'01 to '03 Gauge Swap. Doable? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Chuck W. · 03-09-2013, 07:42 PM

I have the same type gauge in my '01 S in the first photo with the on board computer feature. I would like to have the second gauge that I believe started in 2003. Is this a plug and play change? TIA

ChrisZang · 03-09-2013, 09:21 PM

I would think that it will work
But why not upgrade to a 996 cluster?

Chuck W. · 03-10-2013, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

I would think that it will work
But why not upgrade to a 996 cluster?

I thought about it, but elected to stay with the Boxster look. My rear plugs are Green, Blue and gray (or white).

ChrisZang · 03-10-2013, 07:09 AM

All I can say is that I replaced a 986 cluster similar to the one in the upper picture with a 996 cluster similar to the one in the lower picture and it was plug & play

Chuck W. · 03-10-2013, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

All I can say is that I replaced a 986 cluster similar to the one in the upper picture with a 996 cluster similar to the one in the lower picture and it was plug & play

When you plugged in the 996 you got the full info displayed from the OBC?

ChrisZang · 03-10-2013, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuck W.

When you plugged in the 996 you got the full info displayed from the OBC?

Yes, OBC enabled/not enabled is stored in the cluster itself.
So as long as the cluster had OBC enabled you're good

And - obviously - you need to install a four switch stalk (or any other workaround), but I guess you did this already

Picture of my gauges:

KevinH1990 · 03-10-2013, 10:21 AM

I expect that it will work. The key question is "Will it be plug and play?" I think the likely answer to that is also "Yes". However, if it isn't, you could probably make it work by reprogramming the cluster.

You can read about my adventure in reprogramming a cluster here: http://986forum.com/forums/general-discussions/43017-carrera-gauge-swap.html

Like Chris, I also like the 5-gauge look, but it's all a matter of individual taste.

If you need instructions for programming the cluster, send me a PM with your e-mail and I'll send them to you. I need to adapt them for a post here when I have some time.

ChrisZang · 03-10-2013, 11:08 AM

Kevin,

just to add one tiny little detail:
The cluster which you reprogrammed was an -> MY 01 cluster made by Motometer.
The 01 -> clusters were made by VDO
And even though they look very similar from the outside they are 100% different on the inside. So I doubt that an EPROM reprogramming which worked on your cluster can simply be applied to a VDO cluster

Chuck W. · 03-10-2013, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

Kevin,

just to add one tiny little detail:
The cluster which you reprogrammed was an -> MY 01 cluster made by Motometer.
The 01 -> clusters were made by VDO
And even though they look very similar from the outside they are 100% different on the inside. So I doubt that an EPROM reprogramming which worked on your cluster can simply be applied to a VDO cluster

I had no idea, thanks for the heads up. So, an '03 may not work. In that case I'll look into doing a 996 cluster install.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/90-ELEC-996_Cluster/90-ELEC-996_Cluster.htm

ChrisZang · 03-10-2013, 07:56 PM

As I said: I am 99.9% sure hat it WILL work

KevinH1990 · 03-10-2013, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

Kevin,

just to add one tiny little detail:
The cluster which you reprogrammed was an -> MY 01 cluster made by Motometer.
The 01 -> clusters were made by VDO
And even though they look very similar from the outside they are 100% different on the inside. So I doubt that an EPROM reprogramming which worked on your cluster can simply be applied to a VDO cluster

Chris-

I agree that they are different. The cluster on my car has blue, white and black connectors. His has the later green, blue, gray combination. I have not opened one of the later gauges, so I don't know whether the processes for programming them is similar.

I'm not sure about the gauges, but the circuit board on my clusters was made by VDO.

You can see VDO molded into the plastic at the top of the board.

I think that Chuck is going to be OK with his 03 gauge swap. For some reason, the Boxster clusters are a year ahead of the Carrera clusters. So, a 2001 Carrera Cluster is OK for a 2000 Boxster, but a 2001 Boxster needs a cluster from a Carrera made in 2002 or later. But, I think an 03 Boxster cluster should be fine in an 01 Boxster.

