2008 CDR-24 amplifier help? (different than 07?)

[08macadamianut]

Hello everyone-

This is my first post. Bought an 08 Macadamia boxster 1 1/2 months ago. Love the car, and am ready to add rear speakers. I have the standard CDR-24 system with the upgraded premium plus (7speakers) - not Bose.

It appears that the amp in my trunk is different than possibly the 07's? It has a big black connection with many wires comng out, not the usual amp that allows for another small plug for the new speakers.

Bought my speakers from Eurospeed motors on ebay, who by the way, have been absolutely wonderful in working with me to solve this issue. I recommend them highly.

Was just wondering if anybody here has experiencd this with an 08, or has any insight how to proceed.

Thanks in advance. This is an awesome sight and I have started to log on daily. Great info.

thanks.bb

[cseoni]

Bought the same speakers from the same company. I have an 2005 and was questioning the amp location as well. I have the same module you described, however, I am not sure if that is the amp or some other control module. Basically, I have the same question you do :-).

[08macadamianut]

Bought the same speakers from the same company. I have an 2005 and was questioning the amp location as well. I have the same module you described, however, I am not sure if that is the amp or some other control module. Basically, I have the same question you do :-).

Did you ever find out any info about "our" amp? Is it the amp?

thx

[cseoni]

Bought the same speakers from the same company. I have an 2005 and was questioning the amp location as well. I have the same module you described, however, I am not sure if that is the amp or some other control module. Basically, I have the same question you do :-).

Did you ever find out any info about "our" amp? Is it the amp?

thx

I should know something tomorrow evening. The person I bought my speakers from is going to the dealer to demystify the amp and wiring harness. I will let you know what I find out...

[jjlehman]

Just looked up the part number that was in your picture: It is an amp!

98764533101

Console - Sound system - Amplifier - W/o bose system

W/o bose system 2006 - 2007

I'm installing these too. Did you get the updated supplement from the Eurospeed guy?

Jeff

---------------------------------

Hello everyone-

This is my first post. Bought an 08 Macadamia boxster 1 1/2 months ago. Love the car, and am ready to add rear speakers. I have the standard CDR-24 system with the upgraded premium plus (7speakers) - not Bose.

It appears that the amp in my trunk is different than possibly the 07's? It has a big black connection with many wires comng out, not the usual amp that allows for another small plug for the new speakers.

Bought my speakers from Eurospeed motors on ebay, who by the way, have been absolutely wonderful in working with me to solve this issue. I recommend them highly.

Was just wondering if anybody here has experiencd this with an 08, or has any insight how to proceed.

Thanks in advance. This is an awesome sight and I have started to log on daily. Great info.

thanks.bb

[jjlehman]

Here is what I know about installing the rear speakers on a 2005+ Boxster. If you'd like a PDF of this please e-mail me at jjlehman [at] earthlink [dot] net. I don't have any pictures but when used with other instructions the below might be helpful.

INSTALLING REAR SPEAKERS ON A 2005 BOXSTER WITH THE CDR24 RADIO AND NO EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER.

I just spent a frustrating 8 hours doing what I was told was a 2.5 hour install job of rear speakers on my 2005 Boxster. This Boxster has the CDR24 radio. All 2005-2009 Boxsters that don’t have navigation have this radio. There are two additional sound system enhancements (meaning additional speakers and amplifiers), one of them being BOSE.

I read the instructions carefully and read some of the forums before starting. I thought I knew what I was getting into.

As I said, my Boxster has the base radio with no additional amplifiers. You will have to remove the radio to wire up the speakers, but I’ll get to that later.

Here are some pointers that I learned while doing the install:

You will need more tools than the installation brochure says.

You will also need:

Torx 30 screwdriver

Wrench to disconnect the battery

Dremel tool with a round “drum” sander (3/8”-1/2” approximately),

Dremel cutting disks

A ¼” round Dremel grinder bit

A penny to use as a screwdriver for fasteners on the foam piece under the glove box

Pliers

Adjustable wrench

Two non-marring hand clamps.

