Did the OBC hack. A few comments/corrections.
 

Well, I finally got around to wiring the OBC hack. I had replaced the turn signal stalk last year when the original one broke so I got the one with the OBC lever built in it to do the hack. I also ordered all of the parts at the same time, not knowing what I needed. Sunset Porsche said "this is what most of the guys have ordered when doing this hack" so I ordered everything they mentioned. They were 100% right with everything I needed.

This hack was very easy and solid with only one wire in the car that had to be cut and spliced. That was nice since I really don't like butchering already well-made connections.

All of the functions are working great, but I have noticed one strange thing. It won't switch between functions when the doors are locked. If I unlock them, everything works beautifully. I don't know if this is a common thing or if it is caused by the programming change the dealer did awhile ago to make the doors automatically lock at 5mph.

The instructions I used from PPBB were great except for three things:

1) I would recommend the parts from Sunset Porsche over the ones they listed at PPBB. The ones in the instructions said they were "not an exact fit". The parts from Sunset are probably about $3 more than the parts listed on PPBB.

2) They say you have to go to the dealer and have the OBC turned on in the 2000 Boxster, but that wasn't the case. I have all of the functions available without paying the dealer to turn them on. I believe if the outside temp shows the OBC is on, just not accessible without the switch.

3) The male connector they mentioned as not available is one of the parts I got from Sunset. They are right, you can't find the exact one, but the one Sunset sent me has 4 holes for the molex connectors which is the number of wires needed for the functions. I crimped the molex connectors to my wires and plugged them into the 4 hole connector. That was plugged into the female connector on the signal stalk and it left one pin exposed (the ground pin was left exposed). I put a molex connector on the 5th wire and slipped it onto the exposed pin for the ground. Since the other four were shielded, that molex is inside the female connector so it's shielded from contact with any other metal. The other ends of the wires were done as the PPBB instructions said.

Here are the parts from Sunset:

11 Electrical Connector Pins (molex type, need 10-1 extra just in case) 999.652.901.22
Male Electrical Insulator Cap (there are two halves that snap together) 999.652.973.40 & 999.652.972.40

:cheers:

Thanks for the info.

What functions does the OBC have anyway?

Does it do MPG, Temp, etc..

Thanks.

Average MPG
Outside Temp
Miles Left to Empty Fuel
Speed Gong (you can set a warning gong for any speed)
Average MPH

This sounds like a great thing to try... How much did this cost you total? How much was it for the new stalk?
I'm in Cumming too. Where do you live in Cumming? I'm in Windermere.

Rich

Rich, here is a link to another way of doing the same hack (without requiring a stalk):

http://www.whiteson.org/boxster/mods/obc/

As Toolpants pointed out to me, some people (with long legs?) prefer a button instead of the 4th stalk as the stalk interferes with the movements required when changing gears etc. I'm 6'2", and I realized that Jeff was right - my left knee would make contact with the 4th stalk.

Oh, and nice job with your site - I've bookmarked it :)

I did the OBC hack a while ago with the button and it the best $50 I have spent on the car. And just a note, even if you didn't pay the dealer to turn the OBC on, at some point in the cars life the dealer turned the OBC on.

You must have used 100 year old instructions from the peetee board.

I use the instructions Peter Smith came out with about 7 years ago.

Here is the wiring harness we make. The pins are already on the wires. The connector is available from Porsche or BMW, but I do not know what you were trying to use.

TP

What part #'s comprise the harness you showed?

Patrick

You have to make the harness that's in ToolPants picture. It's not a Porsche part that you can buy over the counter. Call Jeff at Sunset and he can fill you in on all the parts/pieces you'll need.

I did the OBC hack when I did the Carrera cluster swap. I got my parts from Sunset who knew exactly what I would need. I got the wires from the local VW dealer. I followed the instructions on the DVD's that you can buy off of the Rennlist.org website. (ToolPants is the instructor) The parts list is on the DVD's as well.

I have covered this many times on renntech. http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=520&st=0&#entry2034 That link is even out dated. The connector now has a single part number 999 650 513 40. Porsche wants like $10 for that connector so I buy them from BMW for $1.50.

When you are done it looks almost like factory wiring. Peter taught me a trick. You buy a roll of black cloth hockey tape and split it. Then when you wrap the wires in tape it looks like the factory.

I think the stalk was around $125 from Sunset.

I'm on the north end of Cumming, off Hwy 369.

Now that's a beautiful looking harness Tool Pants. How much do you guys sell them for?

I don't sell them because it is so simple to make yourself. Peter Smith is a shop foreman, PCA tech advisor, and he figured out how to make it look like factory, and just plug it in. He gave me a harness years ago and I took it apart, duplicated it, and improved it a bit. With a 2001 up you do not even need to splice the VW wires.

At our work on cars I usually make the harness. Last time I was so busy I got the owner started, then told him to finish by looking at a diagram I had made. He made it and it worked. He forgot to bring the connector so my spare blue BMW connector is in the picture.

Wire harness info
 

Tool Pants,
Would you mind sharing all parts required to fabricate our own wire harness?

Need the connector I mentioned. If you buy it from BMW the BMW part number is 61 13 6 909 058.

On your year you need 5 VW wires 000 979 009.

Need 1 ring terminal for the ground wire, 1/4" stud size for 22-18 gauge wire.

Excellent…. Thanks!

Do any of the numbers change for an 02 S?

Same part numbers for 2001-2004 Boxster. Same part number for 2002-2004 996.

If someone reads the renntech link, you need to keep in mind I was talking about a 996, not a Boxster.

The Boxster instrument cluster design changed in 2001, but with the 996 the change was 2002.

I want to do this hack soon but with switches instead of the stalk, but i want to be able to reset or set the settings that the OBC stalk allows you todo... I guess i'd have to buy 1 extra button switch to add that function but my question is, What spot in the connecter would the pin for reset/set be?


Edit: i read in the directions link posted that "Optional: If you want, you can also wire up the Mode Down, Slot 23 (2001-) or Slot 20 (1997-2000) and Speed Gong, Slot 21 (2001-) or Slot 22 (1997-2000). This would require an extra switch."

So i have 1 question, what is the "Mode Down" function?

EDIT: Sorry, i know what Mode Down is now. Its the same as Scroll Down.... not sure that and speed gong is that important.

Yes, you can add the extra switch to be able to scroll up and down instead of just one way through the OBC, and speed gonging allows you to set a speed. Then when you reach that speed the car beeps. Neither of those seem like features worth spending an extra $50 dollars to get.