There is still a lot to learn about the clusters. Even the professional speedometer shops (including Palo Alto and North Hollywood) seemed to have limited knowledge about the clusters. I think part of the problem is that VDO does not sell parts to them, so the repairs they can make are limited.

BTW, I see you have a 996 gauge surround. I managed to find one for a good price, so I hope to do that soon.

oc-boxster · 03-19-2013, 07:18 AM

i am thinking of doing a 996 gauge swap in my 2002 S as i would like to change from the silver faces to black and also have the 2 additional gauges, what info do i need to find a new one that will be plug and play? are any additional senders or parts needed to run the oil and volt meters?

Meir · 03-19-2013, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oc-boxster

i am thinking of doing a 996 gauge swap in my 2002 S as i would like to change from the silver faces to black and also have the 2 additional gauges, what info do i need to find a new one that will be plug and play? are any additional senders or parts needed to run the oil and volt meters?

look at post 9, and read the article in the link.
you will get all the info you need.

gavinyuill · 03-19-2013, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinH1990

Chris-

I agree that they are different. The cluster on my car has blue, white and black connectors. His has the later green, blue, gray combination. I have not opened one of the later gauges, so I don't know whether the processes for programming them is similar.

The process is exactly the same. The later cars used a different eeprom with more capacity for the additional OBC functionality, so you cannot use programming from an early car in a late eeprom and vice versa, however the structure of the programming is the same.

I've been doing a lot of experimenting with the programming on the eprom and understand most of the important parts of structure for early cars (97>01) now.

I'll share a break down of what I have found very soon, in case there are any other experimenters who what to poke about and scare themselves when their console suddenly pegs all the gauges at maximum.

KevinH1990 · 03-19-2013, 05:06 PM

Gavin,

I sold my EPROM programmer to another board member and he is working on a Model Year 2001 gauge cluster. I know that the EPROM on the old cluster is a 16 bit 93C56. What is the chip on the newer clusters?

gavinyuill · 03-19-2013, 06:13 PM

Hi Kevin, the chip is a 93c86. The reader you bought will read this chip, and the clip will fit it fine. It will be byte swapped as before.

I've learned a fair bit more about the structure of the programming and have managed to fix my fuel gauge error now. I've just bought a Durametric cable to turn some functions on and off so I should have more information through that as well.

I'm happy to talk to the guy that bought your programmer, or send you the data if you want to talk to him direct. I have a much easier method for making the cluster work now.

I'l post it up here once I am sure I understand it completely. I totally confused my cluster a few times whilst learning and I don't want to give people incorrect information that leads to broken clusters.

KevinH1990 · 03-19-2013, 07:27 PM

That's great. I sent you the e-mail I received from Shaun.

I'd be interested in seeing your new process. My experience seems to have been exceptionally easy. Maybe my clusters were unusually compatible. What is really strange is that my 996 cluster (according to the Porsche VIN decoder) was from a 2000 coupe. Yet, the top operation warning light was installed and worked without any programming.

Everything on my cluster seems to be working as designed including the analog speedometer, coolant temperature and fuel gauge.

KevinH1990 · 03-24-2013, 06:31 AM

I wrote a "How To" for updating both the "old" and "new" style clusters based on Gavin's input and Shaun's (Coolbreeze551) experience with the "new" cluster. I also used some of Chris Zang's posts here and on Pelican as a reference.

I asked Wayne Dempsey to post it under the Tech articles on Pelican. If anyone needs a copy before Wayne has a chance to post it, send me a PM with your e-mail address and I forward a copy to you.

coolbreeze551 · 03-24-2013, 12:54 PM

Thanks for all your help Kevin and Gavin. You guys made it way easier than would of been otherwise.

KevinH1990 · 03-24-2013, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolbreeze551

Thanks for all your help Kevin and Gavin. You guys made it way easier than would of been otherwise.

If you and I are ever in Denver, we should take Gavin to dinner. Without his help, I would have had a cluster that cost $155 serving as a paperweight.

Thanks for hanging in there and dealing with the differences between the old and new clusters. Chris Zang's warning about the differences proved accurate. Fortunately Gavin's basic method works on both types of cluster.