Factory radio is dying :(

[The Hoth]

Hi all,

My 03 C2 came with the Premium sound package, radio, amplifier, speaker upgrade and stuff.

It has been working fine until recently.

The unit switchs on and off by itself. It has the annoying noise like it is trying to read the CD over and over again.

The only thing I can see on the display is the name "Porsche" appears and disappears.

What is wrong with it?

I wonder can it be fixed or I will need a new one. :huh:

Any ideas?

[fastboydave]

The on switch or loose 'power' onnection at back maybe???

[The Hoth]

The on switch or loose 'power' onnection at back maybe???

The on switch is pretty tight. I haven't checked the connection in the back though. I need to find out how to take the HU out of the dash first. I guess.

[Loren]

Most of these problems with CDR-23 and BOSe turn out to be bad amps.

[The Hoth]

Most of these problems with CDR-23 and BOSe turn out to be bad amps.

Thanks Loren,

I will go to Pelican parts to find out how much is the amp just in case.

I wonder if I can run some test to determine what exactly went wrong.

I hope a fuse was blown. All I have to do is to replace the fuse not the whole amp.

[Loren]

If it comes and goes it is not the fuse - if it always off then it could be a fuse.

[The Hoth]

If it comes and goes it is not the fuse - if it always off then it could be a fuse.

Back to normal. I wonder if it is the moisture in the atmosphere or what.

It happens two times in the past twe weeks already.

There was one time the bass all a sudden went crazy. All I did was to take the bottle of motor oil away from the little space between the amp and the side of the car, away from the cooling fan of the amp.

I did the same thing this morning. After the radio started acting up, I removed the bottle of motor oil and gave the cooling fan of the amp some room and the problem is gone.

Alright, I think I will have to make sure I am not putting anything there to obstruct the airflow near the amp's cooling fan.

I am just thinking out loud.

Thanks for reading and responding to my thread. :D

[judgejon]

If it comes and goes it is not the fuse - if it always off then it could be a fuse.

Back to normal. I wonder if it is the moisture in the atmosphere or what.

It happens two times in the past twe weeks already.

There was one time the bass all a sudden went crazy. All I did was to take the bottle of motor oil away from the little space between the amp and the side of the car, away from the cooling fan of the amp.

I did the same thing this morning. After the radio started acting up, I removed the bottle of motor oil and gave the cooling fan of the amp some room and the problem is gone.

Alright, I think I will have to make sure I am not putting anything there to obstruct the airflow near the amp's cooling fan.

I am just thinking out loud.

Thanks for reading and responding to my thread. :D

Please forgive my naivete, but I didnt know the amp has a cooling fan. where is it? this is the amp that bolted in by the right front of the spare tire in the "well"? interesting issue, thank you for posting...

[judgejon]

found it, strike the question. its a little cooling fan on the side of the amp. more interesting Porsche trivia. thanks, jl

[rrspikemarty]

found it, strike the question. its a little cooling fan on the side of the amp. more interesting Porsche trivia. thanks, jl

i had an instance this week when there was no sound from my radio or CD player after briefly parking my p-car (in the shade). Immediately prior to my stop, everything was working as normal. But after unlocking car, and starting up, no sound! Radio was working (i.e., channel number is displayed, etc), but no sound. The car was parked for 5 minutes. Ambient air temperature approx 90-94 F in shade. Radio/CD unit is the CDR23; upgraded BOSE stereo with 6-CD changer in trunk.

Following another appointment later that afternoon (this time, I closed the roof, and made sure the car locked with the double beep/flashing lights), the radio volume was back and working fine when I re-started the car about 1.5 hours later; p-car was parked in shade with air temperature down to about 70-75F

I attributed the earlier sound failure to an electronics glitch possibly due to a peculiar combination of leaving the roof open, and my not properly depressing the lock button on my key.

I have not been able to duplicate this yet. There is nothing next to the amplifier cooling fan. Any thoughts on what could cause this (i had heard that the CDR23 had some quirks)... :huh:

[Loren]

found it, strike the question. its a little cooling fan on the side of the amp. more interesting Porsche trivia. thanks, jl

i had an instance this week when there was no sound from my radio or CD player after briefly parking my p-car (in the shade). Immediately prior to my stop, everything was working as normal. But after unlocking car, and starting up, no sound! Radio was working (i.e., channel number is displayed, etc), but no sound. The car was parked for 5 minutes. Ambient air temperature approx 90-94 F in shade. Radio/CD unit is the CDR23; upgraded BOSE stereo with 6-CD changer in trunk.

Following another appointment later that afternoon (this time, I closed the roof, and made sure the car locked with the double beep/flashing lights), the radio volume was back and working fine when I re-started the car about 1.5 hours later; p-car was parked in shade with air temperature down to about 70-75F

I attributed the earlier sound failure to an electronics glitch possibly due to a peculiar combination of leaving the roof open, and my not properly depressing the lock button on my key.

I have not been able to duplicate this yet. There is nothing next to the amplifier cooling fan. Any thoughts on what could cause this (i had heard that the CDR23 had some quirks)... :huh:

Actually the amp rather the CDR-23 is a more common failure.

[sanjeev]

I have been experiencing a similar situation (2003 C2 with CDR-23 & Bose), although

it usually occurs during th colder months (here in Boston area) say, Dec thru Apr.

