OBC hack

[brian2034]

Hi, I'm a proud new owner of a 2002 Artic Silver Boxster and after two weeks its time to modify.
The first item on the list is the OBC hack I have found a 4 stalk to replace my 3 stalk and the installation is the easy part. The problem I have is the nearest Porsche dealer is a 2 day drive away. Is there anyway to determine if the OBC is already turned on without doing the 4 stalk install, and if it is not on can I remove the OBC from the car and send it by mail to have it turned on. We have snow for the next four months so the car will be in storage. I would hate to do the stalk install and not be able to use it.

[rick3000]

If you have a temperature reading your OBC is on. If not, then it is not on.
Also, the OBC is the wiring of the car under the drivers seat I would highly recommend you do not remove it. That would be very bad because it would disable the entire car. The OBC is not one module.
I did the OBC, it was the best $50 I have spent on my Boxster. And try searching for OBC there are a lot of threads on this.

Welcome to the Forum! You should post some Pictures!
And Good Luck with the Mod!

[brian2034]

Originally Posted by rick3000

If you have a temperature reading your OBC is on. If not, then it is not on.
Also, the OBC is the wiring of the car under the drivers seat I would highly recommend you do not remove it. That would be very bad because it would disable the entire car. The OBC is not one module.
I did the OBC, it was the best $50 I have spent on my Boxster. And try searching for OBC there are a lot of threads on this.

Welcome to the Forum! You should post some Pictures!
And Good Luck with the Mod!

Thank-you for the quick reply, I've searched this and other sites for the information on the OBC hack and it looks like a easy installation.
But from what I have read, on the 2002 model Boxster the trip meter diplay is where the temperature reading is also displayed and you have to be able to toggle or switch between the displays to view the temp.

[rick3000]

Look at this site:

http://www.brackenrig.net/OBC_Hack.htm

I was wrong, the 2002 is different and there is no way to know unless you take it to the dealer or track down a PSII in your area.
Good Luck!

[Tool Pants]

There is really no way for you to determine if it is on unless you do the retrofit and see if it works. The car does not come from the factory already turned on. The OBC is in the instrument cluster and the cluster has to be connected to the car to turn it on, so you cannot have it turned on by mail. Unless you remove the cluster, send it to someone, and your cluster is hooked up to another car and then your cluster's OBC is turned on.

If you want to see for sure if it is on then you can try this.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=16650

You hook up one VW 009 wire in slot 23 of the gray connector and touch the other end of the wire to ground. I did this on Varun's 2001 and the OBC worked. But on his car we knew the OBC was turned on because I checked to make sure it was on with a PST2. A local dealer had turned it on some time before we did the retrofit on his car.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by Tool Pants

There is really no way for you to determine if it is on unless you do the retrofit and see if it works. The car does not come from the factory already turned on. The OBC is in the instrument cluster and the cluster has to be connected to the car to turn it on, so you cannot have it turned on by mail. Unless you remove the cluster, send it to someone, and your cluster is hooked up to another car and then your cluster's OBC is turned on.

If you want to see for sure if it is on then you can try this.

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=16650

You hook up one VW 009 wire in slot 23 of the gray connector and touch the other end of the wire to ground. I did this on Varun's 2001 and the OBC worked. But on his car we knew the OBC was turned on because I checked to make sure it was on with a PST2. A local dealer had turned it on some time before we did the retrofit on his car.

To add to what TP said, slot 23 acts as a toggle between all the functions provided by the OBC. So, you should be able to switch between all functions using the method Jeff described above.

That said, I should caution you that just in case your OBC is not turned on, and you choose not to do the entire hack, then you be doing the same work twice. In other words, by the time you are able to connect pin 23 to a ground, most of the work is already done, and you might as well do the rest.

Also make sure that you order the correct VW wire - the one listed by TP is the right one. The other one is not as snug a fit.