Tiptronic steering wheel controls for stereo

[Javi Cooper]

I've found the perfect steering wheel for my manual 986 but it's out of a tiptronic car. So I was thinking has anyone here modified the tiptronic shift buttons to control something else, like an aftermarket stereo? I found an old thread from someone that did it but most pics had been deleted. Any tips and info are welcome

[itsnotanova]

I'm thinking you'll need the tiptronic clock spring too

[Javi Cooper]

Hmmm... the plot thickens. I may need a new clock spring anyways (horn works intermittently). But couldn't I keep the manual clock spring and by pass it by wiring the stereo wires directly to the tip buttons? I don't know what the steering wheel connectors look like so I don't know if that's possible.

[Stl-986]

In theory you could do it, just connect the column side, but you will only have 2 controls. The left & right side do the exact same thing/send the same signal. So it's not really 4 buttons/switches, but 2.

With that said, it wont work anyway. Steering wheel commands aren't just an on/off-momentary kind of switch. They send a signal and the radio detects each of these different signals. Each mfg does it differently but from a very high level it is like Morse Code. Up = 3 dashes, Down = 4 dashes, play = 5 dashes, etc, etc. Radios/steering wheel interfaces have this "database" in them that converts that signal to something the radio will understand.

So, if you want to do something like this, you would need a steering with that has audio controls, clock spring, wiring, airbag, airbag wiring and most likely many other things. By the time it's all said & done it might be better off looking for a radio that does voice control or comes with a remote control.

[maxnine11]

996/986 wheel in a 993:

https://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/pcar_com/993_steering_wheel_radio.htm

https://p-car.com/diy/steeringradio/

[Javi Cooper]

Thanks all for the info and links. Looks doable. Going to give it a try.

For the sake of keeping all info together for reference here's the post about the conversion on a 944 (pics are gone but info is still there):

https://rennlist.com/forums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/693963-control-your-stereo-with-your-tiptronic-steering-wheel-buttons.html

[ike84]

This will likely be much easier if you are working with an aftermarket head unit and swc setup.

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