Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-20-2021, 08:41 AM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
996 to 986 Instrument Cluster question

Has anyone discovered the eeprom re-programming to make the gas gauge work correctly with a 2002-2005 996 c4 gauge transplant? The problem is the tank is empty when the gauge reads 1/4 tank.

I understand I may be able to get the dealer to re-code the fuel tank type or I may be able to hack the sender, but I thought I would check to see if anyone has made progress with the eeprom.

obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2021, 09:37 AM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Edmond
Posts: 8
I have done two of these any never had that issue. I just finished my last swap last week. 2003 Boxster S with a 2002 911 C4 Cab cluster. Gauge is spot on.

Not sure that helps but I have not had that issue.
Sikest is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-20-2021, 09:49 AM   #3
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: It's a kind of magic.....
Posts: 6,458
These fuel level gauges are programable with everything from a PST II to the Durametric system; you simply need to follow the recalibration procedure in the service manual.
__________________
Anything really new is invented only in one’s youth. Later, one becomes more experienced, more famous – and more stupid.” - Albert Einstein
JFP in PA is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 06:17 AM   #4
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA View Post
These fuel level gauges are programable with everything from a PST II to the Durametric system; you simply need to follow the recalibration procedure in the service manual.
JFP Thanks for your response. I have come to have great confidence in your advice.

A little more help please. I have the Enthusiast Durametric and best I can tell neither it or the professional version will calibrate the fuel tank. Am I wrong?

This is my hobby car and I dread going to the dealer and explain that I have cobbled the cluster and that I want him to PIWIS it as a 996 and calibrate my fuel. My sense is the dealer will not want to mess with me. I may try a few other thing first.

Anyone?....Particlewave? ..Does anyone know the eeprom bits in the newer blue grey and green connector cluster for a 986 to turn on the oil pressure and voltmeter? or alternately, does anyone know the eeprom bits to go from 20 gal to 16 gal fuel in the 996 blue grey green cluster?

Another possibility, at this point my sending unit span is from 12 ohms full to 300 ohms empty. I wonder if I add a potentiometer and adjust the sending unit to half a tank would that work? I'm not sure because I think my cluster is set to do that final 1/4 calculation so my OBC would be wrong.

Finally, I can just go on living and knowing that I am out of gas a 1/4 tank. None of this is super important on a hobby car, just fun.:dance:
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 06:48 AM   #5
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: It's a kind of magic.....
Posts: 6,458
The Enthusiast version will not do it to my knowledge, you would need to check with Durametric on that. The 996 cluster was designed to be used with two different gas tanks, the regular one used on the two wheel drive cars, and a saddle shaped one used on the four wheel drive cars. As the result, it had to be calibrated to the car by draining the tank completely, then refilling it to a specific volume of fuel; 12 liters for a two wheel drive, 28 liters for a four wheel drive car, then running the gauge calibration on the scan tool.

As the cluster's electronics for the gauge are somewhat different, I do not know if any data can be lifted from on and transferred to the other, but I do know that the factory calibration system does work.
__________________
Anything really new is invented only in one’s youth. Later, one becomes more experienced, more famous – and more stupid.” - Albert Einstein
JFP in PA is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 06:59 AM   #6
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA View Post
The Enthusiast version will not do it to my knowledge, you would need to check with Durametric on that. The 996 cluster was designed to be used with two different gas tanks, the regular one used on the two wheel drive cars, and a saddle shaped one used on the four wheel drive cars. As the result, it had to be calibrated to the car by draining the tank completely, then refilling it to a specific volume of fuel; 12 liters for a two wheel drive, 28 liters for a four wheel drive car, then running the gauge calibration on the scan tool.

As the cluster's electronics for the gauge are somewhat different, I do not know if any data can be lifted from on and transferred to the other, but I do know that the factory calibration system does work.
Thanks again. I believe you are exactly right. Ugh dealership. Last resort, will get back to you if I discover a work around or hack.
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 07:11 AM   #7
Registered User
 
Bill Ladd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Wilmington NC
Posts: 124
Garage
@obthomas - Prior to purchasing my Durametric, I rented one off eBay to set up my cruise control.

Think it was around fifty bucks of so. Easy peezy.
Bill Ladd is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 08:15 AM   #8
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Bill Ladd If you ever want to turn off you cruise control I will rent you my Durametric for $50. Easy Peasy.
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 09:18 AM   #9
Registered User
 
Bill Ladd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Wilmington NC
Posts: 124
Garage
What?

I already bought one.

