Orient Express

Porsche OEM Radio / iPod DIY low-cost interface installation. Not too long ago I bought an iPod and moved all of my music from CDs and other sources onto it. Currently I have over 6000 songs and 576 albums on my iPod and it is just over half full. Since the beauty of a portable music player like an iPod is the ability to take all of your music with you where ever you go, the next logical step was to integrate the iPod with the sound system in my 2002 Porsche C2 Cabriolet. Here is how I integrated my iPod into the Porsche sound system. It is a relatively easy DIY setup that is rated on a 1-10 difficulty scale at about a 4. (1=very easy). The parts that I used are easy and inexpensive to obtain, and the modifications required include soldering, and cutting some plastic parts. This DIY is applicable to 2002 and earlier Porsches that have an analog (non-MOST Bus) radio that has an auxiliary input. These radios include the Becker CDR-220 and Traffic-Pro units. Some of this DIY also applies to units that require an inline FM modulator to interface between the iPod and the radio (2003+ MOST Bus radios). The parts required include: - Audio/telephone cable kit - p/n 1319.116-276 - $16.00 - Phone power cable – p/n 5001.524-276 - $5.00 Both parts are available from Becker of North America 201-773-0978. Belkin Auto Kit for iPod Part # F8V7058-APL (under $10 on eBay) $39.95 retail Monster Cable iPod Sportscase (under $10 on eBay) $19.95 retail Male RCA to mini Stereo Cable 1 meter - $2.95 – Radio Shack Total best case cost - $44.00 The Belkin Auto Kit is the heart of the system. It plugs into a cigarette lighter for power, and has a line out connection for the iPod to connect directly into the radio. The line out connection provides superior sound quality over plugging into the headphone jack. The power input line also has a sense wire on it that will pause the iPod whenever power is removed from it. What I have done is hardwired the power input into the telephone power connector that is in the center console stack of a 996, and connected the line out from the iPod and the Belkin Auto Kit to the auxiliary input of the Becker OEM radio. The Monster Cable Sport Case helps hold the iPod in place and prevents it from scratching the center console. To mount my iPod I modified the center console ashtray to hold the Belkin auto kit cable, and to act as a tray to hold the iPod when in use. When not in use, I can tuck the cable back into the ashtray and close the lid, so that it is not obvious that there is an iPod in the car. To hardwire the Belkin Auto Kit into the car’s electrical system, you must take it out of its case. To do that, unscrew the fuse holder and retaining ring on the end that is stuck into the cigarette lighter and pull off the covers. You will end up with something that looks like this. In this photo, the cigarette lighter/fuse holder and ground are cut off, and replaced with a 2a fuse and holder and a ground line. These 2 wires will be connected to the Becker Phone power cable, and plugged into the existing connector in the Porsche center console stack. The Ashtray lifts out of the carrier, and the carrier is held in the center console with 2 plastic torx screws. Remove the carrier, and disconnect the connectors for the window switches. Cut a hole into the ashtray, and the ashtray/window switch carrier that fits in the center console, using a Roto drill or Dremmel tool to cut holes big enough for the Belkin Auto Kit iPod interface cable to pass through. Next, drill a pilot hole into the rear of both the ashtray and the carrier assembly. As you notice in the photos, cover the painted surfaces of these pieces with tape to keep them from getting scratched. Route the Belkin Auto Kit cable under the center console stack and along the driver’s side edge of the center console and up through the hole where the ashtray/window switch assembly goes. The best way to do this is to pull out the trays or CD holders that are installed in the center console stack and the driver’s side covers. They are held on by spring clips and pop right off. If you have problems fishing the cable through the center console, it is easy to remove the 4 screws that hold the center console in place. Loosen the screws to get the cable in place. When the console is loosened, route the cable up through the ashtray holder, and then through the ashtray itself. Reassemble the center console, ashtray/window switch holder, and ashtray. Next, you will connect the Belkin auto kit skeleton to the Audio and Power systems of your Porsche. Attaching the Audio input cables to your Becker CDR-220 or Traffic Pro radio requires that you pull out the radio with the supplied keys and if you have a CD changer, unplug that connector (which is really 3 connectors ganged together), and plug in the Audio input cable. It has a blue connector on one end, and a pair or RCA female jacks on the other end. This cable is then connected to the RCA- to-mini-stereo cable that you purchased from Radio Shack. Plug the mini-stereo jack into the Belkin auto kit audio jack. Consult your radio manual on how to enable the Auxiliary input on the radio. If you were doing