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YOUR RESEARCHSpoiler Position indicator light?
Leading reported evidence
Use black/green wire instead, as suggested by a youtube vid
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I used a black/green wire instead, as suggested by a YouTube vid, but that only landed me where I am.
Leading evidence: 'Use black/green wire instead, as suggested by a youtube vid' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Check backside out as you pass by' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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The spoiler works when I use the switch on the wall of driver's side footwell but I can't see the spoiler go up/down in my rear or side mirrors when driving at 75/37 when it's supposed to be operating.
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Suggestion
Or, you just dive by any shiny, black truck and check your backside out as you pass by.
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Suggestion
I made some progress with this problem last night but could still use some help.
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The spoiler works when I use the switch on the wall of driver's side footwell but I can't see the spoiler go up/down in my rear or side mirrors when driving at 75/37 when it's supposed to be operating.
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Outcome without a verified action link
Still not sure why wiring up the indicator stops my spoiler from extending.
Does anyone have a DIY for installing an indicator light to show if the retractable spoiler is up or down? I have searched quite a bit, and there used to be a DIY for this, but all of the links I have found lead nowhere.
I know there is a vendor on EBay that sells a kit, but I was looking for DIY instructions. I like a good project.
Basically, I have a spare indicator light on my dash that will be unused after I install my OBC (on board computer) switch. I'd like to have it do SOMETHING, and this seems like a fun, albeit superfluous project.
Has anyone done this? Do you know of a write-up?
Hi Frisbee,
I have the DIY and an extra light/switch/indicator........(if you or anyone out there is interested).....
I have not done it, but expect to do it soon. The stuff is at home (including the written DIY).....I do not have it in electronic form, but can send to you tomorrow...
If anyone out there lives in the Raleigh area and wants to do this mod, let's do it together.....I provide the beer, Rum, garage and tools !!
I know this can be done because I performed this mod on my Boxster over a decade ago. The problem I have is it was so long ago I can't remember how I did it.
Driving the Boxster there is no way to see the spoiler while driving the car, but in the 996 all you need to do it look in the rear view mirror, so I never saw the point in doing the same mod on my 911.
If memory serves, I found the instructions on Porsche Pete's Boxster Board (now defunct). Be forwarned that to do this mod, you need to totally remove the instrument cluster. In other words it's not a simple mod for the faint of heart.
I think the instructions may be available still on Renntech.
Good luck.
This mod is very similar to the OBC enabling; You may want to do both at the same time (while you are there).........
I found the write ups......see attached.......
Yeah, I've seen lots of old references (10 years old) to this mod, but have been unable to find the detailed DIY instructions. The old links to "porsche pete's" site are broken.
On my '99 Cab, I can't see the spoiler in the rear view mirror. Maybe because it's a cab, or maybe because I'm too short?
Surely someone must have the old DIY?
My plan is to do both mods while I have the instrument cluster off this weekend.
Thanks for the info, but the write-up you attached for the Spoiler Indicator are the instructions for installing the ebay "kit". I was looking for the DIY instructions from scratch (no kit).
I think there is a small bit of electronics behind the switch needed, maybe a resistor or a relay. I can handle that if I understand how the mod works.
Still looking...
Ahhhhhh...if you are familiar with electronics, you will know what to do by studying/reviewing sheet number 97 of the 996 wiring diagram....specifically coordinates H to P and 74 to 80 of that sheet !!
As a former power electronics designer.....I thought of doing it my way also, but I decided to go the easy way.....the kit already exists...
[QUOTE=frisbee91;10484773]
On my '99 Cab, I can't see the spoiler in the rear view mirror. Maybe because it's a cab, or maybe because I'm too short?"
I have the same car, I am 6'3" and I cannot see it either !!
Looks like it's Sheet #8 of the wiring diagram, not #97. Reviewing the diagram (below), it looks like I pick wire/terminal
#9
on the white plug on the instrument cluster as the "spoiler extended" indicator, and
#26
as the "spoiler retracted" Indicator. I'm not clear on how to use these terminals.
I'm thinking I need to set up a latching circuit so my light goes on when the spoiler is fully extended, and off when fully retracted. Will these terminals give me a
+12VDC
signal, or just a
closed contact
to ground?
You are correct....it is #8....not sure what I was looking at when I picked 97 as the sheet...
I do not think you need a latching circuit, 'cause you already have the switching done by the "Drive Spoiler".....
#9 and #26 will give you a closed loop to ground (following the trace down to the drive spoiler, you can see that it goes to GP 8 - Ground Point 8, found in coordinate D167, sheet 17) ..... to be more specific, when spoiler is up, #9 goes to ground and #26 appears to "float"....when the spoiler is down, #26 goes to ground and #9 floats....
A simple circuit with an LED connecting the anode to a switched +12 will turn it on when extended (off when retracted).......or better yet, a dual color LED (common anode), red or green or orange when up, red or green or orange when down......do not forget to place a series resistor on the anode......
You could really get fancy and play with different combinations.....
Thanks. I can handle the wiring, but I'm not much of a circuit designer.
Have I captured this correctly in my diagram below? What size resistor should I use?
For a standard small LED driven by 12V, 1K will be bright and 2K will be softer. 10K would be very dim. It could also be that the resistor for the LED to operate at 12V is included inside the switch.
I know I am a bit late to this thread, but I too did buy a spoiler indicator kit (November of 2013 I think). I tried installing it in January but the instructions were less than desired. I emailed the guy in Germany for a better idea or photos but he did not write me back. If anyone can shed some light on this or snapped a pic of how his plugs went into the wiring harness of the gauge clusters, I'd really appreciate it. I've looked for a few months but cannot find any support for this. I know I cannot be the only guy who bought one of these kits.