On startup in the morning, the radio will hang in it's startup process (display reads "PORSCHE")

and go no further. At this point, nothing electronic works (buttons, etc.), no sound.

BUT, the eject button works (if a CD is in), and sometimes by jogging a CD in & out,

it eventually MAY start playing, maybe, if the car starts getting warm.

This problem has been attacked by two dealers. They have replaced the Bose amp,

CDR-23 radio (twice), and eventually replaced the MOST optical cabling. Problem

is still there intermittently, and I've resigned myself to the fact that 2003 was the first

year for the MOST system, and it has design flaws! The last speculation is that some

combination of temp/humidity may be hampering the optical system, which needs to check

out during the system initialization, before anything starts to work.

Ultimately, I'll replace the whole kit+kaboodle witha decent HU, amp and spkrs, but for now

I prefer just to not think about it (and how much $$$ I'll need to lay out!)

[The Hoth]

I have been experiencing a similar situation (2003 C2 with CDR-23 & Bose), although

it usually occurs during th colder months (here in Boston area) say, Dec thru Apr.

On startup in the morning, the radio will hang in it's startup process (display reads "PORSCHE")

and go no further. At this point, nothing electronic works (buttons, etc.), no sound.

BUT, the eject button works (if a CD is in), and sometimes by jogging a CD in & out,

it eventually MAY start playing, maybe, if the car starts getting warm.

This problem has been attacked by two dealers. They have replaced the Bose amp,

CDR-23 radio (twice), and eventually replaced the MOST optical cabling. Problem

is still there intermittently, and I've resigned myself to the fact that 2003 was the first

year for the MOST system, and it has design flaws! The last speculation is that some

combination of temp/humidity may be hampering the optical system, which needs to check

out during the system initialization, before anything starts to work.

Ultimately, I'll replace the whole kit+kaboodle witha decent HU, amp and spkrs, but for now

I prefer just to not think about it (and how much $$$ I'll need to lay out!)

Good post!

Make sure you pull out the fuses for the HU and the amp from the fuse box. If the radio keeps switching on and off by itself, it will drain the battery.

Battery is not cheap. Don't ask. My battery died because of that.

[Tim in MT]

I have been experiencing a similar situation (2003 C2 with CDR-23 & Bose), although

it usually occurs during th colder months (here in Boston area) say, Dec thru Apr.

On startup in the morning, the radio will hang in it's startup process (display reads "PORSCHE")

and go no further. At this point, nothing electronic works (buttons, etc.), no sound.

BUT, the eject button works (if a CD is in), and sometimes by jogging a CD in & out,

it eventually MAY start playing, maybe, if the car starts getting warm.

This problem has been attacked by two dealers. They have replaced the Bose amp,

CDR-23 radio (twice), and eventually replaced the MOST optical cabling. Problem

is still there intermittently, and I've resigned myself to the fact that 2003 was the first

year for the MOST system, and it has design flaws! The last speculation is that some

I have had my radio have no sound but all the controls appear to work.I can change volume (number appears to go up/down) change stations (new name etc.) but no sound. Re-starting will return things to normal, although I had to do it four times , the last time it happened (yesterday).

Could this be a flaky ignition switch? I know these can cause all kinds of goofy things. I Had a new switch nearly a year ago. Do these switches fail often?

Tim in MT

2003 targa

[Loren]

I have had my radio have no sound but all the controls appear to work.I can change volume (number appears to go up/down) change stations (new name etc.) but no sound. Re-starting will return things to normal, although I had to do it four times , the last time it happened (yesterday).

Could this be a flaky ignition switch? I know these can cause all kinds of goofy things. I Had a new switch nearly a year ago. Do these switches fail often?

Tim in MT

2003 targa

The symptom you speak of is usually a bad amp or radio.

[c4s mark]

I have been experiencing a similar situation (2003 C2 with CDR-23 & Bose), although

it usually occurs during th colder months (here in Boston area) say, Dec thru Apr.

On startup in the morning, the radio will hang in it's startup process (display reads "PORSCHE")

and go no further. At this point, nothing electronic works (buttons, etc.), no sound.

BUT, the eject button works (if a CD is in), and sometimes by jogging a CD in & out,

it eventually MAY start playing, maybe, if the car starts getting warm.

This problem has been attacked by two dealers. They have replaced the Bose amp,

CDR-23 radio (twice), and eventually replaced the MOST optical cabling. Problem

is still there intermittently, and I've resigned myself to the fact that 2003 was the first

year for the MOST system, and it has design flaws! The last speculation is that some

I have had my radio have no sound but all the controls appear to work.I can change volume (number appears to go up/down) change stations (new name etc.) but no sound. Re-starting will return things to normal, although I had to do it four times , the last time it happened (yesterday).

Could this be a flaky ignition switch? I know these can cause all kinds of goofy things. I Had a new switch nearly a year ago. Do these switches fail often?

Tim in MT

2003 targa

I have the same exact issues with my stereo on an 03 C4S with Bose. And it is not the amp. That was replaced and no change. The head unit was replaced and no change.

I am so fed up with that, I am thinking of replacing/rewiring the entire system.

Do you guys know how much rewiring I would need to do to bypass the MOST. From what I have heard, I can use the factory speakers and sub, but will need 2 new amps (speakers and sub - 7 chanels) and new wiring.

Any ideas?