“L” shaped Allen wrench that it the same size as a Torx 30 screwdriver

I recommend a glue gun over epoxy because you could well make a mistake placing the speaker wires inside the storage compartment and need to re-do them.

Getting the storage tray out isn’t too bad but your glass window will impede you a bit. The illustration shows it standing upright. I couldn’t get it there. I disconnected the UPPER ball end of the tension cable because it’s easier to get to. I highly recommend laying a big beach towel across the back trunk lid.

Once you get the storage compartment out the fun begins. I’d suggest that you put it on a blanket on your workbench while working on the storage unit. This will protect it. You’ll also need to be very careful when removing the existing cubby holes from the storage unit. Note that the glue that was used in the original install of the cubbies has leaked down the side and it is very difficult to tell that there are some side clips to hold the cubby holes in. You might damage them while you are trying to hack away the glue. You have to be very careful finessing the glue to break free of the plastic.

Fitting the speaker grills takes some time. I had to knock off and smooth out the outboard tabs (closest to the car doors) of the grills. I also had to take a Dremel tool with a sanding drum and slightly increase the size of the opening at the outboard end of the storage compartment where the speaker grills fit. It wasn’t that much of an increase in the opening. You just need to take it slow and keep refitting the piece. It will never just pop right in but when it pushes somewhat easily into the speaker grill opening you’ll know you are done.

Once I got the grills so they would fit I used a hand clamp to hold them tight at the outboard corners while I used the glue gun to glue them in. The grills have a tendency to want to pop away from the housing at the outside corner. The glue gun worked great.

When you put the speakers into the appropriate place in the storage compartment there is really no way to put them in incorrectly. There is a way to wire them incorrectly however, something that even Eurospeed did in their instructions. Start with the left speaker and make sure you leave almost no slack in the line when you stick the left side speaker wire in the wire retaining clips. You will need as much wire as possible when it comes to positioning the right speaker.

As you run the speaker wires from the left side of the unit to the right side you will want to take the Dremel tool and, with a ¼” round grinder bit rout out two small spots so the wire can run freely from the left speaker compartment through the storage area with the slider doors and into the right speaker compartment. Once you press the speaker wire into the retaining clips on the left side of the storage compartment it will become obvious where each rout will need to be made. (It’s right where the inboard clip is located. It will look like the wire has to go over a plastic ridge.) You’ll do one rout on each side. This is so the storage compartment doesn’t cut into the wires when it is re-installed. Dabbing some hot glue in there is a good idea. Clamp the wire across the back of the storage unit and put glue in at least 3-5 places to secure it. This is where the glue gun is better than epoxy. You can remove the glue of necessary.

On the right side of the storage bin you will see a ¼” notch right near the location of the outboard Torx screw that holds the speaker unit in and the edge of the carpet. (This is from figure 3 in the three page Porsche installation instructions.) This is where the wires should exit the unit. There should be just enough speaker wire to get to the edge of the notch. All you will see once the storage unit is reinstalled is the tube that covers the wires and the connector plug. Before you put the right speaker assembly in place the two speaker wires under the right speaker assembly so they exit at the notch. They should not bind on anything. Then use the four Torx screws to secure the assembly.

Now is a good time to disconnect the battery. If you don’t you can create a potential airbag deployment.

After you remove the carpeted seatbelt retractor cover you’ll see on the roll bar that there are a series of small rectangles punched into a small cross member between the two tubes. I installed the white connector clip there in the small middle rectangle. You will need to install it so the channel runs vertically. You will need a pair of pliers to give it a twist to lock it in. I positioned the connector for the long cable that goes to the front of the car facing downward on the clip. The storage box connector comes in from the bottom. That way it can be fairly easily unclipped for removal.

When you route the long speaker cable down the side of the roll bar the white zip ties that were included in the kit won’t help you. They are too short. I didn’t use them as the speaker cable was pretty easy to tuck behind the roll bar and then route along the door sill.