Thanks
You actually insert (push in) the little "hardwire" next to the existing wire. It could be a PITA, as you need to "push aside" the existing wire, and then "push in" the parallel wire with it......my big hands did not help at all, but I got them in......
I have just installed one of those ebay indicator lights, but rather than the light on the switch coming on to indicate that the spoiler is up, the check engine light comes on instead.
Last night, after installing, the light on the switch (not really a switch, just an indicator) failed to indicate spoiler position but did flash in time with the turn indicators. But today, it does nothing and the CEL illuminates instead when the spoiler is up.
Obviously I've messed up some wiring. Any advice is appreciated while I work this out mostly through trial and error. Not sure how its behavior could change overnight.
The only part of the installation that was a bit ambiguous was when I was instructed to insert a prong on the end of a green wire into a white/green wire. I don't have a white/green wire (1999 C2). I used a black/green wire instead, as suggested by a YouTube vid, but that only landed me where I am.
Rear view mirror doesn't work for my CAB especially with the hard-top on..
Wish Porsche had just made the darn switch standard with an indicator light..
@Chodey
Because the switch blanks bug me, replacing them with a pointless feature is better than leaving them alone IMHO.
I made some progress with this problem last night but could still use some help.
After scrutinizing the wiring diagrams for over an hour, they finally began to make sense to me. It seems to me that the directions that came with the indicator lights were wrong, so I moved the double green diodes to a spot that the wiring diagram suggested might be correct (i.e. I plugged it into where the wiring diagram said the spoiler open/close relays were, while the instructions had me plugging in to the turn signals instead.)
When I do this, the indicator light works as it should, flashing when I press the button to extend the spoiler. But the spoiler doesn’t move. Unplugging the indicator light gets the spoiler working again.
So at this stage I can have the spoiler working properly, or the light working properly, but not both. Does anyone have any idea why connecting these wires to the spoiler relays would stop the spoiler from operating?
Just bought a 2000 C4 Cab and was wondering about this too.
The spoiler works when I use the switch on the wall of driver's side footwell but I can't see the spoiler go up/down in my rear or side mirrors when driving at 75/37 when it's supposed to be operating.
Any way to verify the operation of the spoiler other than sticking your head out the window and looking backwards over the rear fender hump while driving 75/37mph (LOL!) or installing the indicator light?
There�s a dashboard warning like to indicate a problem, so if you have no light you can consider its operation verified.
I�d still like to replace that crummy switch blank though. Still not sure why wiring up the indicator stops my spoiler from extending.
Thanks! I saw mention of this in the manual but I'd prefer to receive positive (rather than negative) notification of its operation but it is what it is.
I going to ask my GF to drive her car behind mine and tell me if she sees it go up and down between 75 and 37. I think that's the only way I'll know for sure whether it is working properly.
Thanks! That's another idea but the tape could pull loose for other reasons. So, I think just having the GF driving behind me at 75/37 is still the better option.
Pull loose, maybe if you can't put it on right
...I could give you several suggestions that will work, glad you came up with your own idea. Will your GF keep up at 74mph?
Yes, she can.
She has a lead foot like me. Actually, told her in the past not to follow to close at speed. She's only got a 4Runner but I won't take off on her, during the experiment while communicating her w/phones in hand free operation or w/rf radios until she can tell me if the spoiler is working or not..
Instead of my GF just following me to see if the spoiler is working and telling me whether she sees it go up or down or not, I think I'm going to install a GoPro on her dash or windshield and just record it as she drives behind me instead.
This way I'll have a visual record of it and won't have to question her about what she did or didn't see.
Problem is when I question her about certain observations, she often fails to take sufficient note of the details and then gets pissed off when I press for details that she can't remember which leads to hard feelings and sometimes an argument. This way, I can just see it for myself. It would be nice if she would call out the speed if/when she sees the spoiler go up and down, as the video runs but I'm not going to push her on that point.
I feel your pain. I had this dialog just last week...
<ring ring>
Wife: Honey, the check engine light came on in the S6. I stopped at the side of the highway. What do I do?
Me: Did the light just come on, or did it flash?
Wife: It came on. And went off. Is that flashing?
Me: It went off when you turned the car off?
Wife: Yeah.
Me: That is not flashing.
Wife: But it came on a couple of times.
Me: It went on and off twice, or it flashed persistently?
Wife: Um, I'm not sure.
Me: Ok, start the car for just a moment. Watch the light for a few seconds. Turn the car off. Then tell me if it flashed.
Wife: It came on when I started the car.
Me: Did it flash?
Wife: It turned off again when I turned off the car.
Me: So it came on and then went off -- a single flash -- or multiple flashes?
That went on for some time. Was it flashing? We will never know. Regardless, one of the catalytic converters is toast. I suspect that the cat died slowly over a long period of time rather than quickly in my wife's hands, but that will have to remain a mystery.
Get going up and over 70 MPH then have your girlfriend take a "selfie" of the raised spoiler! San Marco Rd. near Goodland, FL
San Marco Rd. Goodland, FL
Thanks for the suggestions. Just did something simiiar.
Was out driving w/the GF w/the top down. When I found a clear stretch of road where I could open it up, I told her to unbuckle and get up and out of her seat to look back and tell me if/when the spoiler went up/down. She confirmed that it did both and actually took a pic of it up while at speed.
Question answered: it works.
