CD Changer Enable on '06 Cayenne w/Bose

[deilenberger]

Folks,

I "won" (buy it now) a CD changer from Ebay.. It was from an '04 Cayenne, and has PN: 997.645.140.03, and Version PA149D. My Cayenne is a late production '06 with the Titanium package.

According to PET - this should work with my Cay. My question is - I have the PCM 2.1 - will I have to "activate" it in the PCM before it will work? Looks like all the cables are in place (the Cay has CD-Changer "prep") and I'm hoping for Plug and Pray..

TIA (not a single response on RENNLIST - go figure. Doesn't anyone do their own tinkering on Cayennes? (I'm from the BMW community, where hacking, modifying, fixing your own car is all the rage.. but perhaps the X3/X5 owners are not quite as DIY as the ///M-car people.)

Don Eilenberger

Edited April 6, 2011 by deilenberger

[Loren]

Most of the Cayenne's were pre-wired and ready to go. Let's hope yours fits the "most" part.

If not, then you will need to find a shop with a PST2 or preferably a PIWIS tester.

[wvicary]

I think it's plug and play. When you push the CD button on the PCM it selects the changer if no disk is in the PCM. If a disk is in the PCM I think you have to push the CD button twice to select the changer. I hope this is correct as I'm just going by memory from reading something ages ago.

[mudman2]

It is plug and play, if its wired right then it will just show up. Its the only thing that is on these cars

[deilenberger]

Cool! Can't wait to get it!

[Brit6]

Your lucky you were able to find both cables. I have an 04 turbo and i can only find the power but not the optical wire, even though i have the CD changer prep option. I guess i will have to buy the piggy back opital cable from the dealer, i checked and its around $150US. Ouch!

[Brit6]

On my PCM i have the option for CD or CDC for selecting which option i want to play, but it must only be on PCM 2.0 versions without phone.

[deilenberger]

Your lucky you were able to find both cables. I have an 04 turbo and i can only find the power but not the optical wire, even though i have the CD changer prep option. I guess i will have to buy the piggy back opital cable from the dealer, i checked and its around $150US. Ouch!

Price isn't the only thing - the installation requires rebuilding the Cayenne around the cable suspended in air.. (just sorta kidding, but not a lot - I was reading the workshop manual about it..) It goes all the way from up front, along under the sills, and the carpeting and.. on and on..

You might take a closer look. Mine wasn't immediately obvious until I waved my hand around in that compartment and found it dangling there (nicely wrapped in some foam to protect it. Two orange wires/fibers going into a plastic connector like is shown in the manuals..) I used my CSI flashlight (a MagLight for those who watch the CSI series and wonder why they never turn the room lights on..) Wouldn't have found it without that.

Edited April 6, 2011 by deilenberger

[Brit6]

Im not refering to the optical cable that runs from the PCM to the BOSE AMP. That one is already there and i dont have any cable running to do. I am talking about the little opital wire about 6 inches that runs from the bose amp to the cd changer. I signed up here and downloaded the 15 page install guide that mentions how to install it, i just want to wait for the warm weather to do so.

It is referenced in the manual as OW (BOSE sound package w/CD changer) #95564230400, and Plug for OW #95564232100.

[deilenberger]

Im not refering to the optical cable that runs from the PCM to the BOSE AMP. That one is already there and i dont have any cable running to do. I am talking about the little opital wire about 6 inches that runs from the bose amp to the cd changer. I signed up here and downloaded the 15 page install guide that mentions how to install it, i just want to wait for the warm weather to do so.

It is referenced in the manual as OW (BOSE sound package w/CD changer) #95564230400, and Plug for OW #95564232100.

Ah - OK. Understood - in the manuals it's rather confusing as to what the installations require. From what you said - it becomes clearer. I was probably reading the changer install for Cayenne's without the Bose system, and I guess in those since you don't have the amp connected via an optical cable, you must run a cable all the way back to the PCM. I didn't bother following where the optical cable I found went to - since it did have the ends I expected - but it very well could be one that Y's off the Bose amp. Pricey little devil (and what car manufacturer decides to use an optical cable system for audio/device communications? That's sorta pushing the envelope for not a lot of good reason.. it isn't like all that can't be done with a simple wire based network buss. I guess they were trying for EMI immunity in case of??)

