Radio replacement

I know ther are a lot of posts and I have read most of them but I have a question that is unanswered in them. To anyone that has personally replaced their radio on an earlier model (mine is a 2000), will the new aftermarket radio fit perfectly into the original slot/hole or are special adapters needed?

Mine has died (LCD permanently out but plays OK, CDs stick in the mechanism and won't come out). I can pick up a new radio and wiring harness adapter for around $100 on-line (not interested in blowing the roof off just basic am/fm CD) and Pioneer, Kenwood and JVC all make units in that price range that they say will fit. The same unit purchased from Best Buy installed is around $200. I have installed radios in other cars in the past but had access from behind under the dash, not so in the Boxster. Any advice from someone who has done this if this a job for me or do I get a pro to do it?

Many thanks!

biloxiboxster said:

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will the new aftermarket radio fit perfectly into the original slot/hole or are special adapters needed?
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I have installed radios in other cars in the past but had access from behind under the dash, not so in the Boxster. Any advice from someone who has done this if this a job for me or do I get a pro to do it?

Many thanks!

Click to expand...

If you've done it before, you can do it for the Boxster! Nothing special, really. The size is standard, so an aftermarket in the standard format will fit. You may need to get "keys" for the factory unit -- these are really just small blades that are notched just so to hook onto the factory unit's frame latches so you can slide out its whole frame. I bought my replacement unit from Crutchfield and they let you specify everything and will send you the right "keys" and wiring connector/adapters. What I don't remember is whether a new unit slides into the factory frame (i.e., the frame is matched to the car) or comes with a frame (frame matched to the head unit).

If you look at the photos in my article about fixing the parking brake switch, you can see how the LOWER front console can be removed, which I suppose might let you get additional access to the back of the UPPER console where the head unit lives, but I'm not sure if that really helps beyond making it easier to feed other wires around (for example, you can see the white external Pioneer iPod adapter I located under the lower console, and the iPod cable I routed under the center console to the rear console storage compartment).

My only issue was that I connected one wire incorrectly at first, resulting in a battery drain! I figured it out eventually.

Here's a link to my brake switch article, with photos where you can see how to remove the lower console, and you can see the new head unit I installed.

http://www.bombaydigital.com/boxster/projects/parking_brake_switch/

Easy swap din sized units.. You'll need to have the keys to remove the original radio.. Do you have the amp on your stock deck? If you do then it will not work if you put an aftermarket deck on. You'll have to have an aftermarket amp run it.. Easiest radio to install wihout worrying to wire it up is the blaupunkt radios as they use the same plugin connectors that Porsche does so you basically remove the old radio and plug it into the blaupunkt radio.. Also aftermarket radios will require an antenna adapter. The blaupunkt because it's German does not require it.
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I have a 2000 S that came with the DSP amp. I've gone through the years from single DIN to now a double DIN with NAV, iPod, and XM radio, using the stock DSP amp. Replacing with a single DIN size is easy. You can buy wiring harnesses to connect the new unit and get you RCA connectors for the amp. Be sure to connect the amp on/off and antenna amp wires, my first mistake long ago. Back in the day you had to solder your own RCA connectors for the amp and use a harness for a VW. The harnesses you can buy now allows you to avoid cutting wires. You will need an antenna adapter as others have noted. I highly recommend getting a unit that has an iPod connection.

A double DIN is a bit more work. Requires some cutting and fabricating. There's a nice kit on eBay I have since found to replace my fabricated brackets and faceplate. I'm pretty sure you can find the wiring harnesses there too.

Here are the the harnesses and adapter you'll need according to Crutchfield.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_120701787/Audi-Wiring-Harness.html

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12040vw12/Antenna-Adapter.html

As I recall if you buy from them they throw this stuff in.

Awesome! Thanks for all of the replies. I have located the wiring hareness I need and ready to tackle. Thanks again!

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a wire that goes to the left side of the cradle for the stock radio that is hooked to the alarm. It is a common problem to have the alarm go off intermittently with an aftermarket radio. The easiest way to eliminate the problem is to disconnect the wire and wrap it in electrical tape.

I went with a JVC for one reason... it has infinitely adjustable colors for the display. I was able to dial in the exact orange glow of the other displays in the car. Additionally, you can put custom text on the display... see "PORSCHE" text in photo. It also plugged right into the existing amp and sounds great. It fits like a glove and looks like a factory install, if I do say so myself. The best part...$89 at Best Buy. They had two higher end units with USB port and more power but this things sounds better than the original unit, allows me to plug in my iPod and plays mp3's so CD's can have over 200 songs.

Larger photo...

Double DIN with DSP

Hloo10 seems to have indicated that it is possible to have a double din unit PLUS DSP option. That would mean you need to mount the climate control and the DSP panel on the lower console. Any advice and tips on how it could be done?