Q-Ship986

Renntech.org and other sites have covered various installations of footwell lighting for 986 and 996 applications. A popular example: http://www.renntech....?showtopic=9578 When the cabin is dark and I needed an interior light, I didn't find it very easy or convenient to grope for the switch in the overhead dome light. That switch is unlit, small, and awkwardly oriented to me. Once in a while you just need the lights turned on without the hassle. It would also be nice to have some light on the floor, for instance to find dropped articles. After review of the many lighting solutions here and elsewhere on the web, I decided to install footwell lighting (FWL) more or less according to original factory specification, which is option code IXX2 (aka MXX2). By installing FWL this way, you get two things: (1.) A more conveniently located and backlit switch that you can easily reach and activate, even without looking. (2.) Upon pressing the switch, all of the interior lights turn on at once (overhead dome, door, and footwell). By using the factory circuitry, the new lights work in concert with the other interior lights (such as fade in/out), and they time-out after about 12 minutes to save your battery just in case you leave them on when the car is turned off. A fellow board member, Sandy, helped me a lot with this project. Thanks, Sandy. This footwell lighting installation was for my particular 2003 986S. Other vehicles may be different, part numbers change, and there are safety risks involved in doing mechanical and/or electrical work on a vehicle. What's presented here is a general overview of my DIY project, not a complete step-by-step set of instructions. Please obtain, understand, and follow the necessary repair and installation procedures in order to work safely, avoid damaging anything, and achieve a safe result. Frankly, this ended up being a lot more work than it may be worth to most people. What made it more worthwhile to me was that I did the installation while adding a built-in Homelink device (another post in this forum). Anyway, I first made sure the key was out of the ignition and then disconnected the battery. Among the things I ended up removing to do both projects: the driver's seat, driver's side rocker and kick panel trim, the dashboard relay carrier, the gauge cluster, all components of the upper center console (i.e. trim, radio, HVAC control, vents, cupholder, etc.), the lower center console, and other trim. I put the FWL switch in the center position on the left in the horseshoe. The targa shade switch below it is for the Homelink device. Original equipment footwell lights use the same lights (bulbs and diffusers) as the front/rear trunk (10 watts). They use rather expensive supports, which I thought would have special feature(s). They really don't. These supports just hold the lights, reducing backscatter and preventing the back side of the light from unintended contact with anything else. But after spending so much time planning and executing the wiring, the price premium for the light supports didn't bug me as much. I have the console-delete trim installed; however, I affixed the supports to it in the same manner as they would be if the original center console was installed. These photos make some attempt to show the overall result: I put together some wiring diagrams that apply to my car, so use them at your own risk. For simplification, I modified the OE wire diagram, which is shown below; the portions in black are OE. My changes and notations are in blue and red. In the following diagrams, I added some notations (in blue) and highlighted relevant portions for my records. The photos below show my relay panel with the two FWL relays installed in positions 1 and 2 which were unused -- the two upper left positions in the left photo. The right photo shows the backside of the relay panel. Relay #1 is an ordinary SPST relay. Relay #2 is the same as the rear window defog relay in position 4. To install the relays, you need the following parts: (1) -- 141.951.253.B -- relay SPST "53" (relay #1) (1) -- 996.615.117.00 -- control unit, rear window heating (relay #2) (2) -- 928.610.511.00 -- relay carrier (9) -- N.017.490.6 -- connector (2) -- N.903.352.04 -- connector Use N.017.490.6 for the larger tabs and N.903.352.04 for the smaller tabs (tabs 1 and 6 on relay #2 ). The photo below shows a close-up of the connections. You also need to tap into two contact bridges/bridge plugs ("BS") on the relay panel for FWL switch backlighting and 12V power. On my car, "Dim LED" switch backlighting is BS5/2 and "consumer-switched-off" 12V power is BS7. For that, you need these parts: (2) -- 999.650.320.22 -- connector The photo below shows a close-up of the connections to the bridge plugs. One of the more critical things you need to do is tap into the "inside light" circuit that is governed by the alarm control unit under the driver's seat (below). This is a brown wire with a yellow stripe (BN/YE) from pin location B11 (your wire color and/or pin location may be different). I partially unwrapped the alarm control unit wiring harness and spliced into the BN/YE wire from B11. I used a soldering method with shrink tube covering and then re-wrapped the harness. Ground point 7 (GP7) is the lug in the floor pan, photo above. This is the OEM ground point for FWL. I added one ground wire for the FWL and another one for the Homelink device I was adding at the same time. The photo below shows the final route of the spiral-wrapped wiring to the footwell lamps. To connect the lamps, you need the following parts: (2) -- 996.632.980.00 -- light support (2) -- 997.632.201.00 -- light, with 10w linolite lamp (bulb) (2) -- 815.971.989.B -- plug socket (4) -- N.017.490.6 -- connector (spade) If you don't use the OEM light supports, you need to figure out how (and where) to adequately and safely mount the lights. At the switch end, note the photos below. The green plug socket on the left side is for the FWL switch. (Above the HVAC tubing, you can see the Homelink unit I installed.) Here, you need the following parts: (1) -- 996.613.980.06.A05 -- switch, console, FWL, black matte (1) -- 999.650.110.40 -- plug socket, console switch (green) (5) -- 999.650.103.12 -- connector Regarding wiring, I used automotive-grade TXL 18 AWG wire, except for the ground wire for which I used TXL 16 AWG wire—all purchased online from KayJay Co. (http://www.kayjayco.com/). You'll need a ring connector for the ground wire, available at your local electronics store. I bought extra connectors for everything, because they are cheap and if you mess up during crimping/soldering, it is no big deal to just do another one. Have some shrink tubing/insulation handy. Also, you'll want to have high-quality friction tape, electrical tape, wire ties, and wire covering for neat and safe wire routing. I hesitated to write this up because this method is a bit too involved and costly, especially considering the other options out there to get light at your feet. But a fellow board member contacted me recently and I see an occasional post where it seems someone is considering going the OEM route. So, if this helps someone, one way or the other, all the better. --Brian