Once you remove the door sill/umbrella holder there is a nice ridge right along the edge of the sill to route the speaker cable. Clips won’t be necessary. When you get to the kick panel you’ll need to get creative. (Make sure you have put tape on the end of the harness that has the exposed micro clips!) The panel is glued in place so you’ll have to push the wire around a bit.

Removing the foam under dash protector is easier if you use a penny as a screw driver. You’ll continue routing the wire behind the carpet.

This is where you say: Where the !@#$@ is the amplifier the directions were talking about? If there is one it is located in the front luggage compartment, behind the tire inflation kit. If it’s not there then you have the base radio set up and the radio has to come out.

Here is how you get the radio out:

Remove small carpeted trim piece from each side of center console using Torx 30 screwdriver. It takes a lot of turns to get it out. Must be to discourage thieves and people installing rear speakers.

Remove the piece of panel that covers the head unit on each the side of the console.

There are two Torx 20 screws per panel. This is the hard part: gently (but forcefully) pull each side panel forward. There are three clips that hold them in. The bottom two are fairly straightforward. The top one is a total pain. If you twist it upwards and don’t pull it forward you will probably break the top clip. It’s hard to get leverage on this piece because it is wedged between the radio and the dash.

On the right side of the radio there is a small screw that needs to be backed off so the radio can slide out. (Another security feature.) Don’t unscrew it all the way (but there is no way to tell if you are!).

There are 4 black plastic rotating locks that hold the radio in place. You will need an Allen wrench the size of a Torx 30 to unlock them. The upper one on the left side of the radio is a pain because it’s hard to see. You have to do it by feel.

The radio should then slide out. The connector cables are short so make sure you have a towel to protect the radio and the dashboard. I’d move the shifter down to give the radio some extra room.

On the back of the radio you will be looking for the brown connector. The directions refer to the rear speaker cable wires as red and green. They aren’t. On my kit they were white and black, and yellow and black. Use an AA battery to determine which side is right and which is left. Just connect up the leads and listen for the slight popping sound. I determined that Yellow was R and White was L. Double check that. Had to do the same thing with the main speakers since nothing is labeled!

You will need to push the pins from the speaker wiring harness into the brown connector. What no one tells you is that there is a thin yellow restraining strip that keeps you from pushing the pins in. You will need to pry that out first from the side of the brown connector. Make sure you put the new pins in with the same orientation as the existing pins so you can slide the yellow strip back in. It’s redundant because the pins lock in anyway.

Once everything was connected I re-installed the radio and reconnected the battery.

The fader feature doesn’t work, but the surround sound is great. Euro Motorspeed apologized for the misleading advertising and offered a refund…which is not possible once you have installed the speakers!

Needless to say, the speakers are worth the effort, but there are multiple theories on where the amps are, or aren’t, whether you need to remove the radio - or not, and even with the Porsche, Euro Motorspeed, PNP, and some forum instructions the project was still a cluster-f--k because the 2005+ Boxsters are just different enough from their predecessors and the documentation is pretty thin.

Jeff

[cseoni]

Here is what I know about installing the rear speakers on a 2005+ Boxster. If you'd like a PDF of this please e-mail me at jjlehman [at] earthlink [dot] net. I don't have any pictures but when used with other instructions the below might be helpful.

INSTALLING REAR SPEAKERS ON A 2005 BOXSTER WITH THE CDR24 RADIO AND NO EXTERNAL AMPLIFIER.

I just spent a frustrating 8 hours doing what I was told was a 2.5 hour install job of rear speakers on my 2005 Boxster. This Boxster has the CDR24 radio. All 2005-2009 Boxsters that don’t have navigation have this radio. There are two additional sound system enhancements (meaning additional speakers and amplifiers), one of them being BOSE.

I read the instructions carefully and read some of the forums before starting. I thought I knew what I was getting into.