I’m telling you that you can rent a full-function durametric from eBay to calibrate your gauge rather than go to the dealer.
Bill Ladd is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 09:37 AM   #10
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Bill Ladd

I just talked to Owen at Durametric. The Professional does not calibrate fuel on a 986 and in fact Owen says that the professional does not do any more then the enthusiast for a 986. So for a 986 the enthusiast version is as good as it gets. I did not know this. Now I do.

Last edited by obthomas; 01-21-2021 at 09:47 AM.
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 09:50 AM   #11
Registered User
 
Bill Ladd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Wilmington NC
Posts: 124
Garage
Well crap. Just going off what JFP said. Was excited to find a solution for you to keep from paying those dealer rates.

Ah well.
Bill Ladd is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 10:11 AM   #12
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
I found an Indy that is willing to work with me and has the PIWIS. Waiting for an email with an estimate.
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 11:05 AM   #13
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: It's a kind of magic.....
Posts: 6,458
Quote:
Originally Posted by obthomas View Post
Bill Ladd

I just talked to Owen at Durametric. The Professional does not calibrate fuel on a 986 and in fact Owen says that the professional does not do any more then the enthusiast for a 986. So for a 986 the enthusiast version is as good as it gets. I did not know this. Now I do.
Interesting, but not sure that is correct; their own site says you cannot activate the cruise control on a 986 with the Enthusiast, but rather need the Pro.......unless something has changed.
__________________
Anything really new is invented only in one’s youth. Later, one becomes more experienced, more famous – and more stupid.” - Albert Einstein
JFP in PA is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 11:27 AM   #14
Registered User
 
Bill Ladd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Wilmington NC
Posts: 124
Garage
If I get a chance, I will hook up my Durametric pro and see if it gives me option to calibrate fuel gauge.

I'm crazy busy lately, so it will be a few days if I get that chance.
Bill Ladd is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 11:36 AM   #15
Custom User Title Here
 
particlewave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ft. Leonard Wood
Posts: 6,164
Garage
The only difference between the Enthusiast and Pro versions has always been the number of VINs that can be stored (3 vs unlimited) and neither can do fuel gauge.
particlewave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 04:36 PM   #16
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by obthomas View Post
I found an Indy that is willing to work with me and has the PIWIS. Waiting for an email with an estimate.
Got a quote to calibrate my fuel gauge .
490 dollars
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 04:54 PM   #17
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
Quote:
Originally Posted by JFP in PA View Post
Interesting, but not sure that is correct; their own site says you cannot activate the cruise control on a 986 with the Enthusiast, but rather need the Pro.......unless something has changed.
Something must have changed. My durametric enthusiast 986 cluster activations or coding has both onboard computer and cruise control send activations
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 05:48 PM   #18
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: texas
Posts: 156
A new approach......Is there anybody out there that has done this 996 blue grey green connector cluster into a 986 and everything works including the fuel gauge calibration that can share a download of their eprom.
obthomas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 06:32 PM   #19
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: KY
Posts: 1,216
This may help, is from the 996 factory repair manual. A known issue with fuel level readings on empty tanks after a battery disconnect.

Sent from my POCOPHONE F1 using Tapatalk
__________________
2000 Box Base, Renegade Stage 1 performance mods complete, more to come
When the owners manual says that the laws of physics can't be broken by this car, I took it as a challenge...
ike84 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2021, 08:20 PM   #20
Registered User
 
KevinH1990's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,722
Quote:
Originally Posted by obthomas View Post
A new approach......Is there anybody out there that has done this 996 blue grey green connector cluster into a 986 and everything works including the fuel gauge calibration that can share a download of their eprom.
What is the year of your car? (It has been a while since I installed my 996 cluster and I have forgotten the colors of my connectors.). If you have the LCD-type cluster I have the EPROM dumps from both the 986 and 996 clusters I used in my 2000. The files are stored on a hard drive and I should be able to find them this weekend.

By a process of elimination you may be able to determine which line of code controls the fuel gauge and update the offending bits.

This post http://http://986forum.com/forums/boxster-general-discussions/43017-carrera-gauge-swap.html shows the code for the old style cluster. Lines 1 through 3 of the code include the odometer reading and the VIN. One of the remaining lines probably has the fuel tank type encoded.

__________________
2000 Arctic Silver/Black, Hard Top, On Board Computer
PNP Rear Speakers, HAES 6-Channel Amp, Avic Z140BH,
Painted Bumperettes, 2004 (OEM) Top, Homelink integrated in dash with Targa switch, 997 Shifter, Carrera Gauge Cluster with silver gauge faces, heated 997 adaptive sports seats, Litronics, silver console

Last edited by KevinH1990; 01-21-2021 at 08:30 PM.
KevinH1990 is online now   Reply With Quote
Post Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 10:56 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2024 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page