mfj197

Just finished retrofitting cruise control to my manual '04 Boxster with OBC last weekend, with the help of all the information on this thread. Extra thanks must go out to Richard Hamilton who provided much useful guidance and recoded the instrument cluster and DME on Monday, and all for the price of a drop or two of dry white! Thanks Richard, for all your help. A couple of things I found out on the way: Halfords (here in the UK) do a complete set of allen-key style torx drivers that are perfect for removing the airbag, as well as so many other fasteners. The set isn't cheap at nearly £10 but it's well worth it. It is not necessary to remove the wiring plug from the front of the clock spring (airbag spring unit) once you've undone the steering wheel - just unplug the spade connectors from the wheel itself and feed the wires through as you remove the wheel. I should have read the instructions more carefully! When replacing the electrical connectors in the back of the instrument cluster it is important to make sure the locking levers on the connector are fully open so they engage and pull the connector completely in to the cluster as they are closed. If they are not fully open they will still ratchet in but not pull the connector completely home. First time I reassembled the cluster I had no instrumentation working at all, simply because the connectors weren't seated properly. There is no mechanical stop for fitting the new 4-stalk switchgear onto the steering column. Don't do as I did and push the switchgear all the way onto the column until it goes no further, as what stops it is the plastic tab on the clock spring for cancelling the indicators which butts up against a flange on the column. When reassembled this tab then slides along the flange as the wheel is rotated rather than moving freely, causing a slight noise which can also be felt. Instead, simply line up the metal circlip (locking band) in the switchgear with the knurled section on the steering column and tighten. Should this require adjustment after reassembling everything, an 8mm socket fits through the bottom part of the column housing so you can release and tighten up the circlip. All in all, a fun weekend and I now have cruise just in time for a trip to the French Alps next week! Perfect for the journey down, although of course it won't be used in the mountains ... Michael