Removing defrost trim on 02 C4S

[demosan]

Loren/all,

I am in the middle of installing a trafficpro nav (model 4763 from Becker NA) in my 02 C4S. I have searched all the posts I can find on the topic and can't seem to find the instructions on defrost panel removal so I can remove the alarm LED/sunsensor assembly for GPS cable routing. Any help is appreciated!! This is my first DIY mod and it is turning into a more complicated project than I anticipated !!

TIA

demosan

[Orient Express]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

[demosan]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

OE, ra

Thanks for the response and I have (since sending my note) essentially stumbled into following the same steps you have suggested. As a result, I have removed the alarm/sunsensor plate after removing the 2 torx screws, but am still having a tough time routing the GPS antenna cable to the dash TP location. I have also "popped" the defrost vent on the drivers side close to the GPS antenna mounting location as you suggested hoping that would make the GPS cable routing easier but still have not been sucessful with getting the cable routed to radio location. I am using a soft wire for trying to find a routing path as you suggested with no luck. Now that you have confirmed I am on the right path I will continue with this approach.

It appears my 02 C4S coupe is a bit more difficult than the the cab installation as all the service bulletins I have read only reference boxer installations. Oh well, no one said this would be easy!!

Thanks again for your help!!

[Orient Express]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

OE, ra

Thanks for the response and I have (since sending my note) essentially stumbled into following the same steps you have suggested. As a result, I have removed the alarm/sunsensor plate after removing the 2 torx screws, but am still having a tough time routing the GPS antenna cable to the dash TP location. I have also "popped" the defrost vent on the drivers side close to the GPS antenna mounting location as you suggested hoping that would make the GPS cable routing easier but still have not been sucessful with getting the cable routed to radio location. I am using a soft wire for trying to find a routing path as you suggested with no luck. Now that you have confirmed I am on the right path I will continue with this approach.

It appears my 02 C4S coupe is a bit more difficult than the the cab installation as all the service bulletins I have read only reference boxer installations. Oh well, no one said this would be easy!!

Thanks again for your help!!

coat hanger wire is pretty stiff, and you need to be able to jam it down behind the defroster ducts. I would assume that you have the radio and the A/C controls out so you have a big hole to work with. Just push the coat hanger guide wire down through the hole under the sunsensor plate and look for it below. It will tend to want to go behind the defroster duct work, which is ok because you can get at it from a little lower down.

Once you see it below, tape the GPS antenna cable to the topside wire, and pull it through. It is a tight fit, but you can pull it through.

[demosan]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

OE, ra

Thanks for the response and I have (since sending my note) essentially stumbled into following the same steps you have suggested. As a result, I have removed the alarm/sunsensor plate after removing the 2 torx screws, but am still having a tough time routing the GPS antenna cable to the dash TP location. I have also "popped" the defrost vent on the drivers side close to the GPS antenna mounting location as you suggested hoping that would make the GPS cable routing easier but still have not been sucessful with getting the cable routed to radio location. I am using a soft wire for trying to find a routing path as you suggested with no luck. Now that you have confirmed I am on the right path I will continue with this approach.

It appears my 02 C4S coupe is a bit more difficult than the the cab installation as all the service bulletins I have read only reference boxer installations. Oh well, no one said this would be easy!!

Thanks again for your help!!

coat hanger wire is pretty stiff, and you need to be able to jam it down behind the defroster ducts. I would assume that you have the radio and the A/C controls out so you have a big hole to work with. Just push the coat hanger guide wire down through the hole under the sunsensor plate and look for it below. It will tend to want to go behind the defroster duct work, which is ok because you can get at it from a little lower down.

Once you see it below, tape the GPS antenna cable to the topside wire, and pull it through. It is a tight fit, but you can pull it through.

OE,

Thanks for your advise and I had the ATC control out as well as everything else but the fresh air dash vents ( above the ATC controls). WHen I removed that, the routing is really easy as you can see the opening by the GPS mounting plate. Installation complete and the functionality of the Traffic Pro is really slick for a single DIN GPS and the clean lines of my dash are maintained.

Thanks for your help as well as BigSquid and first DYI project completed for me!! :thumbup:

[porschewash]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

OE, ra

Thanks for the response and I have (since sending my note) essentially stumbled into following the same steps you have suggested. As a result, I have removed the alarm/sunsensor plate after removing the 2 torx screws, but am still having a tough time routing the GPS antenna cable to the dash TP location. I have also "popped" the defrost vent on the drivers side close to the GPS antenna mounting location as you suggested hoping that would make the GPS cable routing easier but still have not been sucessful with getting the cable routed to radio location. I am using a soft wire for trying to find a routing path as you suggested with no luck. Now that you have confirmed I am on the right path I will continue with this approach.

