CDR23 radio overheats and stops playing CD's?

[Dean Lewis]

I have a 2003 Boxster with a CDR23 single CD player. No amp and nothing else.

​

When playing CD's it overheats and shuts down.

 

I bought a new Continental radio/CD and it did the same thing today.

 

Now I am thinking it is not the radio.

 

Seems like the compartment where the radio is shouldn't get that hot.

 

I am thinking the "flaps" the divert the air up or down aren't working properly or the climate control is out of whack.

 

Any help on this would be appreciated.

 

Thanks, Dean

[Loren]

:welcome:

 

I can think of a couple of other things...

- have you looked to see if there is anything else on the circuit -- like a 3rd party DSP or radar detector or ?

- any wire splices under the front dash? or taped wires from a previous install?

[Dean Lewis]

Thanks for the response.

Nothing on the circuit or anything going on with the wiring.

Car is bone stock with 40K miles. I am the second owner.

Going to have to dig deeper on this one.

Dean

[Loren]

You are right this is a tough one then...

 

Which dash/console position is in it?

[Dean Lewis]

picture attached, though poor quality due to taken on my phone.

 

[Loren]

That is the correct position for the factory install.

 

Just to be clear... only when you play a CD?

I assume you are using store bought CDs and tried both home burned and store bought?

[Dean Lewis]

Yes only CD's and store bought.

The "burnt" one's make it quit even faster.

 

Leaning towards running the a/c all the time to see if it changes.

 

Dean

[Dean Lewis]

Had a suggestion on another forum to add an amp.

Not a bad idea??

Makes some sense.

Radio can't provide enough power.

 

Interesting.

 

Dean

[Loren]

Sorry, but the amp only powers the speakers.

I wonder if your stock speakers have been changed and have the wrong resistance (ohms).

If so that would draw more power from the radio.

[Dean Lewis]

I am going to test that.

I did change out the stock speakers with some Polk Audio DB's

​Dean

[MWS-Indy]

Just a thought, but if you have the center console apart, have you considered moving the climate control unit to one of the lower positions (where one of the 2 shelfs are located)? Not that the climate unit would be producing any heat, but moving to the lowest position might provide better air flow around radio. In my configuration, I have the cup holders (albeit useless) on top, radio below, CD holder (again, useless) below that and climate control at bottom. I still have the original CDR and have not had any failures, not even on the LCD. Also, does your car have the rear speaker kit? If so, (and I might be incorrect) but I thought those were powered by the head unit (amp only for front and door)... This could contribute to heat.

[Rick Cosmar]

I have another issue related to the CDR 23. My radio stopped playing all together. It powers up then does nothing. I shut if off ad it powers back on. It takes a few attempts then it will finally shut down. I'm looking at an Ebay OEM replacement. Probably cheaper than going to the dealership for them to trouble shoot. Any suggestions on this issue. 

[Dean Lewis]

New update.

 

I went with running the auto climate control at 70. Nice feature, I have never used it.

 

Drove to my kids baseball game playing a CD. No problem.

Coming home the CD ended so I took it out.

Nice and cool.

 

I am thinking I got it solved and then about a mile later with only the radio playing it shuts down.

 

Only has two dash speakers. No doors or rears.

Did replace the dash ones with Pol Audio DB's but can't imagine they take that much power to drive.

 

Next thing I might try is putting the stock speaker back in and see what happens.

 

Dean

 

 

[MWS-Indy]

Just another thought... If you want to REALLY see if it is a heat dissipation issue (poor air circulation around head unit), drop the heat control to lowest DIN position (in your picture, where your lowest shelf is), and leaving the upper bay open (nothing there) drive around for a few days using radio/CD as normal. If doesn't overheat, then simply install the removed lower shelf where heat control was and you're done. If it does overheat, then I would start exploring other causes (speaker ohm resistance, amplifier, wiring, etc.). From my experience, start simple, then look for more complex issues.

Just to clarify, do you have an external amp, or are you running only the amp on the head unit?

[MWS-Indy]

This is one thing that I really like about the 986, four DIN bays. Makes moving things around pretty easy; configure as you like. I once thought I would like the radio in the top lower din position, and it was a good idea in theory, but the slight upward angle made the display hard to read with the top down, so it got moved back to the second (original) position.

[Dean Lewis]

I am not running an external amp at this point.

Dean

[MWS-Indy]

By using only the internal amp on the head unit, you will see increased heat (will vary with the aftermarket unit). If you do have and aftermarket unit, you probably have a set of RCA's... If you have access to a small amp (if you have only dash speakers), try that option. I wouldn't worry at this point of trying to run through firewall, just tuck it behind the seat. An external amp will (obviously) reduce heat at head unit, but give more power and the option of more flexibility with speakers. By going this route, you could start planning a system that would really sound nice (even with top down). Upgrade the dash and door speakers (door panels are a bit of a pain to get off, but plenty of articles on how), and some rear fill (easy enough if you have the rear storage compartment option) and maybe some small subs. The possibilities are endless, and plenty of DIY information available.

If you installed the head unit yourself, I trust you are good with the amp install; questions regarding this should be in a separate topic.

Best of luck, and enjoy. Let us know what happens! :)

[MWS-Indy]

BTW, when working with the dash speakers, wouldn't it be nice if you could pop out the windshield? I am sure you know what I mean....

[MWS-Indy]

One last BTW :) , if you end up removing the door panels, a nice "might as well" upgrade I did was to pad and leather cover the flip up storage covers. Looks much nicer, and keeps my elbows happy.