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I think it is always like that for at least US spec cars. There are PIWIS settings where you can change that. There are some threads here explaining the different options...
Only lit when the headlights are on. Its a common complaint without any logical reason as to why Porsche does it this way vs any other automaker, but can be coded to be on by default as Mike said
I've done it with PIWIS II, and the issue with coding it on is that the needles are not lit, and so far no one has found a way to enable that. Unfortunately the backlight itself really doesn't help much. A definite oversight by Porsche.
I've done it with PIWIS II, and the issue with coding it on is that the needles are not lit, and so far no one has found a way to enable that. Unfortunately the backlight itself really doesn't help much. A definite oversight by Porsche.
I don’t recommend my cure for only lightning the tach needle (fairly labor intensive), but I had what I suspected a bad circuit board in my instrument cluster that did not allow the tach needle to illuminate even with the headlights on. The 981 CS was new to me and before I purchased my PIWIS2 and was unfamiliar with Porsche repairs. The dealership told me that the cluster was not serviceable as far as LED’s and wanted $4000 for a new cluster plus labor to install and program. I decided to disassemble the cluster to see if the LED’s were replaceable and discovered that there were 2 LED’s to illuminate the tach needle (both did not illuminate) and did not appear to be replaceable to me. So I went old school and purchased 2 small (NEO3-WPH) 9-14.8 VDC LED bulbs and drilled and glued the LED’s into the plastic “tunnel” that illuminates the tach needle. I soldered 22ga wire and connected it to the dimmable light ring that illuminates the ignition key. This $20 repair not only repaired my defective cluster but had the benefit of having an always fully illuminated tach needle even when the headlights are off. I later used PIWIS to code the cluster to be backlit full time. The two LED’s I installed are dimmable with the cluster **** but are even brighter than the OEM LED’s so the tach needle is VERY easy to see even in bright daylight with sunglasses 😎. This also would have been a good time to change the gauge face color if I would have thought of it in advance of my repair.
Jim
Added and glued two LED’s in drilled holes in tunnel
I don’t recommend my cure for only lightning the tach needle (fairly labor intensive), but I had what I suspected a bad circuit board in my instrument cluster that did not allow the tach needle to illuminate even with the headlights on. The 981 CS was new to me and before I purchased my PIWIS2 and was unfamiliar with Porsche repairs. The dealership told me that the cluster was not serviceable as far as LED’s and wanted $4000 for a new cluster plus labor to install and program. I decided to disassemble the cluster to see if the LED’s were replaceable and discovered that there were 2 LED’s to illuminate the tach needle (both did not illuminate) and did not appear to be replaceable to me. So I went old school and purchased 2 small (NEO3-WPH) 9-14.8 VDC LED bulbs and drilled and glued the LED’s into the plastic “tunnel” that illuminates the tach needle. I soldered 22ga wire and connected it to the dimmable light ring that illuminates the ignition key. This $20 repair not only repaired my defective cluster but had the benefit of having an always fully illuminated tach needle even when the headlights are off. I later used PIWIS to code the cluster to be backlit full time. The two LED’s I installed are dimmable with the cluster **** but are even brighter than the OEM LED’s so the tach needle is VERY easy to see even in bright daylight with sunglasses 😎. This also would have been a good time to change the gauge face color if I would have thought of it in advance of my repair.
Jim
Added and glued two LED’s in drilled holes in tunnel
I've done it with PIWIS II, and the issue with coding it on is that the needles are not lit, and so far no one has found a way to enable that. Unfortunately the backlight itself really doesn't help much. A definite oversight by Porsche.
any specific on which codes to adjust using PIWIS II? thanks !
any specific on which codes to adjust using PIWIS II? thanks !
Yep, from my notes...
Instrument Cluster Backlight w/o Headlights on (Enable/Disable)
Enable Engineering Mode
Select the Kombiinstrument module and press “Codierung Anpassungen”
Select “Manuelle Codierung ohne MCR Regeln (Entwicklung)” and click Next
RPM Guage:
Scroll down and select “Dimmung - allegemeine Konfiguration: Konfiguration zentrales Zifferblatt Weiss”
Click Next
Set value to “ja” to enable / “nein” to disable
Click “Shhreiben” to save
Speedometer (Can only be enabled after enabling RPM gauge):
Scroll down and select “Dimmung - allegemeine Konfiguration: Konfiguration alle Zifferblatter Weiss”
Click Next
Set value to “ein” to enable / “aus” to disable
Click “Shhreiben” to save
Last edited by Natural1; Jun 13, 2024 at 11:41 PM.
I have the same complaint. During the day both the center and left pods are very hard. A little to read. Dumb mistake by Porsche. I usually just take the headlights out of auto and into on.
Unfortunately, because they're only designed to be lit at night, the backlight brightness is low enough that it's barely noticeable during the day. I coded it on in my car and it's not really all that helpful. I think having the needles lit would be better given the contrast of red on black but there doesn't appear to be a way to do it on 981s without making physical modifications.
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Gauge Cluster Backlit