It appears my 02 C4S coupe is a bit more difficult than the the cab installation as all the service bulletins I have read only reference boxer installations. Oh well, no one said this would be easy!!

Thanks again for your help!!

coat hanger wire is pretty stiff, and you need to be able to jam it down behind the defroster ducts. I would assume that you have the radio and the A/C controls out so you have a big hole to work with. Just push the coat hanger guide wire down through the hole under the sunsensor plate and look for it below. It will tend to want to go behind the defroster duct work, which is ok because you can get at it from a little lower down.

Once you see it below, tape the GPS antenna cable to the topside wire, and pull it through. It is a tight fit, but you can pull it through.

OE,

Thanks for your advise and I had the ATC control out as well as everything else but the fresh air dash vents ( above the ATC controls). WHen I removed that, the routing is really easy as you can see the opening by the GPS mounting plate. Installation complete and the functionality of the Traffic Pro is really slick for a single DIN GPS and the clean lines of my dash are maintained.

Thanks for your help as well as BigSquid and first DYI project completed for me!! :thumbup:

I'm installing a Sirius satellite antenna in that location and I'm having a heck of a time routing the cable. Any other suggestions besides what has been posted? How do you remove you fresh air dash vents? I believe if I remove the vents, I should have better access as well.

Thanks,

PorscheWash

[demosan]

The cover for the GPS antenna is clipped in place. It just pulls off, or worst case stick a plastic putty knife under it and pop it off . The issue is that the plate that the GPS antenna mounts on is held in with 2 torx screws that are difficult to get at without pulling the defroster vents up and out of the way. The vents are just held in with spring clips, so just pop them out of the way (putty knife again)to get to the screws. You don't have to take the entire defroster vent out, just pop the clips closest to the center antenna cover.

You need to pull the antenna mounting plate out of the way to get the GPS antenna lead down to where the radio will be. I taped the end of the antenna lead to a coat hanger wire to push it down from the top.

Be sure to cover the area around the defroster vents, etc. with masking take to protect against scratches.

OE, ra

Thanks for the response and I have (since sending my note) essentially stumbled into following the same steps you have suggested. As a result, I have removed the alarm/sunsensor plate after removing the 2 torx screws, but am still having a tough time routing the GPS antenna cable to the dash TP location. I have also "popped" the defrost vent on the drivers side close to the GPS antenna mounting location as you suggested hoping that would make the GPS cable routing easier but still have not been sucessful with getting the cable routed to radio location. I am using a soft wire for trying to find a routing path as you suggested with no luck. Now that you have confirmed I am on the right path I will continue with this approach.

It appears my 02 C4S coupe is a bit more difficult than the the cab installation as all the service bulletins I have read only reference boxer installations. Oh well, no one said this would be easy!!

Thanks again for your help!!

coat hanger wire is pretty stiff, and you need to be able to jam it down behind the defroster ducts. I would assume that you have the radio and the A/C controls out so you have a big hole to work with. Just push the coat hanger guide wire down through the hole under the sunsensor plate and look for it below. It will tend to want to go behind the defroster duct work, which is ok because you can get at it from a little lower down.

Once you see it below, tape the GPS antenna cable to the topside wire, and pull it through. It is a tight fit, but you can pull it through.

OE,

Thanks for your advise and I had the ATC control out as well as everything else but the fresh air dash vents ( above the ATC controls). WHen I removed that, the routing is really easy as you can see the opening by the GPS mounting plate. Installation complete and the functionality of the Traffic Pro is really slick for a single DIN GPS and the clean lines of my dash are maintained.

Thanks for your help as well as BigSquid and first DYI project completed for me!! :thumbup:

I'm installing a Sirius satellite antenna in that location and I'm having a heck of a time routing the cable. Any other suggestions besides what has been posted? How do you remove you fresh air dash vents? I believe if I remove the vents, I should have better access as well.

Thanks,

PorscheWash

PW,

I had a tough time routing the GPS cable to the head unit so I removed the "horse-shoe" center vent trim from from the dash and then it was very easy to route the cable through the dash to the trafficpro in my case. T Oremove the horseshoe, I used a plastic narrow putty knife and gently "popped" it out as it is only held in place with plastic tabs that are held into metal clips in the dash opening. You can use some masking tape around the horseshoe trim to prevent any scatching of the dash, although it isn't that tough to remove.

Good luck with your project!! demosan :cheers: