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Double DIN and amp install - Bose and MOST 996 Turbo

rmaurer

Trainee
Joined
29 Oct 2007
Messages
50
Hi all, I recently bought a 996 Turbo and have been thoroughly enjoying all aspects of it bar 1 - the woeful stereo system! I know I know - I should be listening to the music of the flat 6, revelling in the acceleration and handling etc but living just outside London I inevitably spend time in traffic hoping to find open roads and music is a necessity to maintain some sanity!

My car is a 2003 with Bose, CDR23 (single DIN CD head unit) and CD changer in the boot, so has the MOST fibre optics bus which adds some complexity. My aim was to swap out the head unit with an iPhone compatible double din unit, remove the Bose amp and CD changer and install a 5 channel amplifier. A key factor was to be able to revert the system back to standard so no cutting of wires in the factory loom.

I bought the following:

Pioneer App Radio 2 (SPH-DA100)
Kenwood KAC-X5D 5 channel amp - very compact and not overly expensive
Connect2 CT23PO02 fascia kit
Autoleads PC2-95-4 wiring loom
Autoleads PC5-100 car aerial fakra adaptor
2x 5m shielded RCA cables (one with built in remote lead)
HVAC surround piece for lower console - Porsche part 996 552 339 00 01c

I then worked through the wiring diagrams to identify what is present in the existing looms and what needed altering. For the head unit the missing connections are illumination (dimmer) and 12v switched. At the amp end, the PC2-95-4 allows you to connect straight into the car loom from the amp for speakers, earth and permanent power but I opted to run separate earth and perm 12v connectors to prevent any risk of overloading the standard wiring.

My wiring table was as follows:

IMG_1334.JPG


Once I had modified the PC2-95-4 loom by soldering in additional speaker wiring, upgrading the sub connections and removing unused wires it was time to start removing interior panels. I'm not going to describe how to dismantle the interior as it is all well documented on various forums but feel free to contact me if you want any advice.

I already owned the stereo removal keys for the CDR23 as they match the Audi factory stereo which I removed in my old RS6 so the CDR23 was removed and disconnected without a problem. My car came with a Nokia bluetooth hands free kit so that was also removed and wiring reverted back to standard.

Having done several audio installs over the years in previous cars I had a spare couple of ISO harnesses - these were sacrificed to provide the 12v switched and illumination mini female connectors that I inserted into the 911 ISO connector slots. The 911 ISO connector has a small yellow tab that must be unlocked and slid out to free the pins so you can add in additional mini iso connectors.

IMG_1335.JPG


Next the HVAC controls were removed ready to move them down to the lower console bottom slot - the wiring access behind the console is restricted so take your time threading the wiring harness down! The controls simply slot in but mine was a tight fit, then the purchased trim ring just clips on over the top to cover the edges and profile to the lower console.

For illumination, I tapped the cigarette lighter illumination feed which is easily found using a multimeter. It is the blue/white lead in this picture:

IMG_1343.JPG


And for switched live someone had mentioned finding a source in the HVAC loom so having confirmed earth and perm 12v the switched live does exist at the opposite end of the black HVAC connection - blue/black wire furthest left of this picture:

IMG_1346.JPG


Fascia fitting - the Connect2 metal frame is ok but I found my Pioneer supplied cage provided a better fit to the dash frame. I took quite some time with a Dremel filing down the 911 dash frame to ensure a flush cage fit, used sections of an old license plate as wedges (perfect thickness doubled up) and a couple of screws to hold everything tightly. I also needed to remove the riveted in metal wings behind the dash cage on a separate metal frame - again, time and patience is key. The black pastic Connect2 fascia has 2 lips behind it and I needed to again dremel down the depth of the inner lip as it was contacting the head unit and pushing the fascia out by 2-3mm meaning it was not flush with the dash.

Finally achieving a decent flush fit I wired up the stereo with all connectors, wired in the hands free microphone, hooked up the handbrake switch and ran the RCA leads into the drivers side footwell. It was then a case of testing the unit for power, radio reception (no audio yet) and iPhone connectivity - all good.

IMG_1377.JPG


Bose sub rewire:
I did not take any pictures of this but it is very straight forward. Pop the rear seats down, remove the trim rings around the sub ports and undo the Torx screw behind here. The sub then slides forwards, rotate it when it can go no further and disconnect the sub connection at the rear. You can then lift the sub out of the car.

Rewiring is required as the subs are 1 ohm impedence and run in parallel. Remove the 20+ torx screws around the outside of the box and simply rewire the subs to be in series (2 ohm) which is within my Kenwood amp specs.

Reassembly is the reverse of removal ;)


Amplifier Install:
Having removed all the trim panels in the boot and removing the Bose amp and CD changer I worked out that the Kenwood amp would fit very neatly within the CD changer bracket. The changer bracket slots into 2x metal clips at the bottom (under the brake master cylinder) and uses a single bolt at the top to fix it in place. I straightened out and cut (good old Dremel again) the changer bracket so that it is a vertical sheet and moved one of the original changer clips so that the bracket would drop straight into the clip vertically while still using the bolt at the top. A couple of additional holes in the bracket and I bolted the amp straight on.