As I said, my Boxster has the base radio with no additional amplifiers. You will have to remove the radio to wire up the speakers, but I’ll get to that later.

Here are some pointers that I learned while doing the install:

You will need more tools than the installation brochure says.

You will also need:

Torx 30 screwdriver

Wrench to disconnect the battery

Dremel tool with a round “drum” sander (3/8”-1/2” approximately),

Dremel cutting disks

A ¼” round Dremel grinder bit

A penny to use as a screwdriver for fasteners on the foam piece under the glove box

Pliers

Adjustable wrench

Two non-marring hand clamps.

“L” shaped Allen wrench that it the same size as a Torx 30 screwdriver

I recommend a glue gun over epoxy because you could well make a mistake placing the speaker wires inside the storage compartment and need to re-do them.

Getting the storage tray out isn’t too bad but your glass window will impede you a bit. The illustration shows it standing upright. I couldn’t get it there. I disconnected the UPPER ball end of the tension cable because it’s easier to get to. I highly recommend laying a big beach towel across the back trunk lid.

Once you get the storage compartment out the fun begins. I’d suggest that you put it on a blanket on your workbench while working on the storage unit. This will protect it. You’ll also need to be very careful when removing the existing cubby holes from the storage unit. Note that the glue that was used in the original install of the cubbies has leaked down the side and it is very difficult to tell that there are some side clips to hold the cubby holes in. You might damage them while you are trying to hack away the glue. You have to be very careful finessing the glue to break free of the plastic.

Fitting the speaker grills takes some time. I had to knock off and smooth out the outboard tabs (closest to the car doors) of the grills. I also had to take a Dremel tool with a sanding drum and slightly increase the size of the opening at the outboard end of the storage compartment where the speaker grills fit. It wasn’t that much of an increase in the opening. You just need to take it slow and keep refitting the piece. It will never just pop right in but when it pushes somewhat easily into the speaker grill opening you’ll know you are done.

Once I got the grills so they would fit I used a hand clamp to hold them tight at the outboard corners while I used the glue gun to glue them in. The grills have a tendency to want to pop away from the housing at the outside corner. The glue gun worked great.

When you put the speakers into the appropriate place in the storage compartment there is really no way to put them in incorrectly. There is a way to wire them incorrectly however, something that even Eurospeed did in their instructions. Start with the left speaker and make sure you leave almost no slack in the line when you stick the left side speaker wire in the wire retaining clips. You will need as much wire as possible when it comes to positioning the right speaker.

As you run the speaker wires from the left side of the unit to the right side you will want to take the Dremel tool and, with a ¼” round grinder bit rout out two small spots so the wire can run freely from the left speaker compartment through the storage area with the slider doors and into the right speaker compartment. Once you press the speaker wire into the retaining clips on the left side of the storage compartment it will become obvious where each rout will need to be made. (It’s right where the inboard clip is located. It will look like the wire has to go over a plastic ridge.) You’ll do one rout on each side. This is so the storage compartment doesn’t cut into the wires when it is re-installed. Dabbing some hot glue in there is a good idea. Clamp the wire across the back of the storage unit and put glue in at least 3-5 places to secure it. This is where the glue gun is better than epoxy. You can remove the glue of necessary.

On the right side of the storage bin you will see a ¼” notch right near the location of the outboard Torx screw that holds the speaker unit in and the edge of the carpet. (This is from figure 3 in the three page Porsche installation instructions.) This is where the wires should exit the unit. There should be just enough speaker wire to get to the edge of the notch. All you will see once the storage unit is reinstalled is the tube that covers the wires and the connector plug. Before you put the right speaker assembly in place the two speaker wires under the right speaker assembly so they exit at the notch. They should not bind on anything. Then use the four Torx screws to secure the assembly.

Now is a good time to disconnect the battery. If you don’t you can create a potential airbag deployment.

