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Originally Posted by CJ_Boxster
I seen a photo someone posted here of there gauges..I noticed they had there Interior Air Temp being displayed under there MPH digital read out...
Does my 1997 non-S have this feature, if so how can i get it to display the Temp below cause right now theres nothing displayed below the digital MPH read-out.
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Hi,
Randall is correct. What you saw was the Exterior temp being displayed, not the interior one. It is one of the modes of the On Board Computer System (OBC). The '97 model OBC had 5 modes: Ambient (exterior) Temperature, Avg. MPH, Avg. MPG, Range, Max. Speed Alarm. Additional modes were added in '01.
The DME (ECU) contains the OBC hardware/software and all cars have it. But, it takes a switch to scroll through the various modes. The default mode is the Ambient Temp. If the dealer turns on the OBC (which many did as a courtesy to those who didn't order the OBC option) the temp is displayed.
If your car contains the OBC, you can have the dealer turn it on, but you can also add a switch to be able to scroll through the modes and have the full function. You can buy the OEM switch (which is a 4th stalk located underneath the Turn Signal Switch on the column), or some have used a dash mounted MO (Momentary ON) switch such as a 996 Spoiler Switch. New, I believe the OEM Combination Switch is around $200 new. I got one from a Porsche Dismantler for $100. The OBC Stalk is added on with just a screw, so I removed the 4th Stalk and re-sold the rest of the Combo Switch on ebay and got $110 for it as a 3-stalk unit making my total hack cost on my '99 - $14.
To prevent you from circumventing the Dealer or the Options List, Porsche will not make available the motronic wires necessary to clip into the wiring harness. But, Volkswagen also uses the same part and you can get it from them for under $10, or you could simply splice or solder it in (not recommended).
It took me about 45 min. to do the Hack which consists of removing the Instrument Binnacle (to access the wiring harness) and to add the 4th Stalk. If you replace the entire combo switch, figure more like 90 min. because you need to remove the airbag and steering wheel.
There's a very good photo-illustrated installation guide at:
http://www.whiteson.org/boxster/mods/obc/obc.stalk.pdf This will give you a better idea of what's involved. Hope this helps...
Happy Motoring!... Jim'99