RFD

By way of an update, I’ve sold my Boxster 😪

The Incartec fitting kit meant the stereo came out really easily and I’ve put the original CD-R back in for the new owner. The Kenwood will be going in the replacement car, but that’s not a Porsche, so I have a spare Incartec fitting kit and harness available if anyone wants one.
Fire me a message and we can agree details. 
It’s the FK-9591-IGN from https://incartec.co.uk/product/Porsche-987-997-Single-Double-DIN-stereo-fitting-kit-CANBUS-IGNITION-SILVER-FK-9591-IGN

Thanks 

3 hours ago, Tom Smith said:

Hi, I've been looking around for a modern classic to use infrequently that may also slowly appreciate in value. Having looked at other cars such as older fast Fords through to BMW M sport Z3's, I've concluded that I'm looking to buy my first Porsche. Considering budget, spec and performance, I think I've narrowed it down to a 987s. I've read articles that suggest the early 2005 models may be more susceptible to IMS bearing failure whereas the later 2005 and 2006 were fitted with a stronger bearing. Also, which would be the better engine, 3.2 or 3.4? What are the pro's and cons? Service history is obviously important, but any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

Welcome to the forum. I’ve found this to be quite a friendly place with good support. 
 

I’m willing to bet if you post up where you are in the country, someone on here won’t be too far away and would gladly meet up to talk cars with you…

1 hour ago, Menoporsche said:

Take the old one out, plant and water it. You should be able to grow the replacement in the spring. 
 

 

sorry - in the coil. 

Should I use peat free compost? 😜

Well, it had to happen! After 14 months of ownership, something had to go wrong!

Yep, a tail light bulb has blown! I’m not sure I can cope with this level of reliability in a car that’s 16 years old! 😆

I appreciate I’ve probably jinxed it now 🤐 Anyone know what bulb I need to save me taking it out to see before I go and buy the replacement? 
 

Hi,

I have a 987.1 so can’t help you directly. However I have the ASK system and my research online still left me with some doubt. I emailed incartec with the details of the system I had in the car and what I wanted to instal and they confirmed exactly what I needed. 
I think you said you’re in Devon. Incartec are based in Exeter, so you may be able to save yourself the postage. 
 

good luck 

24 minutes ago, Menoporsche said:

I have never understood these people, and there are many on here not just you, who buy and run an 8k, 15 year old Porsche but somehow complain about 200 quid annual road tax!  It's a strange bias in people's minds, I just don't get it.

 

OP, if you say you haven't had a chance to drive any as they are never near you, carpe diem, then reassess accordingly. Otherwise you might wait another year!

While I didn’t consider the lower tax as my main consideration when I bought my 2005 S, I was and remain acutely aware that the £200 saving pays for my fully comp insurance for a year. 
Two otherwise identical cars but one with free insurance for life... does sound kind of a no-brainer, no?

56 minutes ago, AR2R987.2 said:

Hi, great info here 👍

Is there a way to make both HU's mentioned above to work with multifunction steering wheel? (at least volume up/down, next/previous song). Thanks!

Hi, yes I believe so. The ISO kit from incartec his a bit more expensive, maybe £30 more if I recall correctly, but it can be done. 
Worth firing them an email and they will tell you what you need. 👍

On 4/15/2021 at 3:24 PM, Henry Cooper said:

Thanks RFD - needless to say, I'd love the 8020, but my budget is more secondhand 5020! Given that one's phone needs charging when used for long distance navigation, so it has to be plugged in somewhere, I'm not sure I'd miss the wireless Auto/CarPlay element. Do you get good phone and GPS reception with roof up and the phone in the armrest, and do you find it easy to hit the volume/other buttons when on the move?

Finally, having now got yours sorted, would you do it again, or prefer to pay for 3 hours of a professional's time?

Hi, I get really good reception roof up and down. I live in an area with good 4G and so far I’ve not had any breaks in signal when streaming music or when calling hands free. My phone is kept in the centre armrest pocket thingy. 
 

the volume buttons are really not good and are my only negative so far. They are small and there’s nothing tactile to let me know when I’m pressing up or down. 
 

As for fitting, I’d definitely do it myself again. It really took no time at all. I didn’t break any trim clips as the cars are so well made. I really enjoyed fitting it! 

19 hours ago, Henry Cooper said:

No, my mistake. They're different models, the DMX5020 versus the DMX8020 - note to self, 'when in doubt, read the bloody screen!'

 

Yes, two separate models. I went cheap - 5020 and Gutley went premium - 8020, so between us we should be able to answer most questions 😆

9 hours ago, Slurms said:

Has anyone been able to change the startup splash screen on this unit?

I've tried the previous top left bottom left button press combinations but all that seems to do is open the menu rather than accessing the installer menu as show in youtube videos for older kenwood units. 

