OBC on pre 2002 996

[thewightstuff]

ive been rounding up some steam to undertake the OBC retrofit on a MY99 carrera and am swithering with the stalk or switch option.

i only have a 2003 model owners manual and obviously the OBC functions listed in this are many, however am i right in thinking that this sort of details is missing in the earlier cars?

can i basically only see average speed, fuel economy and distance to empty or am i missing something.

im very tall and so using a switch seems like a nice idea though not if ive totally went off on a tangent and indeed theres much more depth that i can navigate with the stalk.

can anyone shine any light or better still point me in the direction of pdfs of a more appropriate year manual.

[Loren]

:welcome:

Here is the technical description from the MY99 Porsche Service Information Book. The whole book as well as many others are available to Contributing Members here online.

OBC_MY99.pdf

And here are the scanner pages (on OBC) from my MY99 Carrera.

I have not scanner the whole manual since doing so breaks the binding. Porsche did not start offering PDF versions of the manuals until MY2003.

MY99_OBC_Owners_Manual.pdf

Where are you located?

[thewightstuff]

thank you so much for that loren,

looks like i will just got for a switch in a spare slot and save on the stick. a quick scroll function and a reset is plenty for the small sets of info presented.

im in houston,TX via Scotland,UK so im not sure what that makes me :)

im just finding my feet with the site but i will say that i will definately be contributing this week. already its been a massive resource just in terms of increasing understanding and education.

Edited March 10, 2008 by thewightstuff

[Loren]

Is your OBC turned on now? That is, do you see outside temperature displayed?

If not you will need to find someone with a a PST2 or PIWIS tester to turn it on for you (a 5 minute job).

[thewightstuff]

not yet sadly though thats now this weeks task, theres a few dealers here so hopefully one will be accommodating.

[Loren]

If you were local I would do it for you.

Check the PST2 & Durametric Tool Registry list for someone in your area with a PST2 or PIWIS. Folks here won't charge you - dealers likely will.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=13779

[Tool Pants]

Here is some info. http://www.brackenrig.net/OBC_Hack.htm For a Boxster but is the same for a 996.

In 2002 Porsche came out with a special cluster for cars with OBC as a factory option. That is what you see in the 2003 owners manual you looked at. Your 1999 has a different cluster. If you do the retrofit with stalk or switch you will see exactly what is in Loren's scans.

If you only want to see the outside temp display then no retrofit is needed, just have the OBC turned on and the default display is the outside temp. Later on if you want to see the rest of the OBC displays then you can do the retrofit.

[thewightstuff]

thanks tool pants,

ive already been all over your posts regarding the mods like a bear on honey but hadnt seen that page.

i wasnt even aware of all this until i started delving into them but im up to my arms now :)

i got the OBC on today no problemo so thats a start, i couldnt see anyone on the list near me loren but as luck would have it it worked out fine. just need to order in the parts as i can now see how cold it is.

im going to go with a dash switch as i dont need anything else down there by my legs and with only a few functions a single button to flip through and the alternate side to reset is perfect for me.

i just wish there was a nice button option for it. im going to go with targa blind even though its matte and im glossy. maybe ill upgrade my swtiches to matte anyways once im done. see if it mutes things a little in a good way.

Edited March 10, 2008 by thewightstuff

[Richard Hamilton]

I used a targa blind switch for my garage door opener, and sprayed it with a thin coat of clear lacquer to make it match the other switches.

[thewightstuff]

richard,

thanks for that tip. i wasnt looking forward to having an odd switch.

[Richard Hamilton]

I think it's a good match:

[thewightstuff]

thanks for the picture richard,

that looks great and much improved over a matte finish in there amongst them. im going to add my OBC switch up top aswell so with it right next to glossy blanks it would have looked even more obvious.

[zdr2k]

richard,

thanks for that tip. i wasnt looking forward to having an odd switch.

I used a footwell light switch (most non-descript) for mine. mounted it on the open spot below PSM switch. Only functions not avail is the speed gong.

Edited March 20, 2008 by zdr2k