Some good ideas for integrating a garage door opener have been previously presented in these forums; this is probably the most popular: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=5770 In this case, I installed a genuine Homelink device, tapping into two of its three channels which are actuated by a Porsche targa shade switch for near-OEM function and appearance. I went this route because it has the advantage of being programmable (and re-programmable) and there are no worries about power or battery life. Although this isn’t an original idea, I went about it a little differently than I’ve seen before, so I thought I’d share here. This Homelink installation was for my particular 2003 986S. Other vehicles may be different, part numbers change, and there are risks involved in doing mechanical and/or electrical work on a vehicle. What’s presented here is a general overview of my DIY project, not a complete step-by-step set of instructions. Please obtain, understand, and follow the necessary repair and installation procedures in order to work safely, avoid damaging anything, and achieve a safe result. I obtained a Homelink device by purchasing a used overhead console unit from a late model GM vehicle. If I remember correctly, it was a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer. I bought it from an LKQ vendor on eBay for about $50. I wanted to get a device that I was fairly sure would have rolling code capability, so I took a pass on many of the units that did not have their date of production or vehicle of origin stated. Some photos of the console I bought: The Homelink was simply screwed into the plastic console and was extracted easily. I saved the connector and a bit of the wiring harness attached to it. (Most of the rest was recycled.) The three blue circles are actually tiny incandescent bulbs with blue, semi-transparent covers; these were for backlighting of the original console’s pushbuttons, which in turn actuated the silver/white pushbuttons located just above the bulbs. I studied the circuitry and did some internet research. I found that not all Homelink boards will look like the one above, so if you obtain one yourself, prepare for possible differences. Anyway, I determined that the GM wiring harness connected to this device did the following: The orange wire was +12VDC for the transmitter, the black wire was the main ground, and the brown wire with the white stripe (the middle wire) was +12VDC for the three backlight bulbs. I carefully detached the three blue-covered bulbs and the three pushbuttons from the board. I suppose you could leave the bulbs, but I wanted them out of the way. After that, the board looked like this: What I decided to do was keep the OE power/ground connector and solder wires to the appropriate tabs that formerly held the pushbuttons. The soldered ends are covered with glue for added durability. I trimmed the case a little, getting rid of the OE mounting tabs. A small hole in the case was made for the added wires. A Molex interlocking connector completed the assembly. I did the installation while doing another wiring project (adding footwell lighting, another post in this forum). I first made sure the key was out of the ignition and then disconnected the battery. Among the things I ended up removing to do both projects: the driver’s seat, driver’s side rocker and kick panel trim, the dashboard relay carrier, the gauge cluster, all components of the upper center console (i.e. trim, radio, HVAC control, vents, cupholder, etc.), the lower center console, and other trim. I connected the targa shade switch and the Homelink directly to the appropriate bridge plugs (“BS”) and ground point (“GP”). I put together a wiring diagram for my records (see below). In my car, BS7 is for consumer-switched-off and BS5/2 is for the instrument panel LED lighting with dimming. These bridge plugs are in the dashboard relay carrier. GP7 is under the driver’s seat. This way, the switch is backlit and dimmed the same as the other console switches. The consumer-switched-off circuit goes into standby mode about two hours after the car is turned off. Therefore, power to the Homelink is shut down, too. However, the Homelink retains its programming, regardless of the duration that power is interrupted. As soon as a door is opened, this circuit springs back to life and the Homelink functions as usual. This wiring diagram applies to my car and the Homelink board that I tapped into, so use at your own risk. There was a good place above the HVAC ductwork with plenty of room to mount the Homelink assembly. I used heavy-duty self-adhesive Velcro to adhere it to a flat spot on the underside of the dash. The purple socket on the left side is what I prepared for the targa shade switch. The targa shade switch in the lower left position is easily reached without looking. Push one side to activate one channel, push the other side to activate the second channel. To program the Homelink, you hold the remote that you want to emulate near the center of the dash above where the Homelink is mounted. Press and hold the remote button. Press and hold the appropriate side of the targa switch. Count to ten. If your garage door opener is not rolling code, then you are done. If rolling code, you have to follow the instructions that came with your garage door opener. For mine, the final steps were to press a “learn” button on the opener itself and then press the targa switch three times (each time holding for a second or two), all within 30 seconds. The range on the Homelink as I installed it here is acceptable to me; it works from 50-100 feet (15-30 meters), no matter what direction the vehicle is facing. I was going to try mounting it high up in the A-pillar as others have done, but the Homelink case was just too big to fit under the trim. Porsche Parts List: (1) -- 996.613.119.10.A05 -- switch, console, targa shade, matte black (1) -- 996.650.111.40 -- plug socket, console switch (purple) (5) -- 999.650.103.12 -- connector (for console switch plug socket) (2) -- 999.650.320.22 -- connector (for contact bridge/bridge plug) Regarding wiring, I used automotive-grade TXL 18 AWG wire, purchased online from KayJay Co. (http://www.kayjayco.com). You’ll also need a ring connector for the ground wire and the Molex connector and pins that I mentioned above; these are items available at your local electronics store. I bought extra connectors for everything, because they are cheap and if you mess up during crimping/soldering, it is no big deal to just do another one. Also, you’ll want to have high-quality friction tape, electrical tape, wire ties, and wire covering for neat and safe wire routing. That’s it; hope it was of interest. --Brian