S instrument cluster on base 986?
 

So, my odometer is not working correctly. When it came to 71,999miles, it didn't go to 72,000, it came back to 71,000. The 1 didn't change into a 2. So I'm guessing I'm gonna have to change the whole instrument cluster. My question is will the instrument cluster from a later S model work on my base 986?

What year is your car? The clusters changed in 2000 I think.

As I recall boxster has a 1999 Bloxster. So, you need to stay with a cluster that has a white, blue and black plug one the back. So, a 2000 Boxster S cluster will work on your 1999.

If you want to keep your Boxster's mileage correct (or close to it) you can send the cluster to ODO-PRO.COM - Odo-Pro.com - The Digital Odometer Professionals and for $90 they adjust it.

Here is a link to a nice 2000 S cluster on eBay from a quality seller.

00 Boxster S RWD Porsche 986 Silver GAUGE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER 98664111300 99,687 | eBay

Try disconnecting the battery, then turn the ignition key to the acc position and leave it for a few minutes. Turn the key off, then reconnect battery and see if that helped.

That's great!..you can drive it all you want now, and always say it's a cream puff with only 71k miles on it! :D

You can use a 2000 S cluster or even better, a 99-01 996 cluster

I have a 99-01 996 cluster for sale. With the top in black.
I also have the programer and instructions for the install.
If any one is interested $350 for both plus shipping from 45039.
Thanks
Van

Wow, you're right, mine is a 1999 boxster! The reason I asked is because I found a few boxster s odometers on eBay with mileage very close to mine, in the 70's, so if I get one of those I wont need to adjust the mileage.

Thanks. I'll try that tomorrow and let you know how it goes. That will definitely be much less expensive!!

Not a bad idea, only thing is that we have VRT here (vehicle roadworthy test), and they check the mileage thoroughly from one year to another!

Will a 996 cluster work? What about the extra 2 gauges,wont there be more wires in the plug that the ecu will need to make sense of?

The 996 cluster's voltage meter will operate regardless, the oil pressure gauge is the one that will make you work. You will have to plumb in a pressure sender and run a wire from it to the cluster.
The 996 cluster swap is something I'd like to do on my car, but being from Canada, I'd need a metric cluster to display km/h instead of mph. eBay.de?

Yes. I swapped one into my 2001 986. Damn easy. The only change I did was sending it to ODO-Pro.com to have the odometer reset. Google it, there is a ton of info out there. Pelican has a very good write up on it.

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

Here is the break down on my cost for the modification;

996 X71 Instrument Cluster $250.00
996 Leather Surround $85.00
996 Hazard Button $20.53
Oil Sender $56.63
Wires $17.10
Re-Set Odometer $89.00
Total $518.26

Sold 986 Cluster (Cleared after shipping and eBay Fees) $163.69
Total Cost for 996 Cluster $354.57

I could have cut $85 off the total by keeping the Boxster surround and modifying it. But the stitched leather 996 one looked too good to pass up. That would have made the total cost for me $269.57. Another $89 savings if I didn't have the odometer reset would have made it only a $180.57.

I did the labor myself and with all the stuff on the net it was very easy.

The 996 is so much nicer than the Boxster. If offers addition features and a better layout besides the two extra gauges.

Just a thought.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...pscsqg7icb.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...psiq5dwmq8.jpg

That does look awesome, uplifts the car quite a bit! Mine is a 1999 model, you said yours is a 2001. I don't know if that makes a difference in compatibility

There are 3 different 986 clusters.
The Mk1 cluster on earlier models like yours can only be replaced with another Mk1 cluster, though you can upgrade to the 996 five gauge cluster.
The later models came with either the Mk2 cluster (Chuck's first picture) or the Mk3 cluster with the dot matrix display if the car came from the factory with the OBC option (Chuck's second picture).

The Mk2 and Mk3 clusters are interchangeable with each other, but neither is compatible with the earlier cars with the Mk1 cluster. All 3 have 996 Carrera five gauge cluster counterparts that can be swapped in. Any cluster change will require programming to transfer over your mileage and VIN.

Yours is fixable, though. ;)

Fixable? In what way, that it can easily be modified to have the correct mileage? So the Mk 1 clusters are the ones with the white, blue and black plugs like chuck mentioned?

Everything can be fixed.

Most likely, your cluster has the correct mileage stored, just not displayed (not uncommon). Have you tried the procedure that I posted?

Yes, the Mk1 has those plugs and you definitely have a Mk1 (1999).

I am not sure this is correct regarding the VIN. I did nothing more than have the mileage on the 996 cluster adjusted.

There are a lot of 996 clusters out there for sale. I prefer to buy from either Woody qualityporscheparts on eBay as there are a lot of broken clusters being sold out there. Just make sure that the plug colors are correct and you're good to go.

Any good company will transfer the VIN, also. If you do/did it yourself, then the VIN is included in the file transfer. ;)

It's not a must, but if it is checked and the stored VIN doesn't match your car, it could throw up some red flags. If you had someone else do it and you just told them what mileage you want it set to and you are even a mile off, it will not match the mileage stored on other units (conflicting info on whether the mileage is stored elsewhere vs operating hours, but it surely is)...more red flags and possibly worse. Misrepresentation of vehicle mileage is a felony. If they didn't ask for the old and new cluster to transfer your files, then they did it wrong.

If it were me, I'd just copy and transfer the entire file. This is standard procedure for the DIY.

Nope I haven't done it yet, I will definitely try it though. Its not my daily driver, but I will try to do it over the weekend and let you know how it goes, thanks