wlm50

Hi All, after reading a number of threads on steering wheel swaps, I decided to purchase a 997.2 sport wheel and put it in my 2009 C4 6 MT car, which had the triangle standard wheel. It went in easily this morning. But the horn does not work. From previous threads, I thought a 6MT wheel withou heating or multi function would be plug and play. Multi function wheels often need a new airbag controller. But not with my situation.

Anyone have experience with this and know what might be wrong? I'm not doing the work myself. I'm at my installer, a shop that does lots of work on Porsches for the local PCA members and track junkies.

Thanks.

joelpirela

it seems you still need the controller. $150. They need to download the data from the old controller, install the new controller and upload the data to it. Then, your horn will work. Funny thing… on my old 2005 997, with the ugly triangular steering wheel, I had the 997.2 controller installed. It seems the 997.2 controller works on 997.1 and 997.2's, so my installation was truly plug and play.

Diamond Blue 4S tip

It is possible the airbag wire is obstructing the horn. Here is a quote from a 2007 thread recently renewed:

wlm50

Thanks for the two quick responses. The wire is not obstructed, as we carefully checked all the wiring. The installer also was able to check that the horn function is available in the car by testing the software. But we can't make the horn work from the wheel. Bummer! I really thought I would not need the controller based on the many previous threads.

Perhaps it is possible that the installer just needs to download the software from the old controller and upload it to the new wheel. But it's starting to feel like I'm going to have to spring for the controller and a trip to the dealer for a SW reprogram. And I thought this would be an easy 30 minute job....

wlm50

So I took the car to the dealership. They could not make the horn work. They hooked up their computer, and it would not recognize the new horn. They said they felt that because it was an early 2009, the wiring was different, and the steering wheel couldn't be made to work. They also said the controller unit was only necessary if there were multi- functions that had to be changed. So, at the moment, I'm back to my original steering wheel.

david997.2

I've got a similar problem .. Ive got a 997.2 2010 GTS steering wheel and airbag. I bought it from Suncoastparts. suncoastparts said it'll work for my 2009 997.2 c2s MT, but the porsche dealer couldn't make the airbag work.... I went to my local Porsche dealer to get this swap. The steering wheel fits, but the airbag sends the wrong codes or doesn't want to work with the car. My dash becomes a Christmas tree... The airbag that fits this GTS wheel works with 2010-2012 models for some reason.. My car is 2009, which is the 997.2, but not sure why the airbag isn't working with 2009 models only 2010+... Before I ordered this steering wheel & airbag, I've called suncoastparts and told them that I've got a 2009 C2S MT, and they told me that this steering + airbag will work & that I'd need a control module... When I was at the Porsche dealership they told me the airbag doesn't work nor the control module re-coding.. so i called suncoastparts, so they can talk to the Porsche technicians and figure it out... which they couldn't... Suncoastparts said " We'll do more research and call you back" .. which they didn't... And now suncoastparts doesn't want this stuff back, so I'm stuck with this ... Not sure what to do..
I really hope someone were in this situation and got around the problem..

wlm50

Sorry to hear about your problem. I talked to Suncoast earlier today. They were very nice and helpful as I described my situation with the C4. They were very careful, however, to say that they couldn't guarantee that my buying their OEM control module would work on my car. And I see on their site that it is not returnable. So I chose not to go that route. After what the dealer told me later, I think the module would not have helped me anyway.

If I can't get this wheel to work, I will either return it to the seller or list it on Rennlist. It's a beautiful wheel and airbag, and I think it will work for many of you. It just doesn't seem to like my early 2009 997.2. First, however, the seller is going to talk to my installer to see if they can figure it out together.

mk3boy

ecs tuning sells a plug to make it work. I ordered one but not installed yet.

david997.2

I would really want to keep the GTS wheel.
Could you post the link or send it? To this ecs tuning plug

wlm50

If this is the "steering column switch," I think it's the same module sold by Suncoast. But if it is different, I would be interested in learning more about it.

mk3boy

http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2804788/

Harness Adapter - Priced Each

Adapts updated horn to original vehicle wiring harness
The updated horns currently offered by Porsche use a different electrical connector that the one your 987 or 997 was originally supplied with. This adapter allows you to plug a new-style horn in without any cutting or splicing.
One is used per horn.

ECS Tuning

That harness is at the horn itself, and not at the steering wheel. It will not solve the problem described in this thread, unfortunately.

david997.2

I went to my local Porsche dealership again for attempt #2 ... And everything worked out this time! Suncoastpart knew what they were talking about. Love the GTS alcantara steering wheel, very happy with the upgrade.
The dealership hasn't done in the right order the first time. Second time they've done everything in this order ----
-Download 997.1 Steering Column Control Unit coding
-Save to PIWIS
-Remove 997.1 Steering Wheel
-Remove 997.1 Steering Column Control Unit
-Install 997.2 Steering Column Control Unit
-Install 997.2 Steering Wheel/Airbag
-Code 997.2 Steering Column Control Unit
-Save changes

It works.
But the horn doesn't work at the moment. So if you'll get yours to work mk3boy with that Horn Harness Adapter from ECS or some other way please let us know.

mk3boy

The car is still no out. Trying to figure out how to make the ****ty bolt on fabspeed exhaust. Fitment is like using square peg to go thew triangle.