I moved the amp wiring loom up and cable tied it to a couple of convenient slots, then connected and secured the PC2-95-4 loom around the bulkhead:

IMG_1370.JPG


Then I ran a dedicated fused power through from the battery to the amp location and the RCA leads. To get the RCA leads through from the drivers footwell into the boot, I used the grommet just behind the battery... Thinking I would just punch a whole straight through the grommet, I promptly pushed the grommet straight into the car (i.e. it popped out completely). With it out, I drilled a hole through the grommet and fed the RCA leads through then attempted to reseat the grommet - this was a major pain in the ar$e! There are 2x hoses just in front of the grommet opening (battery removed) and I ended up spending about an hour performing key hole surgery to reseat the grommet back in its place. :frustrated:

In this picture, you can see the amp secured in place mounted to the changer bracket:

IMG_1369.JPG


While this picture shows the space you have to work with and the clip that I have moved:

IMG_1367.JPG


And here is the amp with all trim pieces back in place:
IMG_1371.JPG

IMG_1372.JPG



And for reference, here are a couple of shots of the Bose amp wiring connector:
IMG_1326.JPG

IMG_1327.JPG

IMG_1329.JPG


Overall I am very happy with the results - sound quality is much improved and the dash has been brought up to date. The App Radio is probably the weakest link, it works reasonably well but has a few quirks where you have to select things on both the head unit and the phone but I paid <£200 for it (Halfords deal and Quidco combination) so it hasn't set me back too much...

Hopefully this may be useful info for people in the future! :bye:

Ross
 
Excellent post and photos. While I agree the sound system isn't great it does show how much work it takes to fit a worthwhile upgrade.
 
Thx great detail about todo this on the turbo already did it for the boxster..
One quick question the connects 2 kit says for install without a cupholder, like you I have a cupholder so I guess the kit is fine ??
Thx
 
rmaurer said:
2x 5m shielded RCA cables (one with built in remote lead)

Really??? Or do you mean 5x 2M for the 5 channel amp?

I have this project to do in a couple of weeks when more bits arrive.
 
forever said:
Thx great detail about todo this on the turbo already did it for the boxster..
One quick question the connects 2 kit says for install without a cupholder, like you I have a cupholder so I guess the kit is fine ??
Thx

Hi, yes I was a little concerned about the cupholder mention in the kit but it definitely fits without a problem. I have seen these installed with the curved profile at the top and bottom - not sure which way it was intended but I preferred the curve at the bottom. Just a case of try it and see.
 
yo_clarkie said:
rmaurer said:
2x 5m shielded RCA cables (one with built in remote lead)

Really??? Or do you mean 5x 2M for the 5 channel amp?

I have this project to do in a couple of weeks when more bits arrive.

I used 2x 5m as I already owned them from a previous car install. 5m is definitely overkill though as there is lots of wire left over. 2m might not be enough though once you factor in routing the cables neatly, 3m would probably be the best length to aim for to make sure...
 
Great write-up.

Out of interest, how much do you think a stereo installation company would charge to do what you've done DIY?

Thinking about an upgrade in my 996.2 C2 with MOST in the near future, but fairly daunted by the wiring etc.
 
A very professional looking install Ross, not just the finished item but all the way through. Thanks for the great write up, this is on my list of things to do or have done. To be honest I'd rather do it myself if possible, which it should be using this as a guide.

I just need to figure out the differences for the sub as mine is a cab and I "think" has only 1 sub as opposed to 2 on the coupe. I'm fine with the physical side of things, but the ohms/impedance are a bit out of my depth.

:thumbs:
 
Rmaurer, I'm having my PCM upgraded to the Pioneer Avic F950DAB at the moment, but need to check the fascia kit. I was planning to use the same as you, but on the connects2 website it says that the kit is for cars "without cupholder" only. I see you still have the cupholder in, did you have to modify anything or was it a straight fit?

Confused of Lancashire :)
 
Nice install and write up. One day I will be changing my pcm1 - it was out of date when it was in date!

I like the look of the app radio due to the small number of buttons - just worried about buying into the iPhone eco system for a head unit. I have my eye on the Pioneer F40BT - now the iPhone 5 cable is out.
 
Excellent write up. I'm guessing that would cost a few quid at an installation co. and you probably wouldn't get as through a job. :thumb:
 
Igurisu said:
Rmaurer, I'm having my PCM upgraded to the Pioneer Avic F950DAB at the moment, but need to check the fascia kit. I was planning to use the same as you, but on the connects2 website it says that the kit is for cars "without cupholder" only. I see you still have the cupholder in, did you have to modify anything or was it a straight fit?

Confused of Lancashire :)

Hi Pete, the fascia kit was a straight fit without any modifications required to the dash/console. :) The only mods I made were to the inner lip of the Connect2 fascia to ensure a flush fit between dash and fascia ring. A dremel makes short work of that.
 
Many thanks Ross, the kit is ordered now, car going in on Monday for installation.
 
rmaurer said:
yo_clarkie said:
rmaurer said:
2x 5m shielded RCA cables (one with built in remote lead)

Really??? Or do you mean 5x 2M for the 5 channel amp?

I have this project to do in a couple of weeks when more bits arrive.

I used 2x 5m as I already owned them from a previous car install. 5m is definitely overkill though as there is lots of wire left over. 2m might not be enough though once you factor in routing the cables neatly, 3m would probably be the best length to aim for to make sure...

You are right, shop only had 2 and 5 m to I got 3 x 5m and some rca plugs, turns out 2.5m is the perfect length, so i cut two in half. Have mine in place but running off the head unit, amp due to arrive next week, so my install in two parts.
 
Great write up :)
 

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