After you remove the carpeted seatbelt retractor cover you’ll see on the roll bar that there are a series of small rectangles punched into a small cross member between the two tubes. I installed the white connector clip there in the small middle rectangle. You will need to install it so the channel runs vertically. You will need a pair of pliers to give it a twist to lock it in. I positioned the connector for the long cable that goes to the front of the car facing downward on the clip. The storage box connector comes in from the bottom. That way it can be fairly easily unclipped for removal.

When you route the long speaker cable down the side of the roll bar the white zip ties that were included in the kit won’t help you. They are too short. I didn’t use them as the speaker cable was pretty easy to tuck behind the roll bar and then route along the door sill.

Once you remove the door sill/umbrella holder there is a nice ridge right along the edge of the sill to route the speaker cable. Clips won’t be necessary. When you get to the kick panel you’ll need to get creative. (Make sure you have put tape on the end of the harness that has the exposed micro clips!) The panel is glued in place so you’ll have to push the wire around a bit.

Removing the foam under dash protector is easier if you use a penny as a screw driver. You’ll continue routing the wire behind the carpet.

This is where you say: Where the !@#$@ is the amplifier the directions were talking about? If there is one it is located in the front luggage compartment, behind the tire inflation kit. If it’s not there then you have the base radio set up and the radio has to come out.

Here is how you get the radio out:

Remove small carpeted trim piece from each side of center console using Torx 30 screwdriver. It takes a lot of turns to get it out. Must be to discourage thieves and people installing rear speakers.

Remove the piece of panel that covers the head unit on each the side of the console.

There are two Torx 20 screws per panel. This is the hard part: gently (but forcefully) pull each side panel forward. There are three clips that hold them in. The bottom two are fairly straightforward. The top one is a total pain. If you twist it upwards and don’t pull it forward you will probably break the top clip. It’s hard to get leverage on this piece because it is wedged between the radio and the dash.

On the right side of the radio there is a small screw that needs to be backed off so the radio can slide out. (Another security feature.) Don’t unscrew it all the way (but there is no way to tell if you are!).

There are 4 black plastic rotating locks that hold the radio in place. You will need an Allen wrench the size of a Torx 30 to unlock them. The upper one on the left side of the radio is a pain because it’s hard to see. You have to do it by feel.

The radio should then slide out. The connector cables are short so make sure you have a towel to protect the radio and the dashboard. I’d move the shifter down to give the radio some extra room.

On the back of the radio you will be looking for the brown connector. The directions refer to the rear speaker cable wires as red and green. They aren’t. On my kit they were white and black, and yellow and black. Use an AA battery to determine which side is right and which is left. Just connect up the leads and listen for the slight popping sound. I determined that Yellow was R and White was L. Double check that. Had to do the same thing with the main speakers since nothing is labeled!

You will need to push the pins from the speaker wiring harness into the brown connector. What no one tells you is that there is a thin yellow restraining strip that keeps you from pushing the pins in. You will need to pry that out first from the side of the brown connector. Make sure you put the new pins in with the same orientation as the existing pins so you can slide the yellow strip back in. It’s redundant because the pins lock in anyway.

Once everything was connected I re-installed the radio and reconnected the battery.

The fader feature doesn’t work, but the surround sound is great. Euro Motorspeed apologized for the misleading advertising and offered a refund…which is not possible once you have installed the speakers!

Needless to say, the speakers are worth the effort, but there are multiple theories on where the amps are, or aren’t, whether you need to remove the radio - or not, and even with the Porsche, Euro Motorspeed, PNP, and some forum instructions the project was still a cluster-f--k because the 2005+ Boxsters are just different enough from their predecessors and the documentation is pretty thin.

Jeff

Jeff,

This helps tremendously. I basically have my car ripped apart and have not got back to it yet. I will be installing into the amplifier instead of the radio. Hopefully, I can augment your instructions when I am done. Thanks for demystifying the wiring colors as it was completely confusing to me as well...

thanks again!!

[jjlehman]

cseoni,

Glad I could help!

