Horsepwr

Hey guys, if you haven't done this hack already, its a game changer. Looks super clean so I don't have to have the bulky opener laying around my car, or fumble with my iPhone to open the garage door app. This was a VERY SIMPLE way to add a opener to the stock look. My car was already equipped with the button, but if yours doesn't have the button and just has a dummy, buy the button. This whole thing cost me $21, thew cost of the soldering iron. Side note this lady is very knowledgable, if you follow what she says this will be working in under 10 minutes.

peterp

Heidi and Franny's "how to" videos (all of them) are the best on the internet by a wide margin in my opinion. I have all the pieces to do this remote garage mod, but haven't had a chance to install it yet. I did a variation on their approach and bought a Homelink unit on Ebay for something like $20. The advantage of the Homelink is that you can power it directly instead of having to replace batteries every few years on a hidden regular remote. Also, you can power the Homelink from a "switched" power line if you want so the garage door can't be opened without a key (a plus for security, could be a downside for convenience for some people).

Horsepwr

I am not following your Homelink set up. Is this something that goes in a factory spot in the car, or is it an aftermarket piece? My garage door can only be opened by the remotes, the key pad and the second key pad with a combination, I am not sure why you mean about a key? Sounds interesting though. As far as the battery I figure it will need to be replaced once every 2-3 years and its pretty simple, it takes all of three seconds to pop off that housing that holds the buttons and the opener is right there. I suppose I could hardwire it if I really wanted but battery replacement seems like a moot point. Post some picks of how yours looks please.

gobs

Do you know if the Porsche switch comes in gloss? Seems I have only seen it in the flat black color.
Great video thank you

boingolover

You could probably eliminate the battery in garage door opener with something like this:


Of course, to make that work you'd probably want to wire that to the switch in the horseshoe, then have 12V constant running to the switch. Assuming the garage door remote can "remember" its pairing with the opener when power is removed ( I believe that's the case with ours ), you could just have the remote button constantly bridged closed so that whenever it's receiving power it's sending a signal.

Haven't tried it yet, but I have a spare garage door remote I'd be willing to sacrifice. If I do, I'll report back.

peterp

Sorry for not being very clear. Although I have all the hardware, I have not installed it yet, so take my comments with a bit of a grain of salt, but post #29 of this thread talks about using homelink -> https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...o-a-996-a.html.

What I meant about the "key" was that, by wiring it to a switched power source, you could make it so the garage door opener would work only when you turn on the ignition key. I prefer the security of somebody needing the 996 key to open the garage door versus a battery remote that is always on, but some may view that as a hassle (then they could just wire it to an "unswitched" power source).

Changing the battery on a regular garage remote is super easy, but if you bury that inside the console where it can't be seen, then it could be a bit a hassle to change the batteries later. If you can easily access the remote after hiding it, then I agree that replacing batteries is a total non-issue (especially since they last years).

I like the step down to 3 volts in post #5 as a solution for remotes that have "button" batteries. I have not tried this, but if your garage remote has an "A23" (looks like half a AAA) battery, I think those are 12 volts so you might be able to hook it up directly to a power source from the 996.

fpb111

fpb111

fpb111

You could also do this. It was a pain. I had to cut into some console ribs to get enough space to mount the unit.

fpb111

Becker Phone prep connector mate with pigtails.

Horsepwr

I get what you are saying about the key now and yes that would provide a little more security but for me the car is always in the garage so you would have had to access my garage already to use the always powered remote so I guess it would be a moot point lol. I find popping off the part of the dash that has the switch is really easy, it just pops off and I bought a tiny remote so its right behind there no digging around for it. I see how some people have the home link, but I feel this is a much easier option? It could easily be wired to the car if you wanted constant power, and or a keyed system. Keep us posted on how this works out for you. This just seems like more of a factory look to me over the home link.

Horsepwr

I do not know, but since mine came with the car I didn't research it. I guess it is a flat black, I never really noticed it before. My guess is its not available in gloss.

peterp

I'm still going to pull the HomeLink apart and activate one button with a regular Porsche switch like yours, so it should look the same externally. Having not done it yet, I'm assuming I will be able to find a space to hide the HomeLink unit (which is only slightly larger than a regular garage remote). My car has factory wood radio/vent surround, which is a little delicate (especially over time), so I also want to minimize taking it apart, but this concern wouldn't apply to most. My HomeLink cars seem to require a slightly longer button press before it opens than the original garage door opener remote, so this would be another advantage of using the garage door remote rather than HomeLink.



This is brilliant! My car has all gloss switches, so I ended up getting a convertible top switch simply because it was available in gloss (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-911-996-Gloss-Black-Convertible-Top-Switch-99661313800-OEM/182592370984?hash=item2a835a7928:g:LK4AAOSw-3FZJ2Zu&vxp=mtr). It still has "open" and "close" indicators on the switch, but with a convertible top picture instead of a garage . If I had to do it again, I would get the garage switch and spray it gloss. One thing I've found better than regular clear coat when you want to make something glossy without looking like it has any clear coat on it, is Krylon "Crystal Clear" ( ). It's meant for applying to paper and artwork and it applies a layer so thin that, even with a few coats, you can't really tell that the object has been painted, but it will look glossy.

fpb111

peterp

If I had thought of your gloss coating trick, I would have definitely ordered the targa button instead.

It's been a while since I watched Franny's video, but I suspect I can do two buttons with the convertible top switch also (but it will look a bit "off" for me to have that button in a coupe ). The targa switch (996 613 119 10 A05) looks perfect, so I may just get one and gloss it even though I already bought the convertible switch a long time ago for this. It will be a while before I have time to install it though.