this setup for a radio that required an inline FM modulator connection, the RCA-to-mini-stereo cable would be plugged into that instead of the radio Auxiliary input connector. Now, setup the power connection. The telephone power cable under the center console stack has 4 wires: Brown - ground Yellow/Black - telephone mute Green/Black - switched 12 volts Red/Green - unswitched 12 volts I chose to use the Green/Black switched 12 V line for my power. When the car is on, and the iPod connected, it will have its battery charged regardless of whether it is turned on or not. On the Telephone power cable that is soldered to the Belkin Auto Kit, use the grey/red wire instead of the brown wire as ground (the ground and Phone mute cables are switched). Plug everything together and test it to make sure it works. With the car key turned on, the green LED on the Belkin Auto Kit will light up. Set the gain control to maximum on the circuit board. If everything is working, slip a piece of shrink tubing over the Belkin Auto Kit to keep it from shorting out (electrical tape will do as well). Tuck the wires back behind the center console stack, replace the side panels and trays, and you are done! If you are concerned that there are 3 plug connections between the iPod and the back of the radio and the possibility of degrading the audio quality, here is an article on how to make a single cable run between the iPod connector and the radio input. Using connectors is easier than soldering, and the results seem to be the same. So there you have it. This took me the good part of an afternoon to do, but was a clean inexpensive way to use the iPod in the Porsche with excellent aural results.

In our modern litigious world, manufacturers have learned that they must advise the users of their product of everything that might hurt them by using the product no matter how stupid it is, so when the users do hurt themselves, blame the manufacturer, and demand compensation, the manufacturer can say they warned them. Thus everything these days from cars to coffee cups have warning stickers of some sort on them. So it is with airbags, and every car owner in the US is blessed with stickers on the sunvisor telling them to be careful. If you are like me, I got the message a while ago, and don't need to be reminded every time I pull down the sunvisor. So I decided to take the stickers off, and wanted to share my method of how I did it. The method I am describing will work with any sticker that is applied to a plastic or vinyl surface with the heat laminated decal process. This is what is used for the Porsche airbag warning label stickers. What you will need: 91% Isopropyl Alcohol – Common rubbing alcohol available from your local drug store. 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover Some paper towels Vinyl Protectant such as Meguiars NXT Cockpit Shine Sunvisors Time to remove the 2 stickers from a sunvisor: less than 30 minutes. Process: 1. While this process can be done with the sunvisors in the car, it is best to remove them and do the removal on a flat surface. To remove a sunvisor, no tools are required. Simply twist and pull the sunvisor off of its pivot arm. It will slide right off. 2. It is best to remove the vanity mirror and light assembly from the visor. This is because the alcohol can run down inside the sunvisor, and if it is left there, it can discolor the plastic. I also put a piece of paper towel inside the assembly to catch excess alcohol. 3. Take a piece of paper towel and fold it to the size the sticker that you are removing. Wet the paper towel with the alcohol and place it on top of the sticker and let it sit for at least 10-15 minutes. Keep the paper towel wet, but not too wet that the alcohol runs off of the paper towel. WARNING: Don’t use any solvent stronger than Isopropyl Alcohol. Stronger solvents will discolor the vinyl and plastic that the sunvisor is made of! 4. After 10-15minutes the sticker decal will have softened, and is ready for removal. Using your fingernail, gently loosen the sticker on one end, and start pulling it off. Patience is the key here. Take your time, and gently pull off the sticker in one piece. If it starts to tear, and is still sticking to the sunvisor, back off, put the wet paper towel back on, and let it soak some more. You are doing it correctly when you can pull off the sticker in one piece. 5. After you have the sticker off, there will be a gummy residue left on the visor. Use the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover to get rid of that residue. When you can rub your hand or a rag over the sunvisor and it does not stick to it, you are done with that side. Because the decal is applied with heat, there is some distortion of the embossed grain on the vinyl side of the sunvisor. This will leave a faint outline of where the sticker was. Polishing the vinyl can minimize this outline. 6. Next do the other side, same process. 7. After you have removed the decals, and have cleaned the surface of residue, polish the visor with the Vinyl Protectant. 8. Put the vanity mirror back in the visor, and slide the sunvisor back onto its pivot rod. Step back and admire your work