I am writing up a complete documentation of the install to help out Cuong, the Euro Motorspeed guy. He's a good guy. The new version will have more clarification than what I put in the post.

Since you have the amp please tell me exactly how you wired it. I assume that you are pulling the rear speaker wiring harness through the main firewall, following the big harness through the battery compartment firewall and then tapping into the amp harness?

The "official" Porsche directions say there is some connection between the radio and the amp that has to be made, but I don't get how. The directions suck (unless you are a Porsche tech and you've done this a hundred times).

My real e-mail is jjlehman [at] earthlink [dot] net. Probably faster to communicate that way.

Thanks,

Jeff

[cseoni]

cseoni,

Glad I could help!

I am writing up a complete documentation of the install to help out Cuong, the Euro Motorspeed guy. He's a good guy. The new version will have more clarification than what I put in the post.

Since you have the amp please tell me exactly how you wired it. I assume that you are pulling the rear speaker wiring harness through the main firewall, following the big harness through the battery compartment firewall and then tapping into the amp harness?

The "official" Porsche directions say there is some connection between the radio and the amp that has to be made, but I don't get how. The directions suck (unless you are a Porsche tech and you've done this a hundred times).

My real e-mail is jjlehman [at] earthlink [dot] net. Probably faster to communicate that way.

Thanks,

Jeff

Everything is back together and functional at this point. Here is what I ran into. I did the install in a 2005 with Navi and "ASK" amp in the front trunk

1) The cable that came with the kit is too short to route through the firewall and to the amp. I believe it is designed to plug into the back of the radio. So, I wasted additional time splicing additional length on...

2) Routing through the firewall was not a trivial task. I had to remove the battery to access the 2.5 inch round grommet behind the battery. I was concerned about the radio locking as I dont have a code. So, I plugged a portable jumpstart unit into the cig lighter...this seemed to work. The rubber grommet are glued on the back side and punch out pretty easily.

3) Once you get to the amp, you need to splice INLINE into the blue/blue (positive right rear spk) and the corresponding blue/brown(negative right rear). Do the same with the white/white (positive left rear) and corresponding white/brown (negative left rear). This is fun as the wires are twisted and there is little to no slack. I actually cut the wires, untwisted them and spliced everything together using a short piece...Again, you need to splice inline. Again, these wires are on the amp...

4) All in all, it took me several additional hours because the kit did not have the appropriate length and the directions were not for a Navi with amp.

Of course the fader option doesnt appear...i believe I need the dealer to activate this using their special super duper device....

Edited November 23, 2008 by cseoni

[Loren]

Bought the same speakers from the same company. I have an 2005 and was questioning the amp location as well. I have the same module you described, however, I am not sure if that is the amp or some other control module. Basically, I have the same question you do :-).

Did you ever find out any info about "our" amp? Is it the amp?

thx

According to the Porsche parts list the M490 amp (ASK) has not changed since 2005. So they should all be the same.

The BOSE amp has changed.

[secuuda]

Hi everyone just got back and noticed the topic. Well I purchased my speakers from Euro Motorspeed as well and that is my 07 boxster on ebay. it was pretty easy to install only took me a about 2hrs after I assembled the speakers into the storage unit. the amp in your picture is exactly like mine but I also have PCM, what I did was get some 4 wire for that type of car install from one of the stereo installers for about 10. bucks and ran it through the fire wall on the driver side were there is a rubber gromet and made a small hole and ran the wire through and sealed it up. there are actually a few rubber gromets through out the fire wall.

I added the MTX rfl amp and hooked the wires to the amp which I placed inside the trunk in front of the excisting amp with velcro works great and let the stereo installer do the final hook up to the door speakers. He hooked into the wiring out of the large plug on the main amp you see in your picture. and it was done.

I hope that helps if you have any questions give me a reply and I will be more than happy to help you through install. By the way the MTX RFL 200 cost 139. it comes on only when the radio is turned on and shuts down automatically when you turn off the radio.

Warren