[LowFlyR]

Fuel gauge will likely be wrong.

So you are saying that Whall was wrong?

[Loren]

I guess so. A Carrera cluster is not a Carrera cluster.

Carrera clusters differ for 2WD and 4WD as well as 6 speed and Tiptronic. It is wrong to think that any part number like ....01 and .....02 have any relation to each other.

[LowFlyR]

I guess so. A Carrera cluster is not a Carrera cluster.

Carrera clusters differ for 2WD and 4WD as well as 6 speed and Tiptronic. It is wrong to think that any part number like ....01 and .....02 have any relation to each other.

I guess we'll see next weekend. I've no spare car today, so I better wait... Thanks Loren.

[whall]

Loren,

I generally don't argue law with a lawyer or medicine with a doctor. Armed with little knowledge it can be dangerous to do so, but.... :D

According to the parts manual (on line and at my dealer), beginning with MY02, the Carrera C2/C4 instrument clusters are the same. The parts manual does show different part numbers for MY99-MY01 C2 and C4 instrument clusters. But, beginning with MY02, the parts manual shows the following, "C A R R E R A 2 / 4 / 4S", heading the column, followed by just three part numbers - one for a six speed, one for a Tiptronic and one for an MY04 "special model '40 years 911'" - the first two being the standard black faced instrument clusters. MY02 was the first year of the "improved" Carrera instrument clusters and the year that fuel level transmitter part numbers in both the C2 and the C4 changed. My guess is that the instrument cluster talks to the DME to determine whether it is installed in a C2 or a C4, based on the type order code and tailors it's fuel gauging method based on that information. Or, more basicly than that, the instrument cluster is coded by a PST2 or a PIWIS. (In my last post, I probably confused the issue with the notation "MY01+". I should have said MY02+ and have edited the post to indicate that.)

It appears that Jake has an MY01 Boxster which has the "improved" instument cluster. He should be able to install an "improved" C4 instrument cluster. But, I would be concerned about proper fuel level indication, especially when the fuel level is less than 1/3 full. The fuel level transmitter in Boxsters wasn't changed until MY02. So there may be a compatibility issue. From what I've read on RennTech and heard in coversations with my dealer's technician, because of the odd shape of the C4 fuel tank, the last few gallons of fuel can't be measured by the fuel level transmitter. Thus, the instrument cluster must calculate the remaining fuel level based on average fuel flow. Interestingly, the paragraph in my MY02 Carrera C2/C4 Owner's Manual that discusses the complications to this calculation caused by loss of electrical power to the fuel gauge system, has been edited out of the MY03 Carrera C2/C4 Owner's Manual posted on RennTech. (Page 78 in both Owner's Manuals.)

Jake,

What is the year of and the part number on your instrument cluster? Please check back with your experiences and/or problems.

Cheers to All,

Bill

Edited October 29, 2007 by whall

[LowFlyR]

What is the year of and the part number on your instrument cluster? Please check back with your experiences and/or problems.

Cheers to All,

Bill

Ok, cluster is supposed to be from 04 C4S. Number is: 996 641 224 03 70C

Thanks for any help, but I think I must call it for tonite and :cheers: :censored:

Edited October 29, 2007 by LowFlyR

[Loren]

:oops: My apologies - I stand corrected.

As of MY02 (US) Carrera's there are only two clusters - one for 6 speed cars and one for Tiptronic. (Leaving out leather color, or leatherette color).

Earlier cluster are specific for C2 and C4.

[LowFlyR]

:oops: My apologies - I stand corrected.

As of MY02 (US) Carrera's there are only two clusters - one for 6 speed cars and one for Tiptronic. (Leaving out leather color, or leatherette color).

Earlier cluster are specific for C2 and C4.

So I should be cool with my 04 C4S cluster for my 01 S Boxster?

Edited October 29, 2007 by LowFlyR