Even if your car doesn't have cruise control and you're not planning on adding it, you might want to consider using this switch instead, as the cost is much cheaper than the one without the cruise control. You can simply purchase the new stalk, and then remove the new OBC stalk portion and then transfer it to your old stalk. The two connector wires are Volkswagen parts that appear to only be available from the dealer. These are probably pretty common repair items though, as my dealer had them in stock on the shelf when I arrived there.

     The four-stalk version part number is 996-613-219-10-EWC, and is only currently available in the black mat / satin black finish. The early-style steering wheel switches were a glossy black. The small tabs on each of the stalks can be transferred over to the new stalk, but if they are glossy black, they will not match terribly well. The best option is to order four new tabs in the mat black / satin black finish, as per the part numbers in the table above.

     The first step is to assemble your mini wire harness with the connectors and pins that you purchased. Take two of your three connector wires (000-979-009) and cut the two of them in half. Then insert the four wires with pins attached into slots 2 through 5 on the five pin connector 999-650-056-40. Take the remaining connector wire (000-979-009) and cut one of the pins off very close to the pin. Attach a ground eyelet on the end of this wire and then place into slot 1 of the five pin connector. Then snap on the connector cover. Now, cut in half your other two connector wires (000-979-010) and attach each one to the wires that exit from 2 through 5 on the connector. Label each wire with the proper pin number and then tie them together with some small zip ties. See Photo 5 for detailed steps on creating this harness. Be sure not to confuse the five connector wires: they look almost exactly the same to the naked eye, but fit into the different connectors.

     Now, disconnect the battery (Pelican Technical Article: Battery Disconnect Switch / Battery Buddy Installation), pull out the steering wheel as far as possible using the lever at the bottom of the steering column, and then remove the steering wheel (Pelican Technical Article: Steering Wheel - 3-Spoke Wheel Upgrade). Disconnect and remove the gauge cluster as described in Pelican Technical Article: 996 Gauge Cluster Upgrade. Remove the steering wheel covers as detailed in Figure 1. Tape the airbag spring so that it doesn't rotate and remove it as per Figure 2. Pull the left and right rear connectors off of the turn signal stalk, mark its position on the steering shaft with a permanent marker, loosen the retaining clamp and remove it from the steering column (Figure 3). Route your new black harness connector alongside the other wires near to the large connector on the left side of the steering column.

     Now it's time to plug the wires into one of the connectors that plugs into the back of the instrument cluster (see Photo 6 for instructions). Attach the eyelet to one of the ground screws on the chassis (see inset of Figure 3). Follow the table below for your year Boxster:

 

     If you happen to break the electrical connector plugs on the back of your cluster, then you can replace them with connector pieces from Porsche. For the 2001-04 clusters, the kit comes with the three connectors and the all three black insert plugs as well. The part number for this is PNA-721-04-300-020 and costs about $26. For the early-style clusters (1997-00), these connectors are available in a generic repair kit available from Porsche for about $5. This “Porsche Electrical Connector Repair Kit” has a part number of CARTOOL: Nr 96-0-000 or PNA-721-043-600.

     With the new pins installed into the gauge connectors, reinstall the gauge cluster. Reinstall the new turn signal switch, and tighten down the clamp that holds it to the steering column. When you install the switch, the top metal surface should be positioned approximately 55mm from the end of the steering shaft. Don't slide it in all the way on the shaft, as this will give you trouble with the proper operation of the turn signal cancelling function. Line up the metal clamp with the knurled section of the steering column when you tighten it. If need be, you can adjust this later on as well.

     Reinstall the airbag contact spring and the side covers for the steering column. Install the steering wheel back on the car and reconnect the battery. If your car didn't have the cruise control and on board computer enabled, then you need to make a trip to the Porsche dealer to have them turn on this functionality with the Porsche PST-2 or PIWIS tool (see Figure 7). Once the main computer is reprogrammed, you should have a working on board computer.

     Poor Man's Version - Some people who have not wanted to go through the trouble or expense of purchasing the new turn signal stalk have instead installed extra rocker switches into the dash and wired them up to the gauge cluster to gain functionality of the computer without the installation of the expensive stalk. You can use the same wires as above, but instead use two rocker switches (PN: 996-613-980-00) that fit into the spare places in the center dash, to the left of the vents. See Photo 8 for more details.

     Really Poor Man's Version: If you don't want to go through the process of installing any of the switches and have a 1997-00 Boxster, you can simply have the dealer turn on the on board computer function in your Boxster's computer. This will bring up the temperature display, although you cannot cycle through any of the other options. Starting in 2001, this no longer works.