Replace Radio

[sean_iwerse@yahoo.com]

Im looking to replace the becker 220 in my 00 boxster. anything funny i need to watch for, or can I basicly take it out and clip in the new unit and have everything work fine?

Thanks!

Sean and His 00 Boxster

[Dante]

Im looking to replace the becker 220 in my 00 boxster. anything funny i need to watch for, or can I basicly take it out and clip in the new unit and have everything work fine?

Thanks!

Sean and His 00 Boxster

I just did this on my 01. I ordered the Alpine with iPod connector from Crutchfield and here's my experience.

Crutchfield includes a free VW harness and recommends that you purchase an additional adapter called an OEM PAC2 for wiring between the new head unit (HU) and the VW plug.

Wiring was pretty straight forward. Crutchfield supplied a diagram that outlined what all of the factory wires were for and I downloaded a PDF from Becker USA to verify. Everything was right on the money. The only thing to note is that the speaker wiring harness won't fit the VW harness and had to be hardwired.

Once I had it wired, everything "appeared" to work as it should. Later when I turned off the car - the new HU was not retaining it's memory/clock. Upon further review, it was obvious that (2) of the pins in the VW harness were reversed (Constant Power and Ignition). Once I swapped those two wires - the HU worked as it should.

The only other problem that I experienced was engine whine/noise at different RPMs. Crutchfields tech support was good and had me try to re-ground the ground wires directly to the chassis. Unfortunately, this did not work either. After many hours of trying to eliminate the whine, I bit the bullet and had my local Tweeters take a look at it for $60. After an hour and a half, they were successful in getting rid of the noise.

The installer indicated that it was the PAC OEM 2 device and had to do an alternative install. (Which I don't know what it is). When I called Crutchfield to return the PAC device, they were concerned with what the alternative was - because they said without it - you ran the possibility of frying the HU and AMP.

Since I trust the installer, I'm not going to worry about it.

IMO the new HU made a HUGE improvement and I have just order new speakers for the dash, door and rear speaker kit.

If I had to do over - I would have just popped for the $60 and have the installer do it from the beginning. Unfortunately, I love a challenge and like to tinker too much. But considering all the time studying the install diagrams, actual install and troubleshooting - even $100 would have been a deal.

StereoWiringConfig.pdf

[Edman]

Once I had it wired, everything "appeared" to work as it should. Later when I turned off the car - the new HU was not retaining it's memory/clock. Upon further review, it was obvious that (2) of the pins in the VW harness were reversed (Constant Power and Ignition). Once I swapped those two wires - the HU worked as it should.

Thank you, Sir! You have just spared my sanity!

Edited May 22, 2007 by Edman

[mikes_box]

also just did my stereo replacement on my box....if you want something easy that plays mp3 and wave files also does ipod and bluetooth support and the quality of aftermarket go with a blaupunkt stereo...best thing is no need to hardwire anything in as all the stock harnesses plug right in to the radio....you can even run the stock amp through cause it all just plugs in...all youll need is an antenna adapter..