[Brit6]

It is extremely confusing, there are 8 different configurations depending on the options of your Cayenne. It is a little intimidating compared to some cars! I will keep looking for mine, but i can't seem to find it. I am going to take apart the trim anyways to install it. I am actually not sure why they went optical instead of copper wire, optical doesn't get interference or signal degration.

[deilenberger]

I can report it IS plug and play, after about 2.5 hours of work installing it. It is never coming out. It's there forever (at least as long as I own the thing..)

More info on the job (which is a royal PITA) at: http://www.renntech....dpost__p__22025

Edited April 7, 2011 by deilenberger

[hahnmgh63]

Conrats on getting it installed. What a PIA to do.

[deilenberger]

Conrats on getting it installed. What a PIA to do.

ABSOLUTELY a PITA. Porsche could have made it simple by just making the opening in the panel a bit larger on the left side... especially for something that was a commonly installed by dealer at the time of sale device. And imagine, if they made the cables/fiber long enough so you could plug it in without contortions and blind-feeling-around, and.. and.. had locking tabs to allow it to snap into the bracket.

Nah.. never happen.

Happily - it worked great going into work today.. but the PCM interface for it is rather difficult. The <- -> buttons will jump tracks on whatever CD is playing, but so far - I haven't found the same functionality for swapping disks. Am I missing something here? I found I have to go into the AUDIO menu, then scroll to SELECT DISK, press the knob, then scroll to the disk I want, and press the knob again. To say this might be distracting at speed is a great understatement. You should be able to do this with buttons alone. What did I miss?

FWIW: BMW's E39/5-series interface is better done. You can select what disk you want with the 1-6 "memory" (used for stored radio stations) buttons, then skip to tracks by using the <-> button (which has an "M" for manual button in the middle - which allows scanning the current track.) And you can also do this from the steering wheel. No need to move eyes off the road.

[Brit6]

Thanks for the info! I hope i am able to do it without that much trouble, i hate not having a cd player in the car (the in dash cd is the nav cd always).

Try downloading the PCM owners guide that Loren posted: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php/files/file/546-pcm-2-owners-manual/ it has some helpful tips to change the disks and operations of the buttons :)

Conrats on getting it installed. What a PIA to do.

ABSOLUTELY a PITA. Porsche could have made it simple by just making the opening in the panel a bit larger on the left side... especially for something that was a commonly installed by dealer at the time of sale device. And imagine, if they made the cables/fiber long enough so you could plug it in without contortions and blind-feeling-around, and.. and.. had locking tabs to allow it to snap into the bracket.

Nah.. never happen.

Happily - it worked great going into work today.. but the PCM interface for it is rather difficult. The <- -> buttons will jump tracks on whatever CD is playing, but so far - I haven't found the same functionality for swapping disks. Am I missing something here? I found I have to go into the AUDIO menu, then scroll to SELECT DISK, press the knob, then scroll to the disk I want, and press the knob again. To say this might be distracting at speed is a great understatement. You should be able to do this with buttons alone. What did I miss?

FWIW: BMW's E39/5-series interface is better done. You can select what disk you want with the 1-6 "memory" (used for stored radio stations) buttons, then skip to tracks by using the <-> button (which has an "M" for manual button in the middle - which allows scanning the current track.) And you can also do this from the steering wheel. No need to move eyes off the road.

[deilenberger]

Brit6 - thanks. I usually do read the manual, but in this case - I was playing late at night, so I didn't, and this AM I had to drive to work.

Looks like disk selection can be done with the number pad (press a number 1-6 and hold for > 3 seconds..) That's great info and makes it lots safer to use. I also found out there are more then one bank of memory positions for AM and FM - 3 each! (BMW also has 3..)

Thanks, and good luck with your installation.

[deilenberger]

Just a quick update.. this changer had a date of 06/07 for manufacturing date.. and happily for me - it reads MP3 disks just fine. Which is cool since you can fit about 3x as much on an MP3 disk as a plain CD (you lose a bit of fidelity, but IMHO - not enough to matter in a car environment.)