ckkrause

I added reflective tape and higher watt bulbs and it came out great.... Easy, effective fix.. On the other hand, I was a bit pissed to find that when I pulled the instrument panel the cover lens was glue gunned, in a very half-assed way, to the instrument panel and, worse, the check engine light was missing... Just adds to the long list of half-assed stuff I've found... Sorry for the rant... back to your local station.

-CKKrause

FRporscheman

That sucks!

odurandina

glass ?? gone. removed the check brakes lights so i could run pbr pads in peace.... kuz they are like, the ****zzzz. then the stupid exclamation point light. GONE. if the car does a big fugly, GOOD... i read my instruments very often. it's called "driving a Porsche..." anyway like i was saying, if the engine does a big fugly, all good. and get a motor that doesn't cause everything in the car to buzzzz and vibrate like a harley StrekStrekStrekStrekking davidson. problems solved.


the panel — front-lit that SOB with led lights on a string. came out incredible. no "bling" element whatsoever.... i might like this epic fix even more than all the other fun stuff i've done. my panel looks awesome cruzing the intahstate in the wee hours. as bright as a real car.... oh, and how do i get rid of those nasty chimes that ring when i open the door.

ckkrause

Huh?

JDS968

Are you drunk?

Can you tell me a little more about how you set up that front-lit LED panel? I've been dreading the idea of tearing my dash apart to put reflective tape on my light guides and replace the bulbs with LEDs, was this a lot less "invasive"?

Also, what year is your 968? I don't have any sort of chimes when I open the door...although I don't have a LOT of things. I don't even seem to have a dome light anymore, I should probably get my test light out tomorrow...

FRporscheman

CK, I think he's saying he deleted his gauge cluster's lens, removed the "!" light bulb, and the brake pad warning light bulbs. I hope if that car is ever sold, all that stuff is put back!

JDS, you don't need to take apart the dash or anything, just remove the steering wheel, and the cluster bezel with the center air vent. It really takes like 15 minutes. Regarding the chime, I'm pretty sure all 968s came with one. It will chime if you open your door and either the key is still in the ignition or you left the headlights on. I can't remember if it chimes / gongs if you leave the radio on. Check your relays and fuses.

John Etnier

There's an easy fix for that chime thing: I just don't remember what it is!

As to brake wear indicators, that's better addressed at the sender end.

JDS968

What about the part immediately after that, where the gauge cluster itself has to come out of the dash? That's what I'm worried about...

You mean the headlight switch, not the headlights themselves, right? Because in my car at least, it won't permit you to leave the headlights on with the key out, it turns the headlights off and leaves the parking lights on.

Again, you mean leaving the switch on, right? Because my radio is on switched power, so there's no way to have it on ever, with the key out...not sure why anybody would care if the switch is left in the on position, unless that's not normal operation?

odurandina

yes... i picked up a hot wire from back near the fan and ran it through toward the front panel. (straightforward). picked up an 18" LED light band from Autozone and trimmed it down to 13" along the perforated lines (where it's okay to trim) and glued it in with epoxy. not a solution that everyone would embrace, but i love the result. LOVE IT.... i'll be back in Ft. Lauderdale soon and show you. you'll **** when you see how nice it came out.





it's a bit of a tight squeeze but my 996 wheel can stay on during this process. not sure about the stock 968 wheel.





pbr pads don't accept the brake sensors.... no loss. so i removed that light, and the exclamation point light. i am running the brightest lights BEHIND the instrument cluster that i am in the know about. they still weren't bright enough.


i removed the lexan. never liked the lexan. i'm running a thin strip of natural, blue/white LED lights right behind the rear guard that supports the lexan. very inconspicuous. the result is very bright compared to your stock setup. the color is about the same as 6000 K HID light... extremely easy on the eyes, but not too bright. i love the result. and no, there's no "bling" associated with the look of my instruments, save for the cf/bezel rings which also look great front and rear lit in my opinion.


cleaning: w/ compressed air in a can, and very carefully.


i've wanted to take night photos for some time but i need a really good camera for that.




this guy's driven my car hard at night on the twisties of some back woods in Mass. (see post # 36)...


i think he also liked how my instrument panel turned out. feel free to ask.


https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...-heaven-3.html




/

FRporscheman

IIRC, pulling out the cluster itself is simple, it just has some wire connectors to unplug.
Yes, you are correct.
Sorry, my mistake. You are right, you can't leave the radio on no matter what.

FRporscheman

Dude, you can just jumper the harness for the brake pad sensors in the wheel wells, and leave your brake warning light intact. If the pads are ever changed and you (or the next guy) wants to use the sensors again, they can.

JDS968

I should hope so! PM me when you get here.

I'll probably just wait until I get the 968CS wheel anyway, it's no emergency...anybody want to buy me a Christmas present?

Maybe when you show it to me, I'll take some shots for you.

In that case, what's the point of the chime?

That's what I did with the VW, worked fine.

RajDatta

Alan, a lot of those "!" are there to warn you of impending issues. Some of the "fixes" you put in were simple enough that you did not need to go into your cluster to fix them.
A simple pad sensor with both its wires grounded together would have given you the same result. It would have been much cleaner.
I don't like to $hit on other people's parade but when you give advise on a forum, it has to be good, clean advise (since you will be held to a higher standard).
I think a different angle picture would give people a better idea of what you did and how it came out.
Raj

RajDatta

The chime/buzzer/gong is a relay under the dash and does not require you to remove the dash to install one.
Just look under the dash. You will see two receptacles for big sized relays, one is for DRL and the other is for the door gong. Just get one and install it, it's that simple. A lot of people remove them because they find the gong to be annoying.
Raj

RajDatta

+ 1.
Don't go around hacking your Porsche. That is bad advise. Removing any of these components is no different that what the PO did to the OP. Not a nice thing in my opinion.
Raj