Fire a DM to @Gutley. He has found some instructions on YouTube he shared with me via text 😎

4 minutes ago, Bleedsoff said:

Thanks for the write up. I’ll shall be referencing this when I can afford to do mine! 

That’s great! I have gained so much from other people on this forum, so if I can give just something small back then it’s mission accomplished!

As promised, I’m going to put a few words here to hopefully help anyone who wants to fit a Kenwood DMX-5020DABS or similar to their car. 

One of the things I struggled to find a definite answer to was, what kit to I need for my car which has Sound Package Plus. 
I ordered the incartec fitting kit here

https://incartec.co.uk/product/Porsche-987-997-Single-Double-DIN-stereo-fitting-kit-CANBUS-IGNITION-SILVER-FK-9591-IGN

It has a key in ignition feed meaning the stereo works in the same way as the original CDR24 with the ignition key. 
Incartec were helpful, confirming what I had already established fr their website, that this was the right kit for my set up. They then delivered in under 24 hours, which was good. 
One point of note - the kit comes with 4 flat Phillips headed screws, but the image in the fitting instructions clearly shows 8 being used. As the Kenwood is much shallower unit than the CDR24 I decided two per side was enough to hold it and I can confirm it is solid and secure. But I do think 8 should have been supplied. 

The other point is the one I mentioned earlier in this thread - the Kenwood stereo does not have a DAB aerial. You’ll need to source your own. I went with this one from Amazon for about £10 and it works fine.

So, armed with everything I needed I embarked on the fitting. First off, disconnect the negative battery terminal (10mm spanner) 

Then I followed this set of instructions which allowed me to remove both A-pillar trims (passenger side for the DAB aerial, driver side for the cable routing for the microphone which I put near the rear view mirror).

https://www.renntech.org/topic/39540-fixing-a-pillar-creak/

Both sun visors came off without issue (torx 30 and 20 I think). The A pillar needs a firm tug to release the catches. This is what you then get to see (I did one at a time, only removing the near side after I had reassembled the offside so I had a reference for reassembly) 

I ran the microphone cable under the top windscreen trim, inside the A pillar trim and then behind the dash to the back of the centre console. I removed the dash end cover (no screws, just need a trim tool to pop it off) 

There is a lot of space behind the dash and routing the cable was straight forward. 
After reassembling the offside it was on to the DAB aerial. The process was the same but I also needed to remove the trim next to the glove box to make routing the cable easier 

It just pops off with pressure to the bottom first. Removed it looks like 

I ran the cable above the sound proofing at the bottom of the dashboard to prevent having to remove the glove box. There’s 3 plastic screws that need to be released to allow the cable to be fed into this space

And once completed and reassembled I had finished the difficult bit!

Next I needed to remove the CDR24. I won’t repeat what is readily available on YouTube by way of instruction. 

I managed to release three of the four cams (5mm Allen key) and the small bolt on the glove box side (7mm spanner), but I could not get the fourth released. With a neighbour helping, I used a screwdriver to manually push the tabs in on that side and he pulled the CDR24 out. The cables unplugged smoothly and it was free! Here’s a view of old and new side by side to show how svelte the Kenwood is (as a result of not having a CD drive of course) 

The cables all plug in to the incartec harness which plugs into the Kenwood. They only fit one way so no risk of getting this stage wrong. Make sure you remember to plug them all in (including microphone and DAB aerial) If you may want to connect a reverse camera in the future it would be worth putting a short cable to the yellow AV-in at this stage as I’m not sure the Kenwood will be easy to remove to do it later. 
 

Once all of the cables are connected and the plastic side pieces (from the incartec kit) are screwed on to the Kenwood it’s time to test it all works before putting it into the centre console. Battery reconnect time. 
 

Assuming it all works you need to fit the fascia surround from the incartec kit now. I didn’t use the one that comes with the Kenwood stereo and I didn’t use the metal cage from the stereo either. 
 

Once I was happy everything worked, I carefully slid the unit into place making sure it was seated correctly vertically and the fascia trim lined up OK. The last 10mm needed quite a firm push until it clearly clicks into place. And here it is

Sound quality is good. The DAB aerial works giving me a strong signal so far. The microphone mounted by the rear view mirror picks up my voice well I’m told. I’ve had no issues with the link to Sound Package Plus amp. The stereo turns off when the key is removed from the ignition and powers up exactly as the CDR24 did. Clearly the limited information about radio station does mot appear in the instrument panel now, but I’m happy with that. 
 

You’ll notice I’ve not mentioned the USB cable necessary to connect the Apple or Android phone. At the moment I’ve routed mine into the glove box, but it’s only temporary. I think I will probably move it to the cubby at the rear of the transition tunnel eventually. I’m very anti-phone and driving, so want it to be well away from view and that seems like a good place for it. 
 

I hope this is helpful to someone. If not, rest assured it will have taken you less time to read than it has taken me to write it! The full stereo fitting took me 2 hours roughly including a break for a cuppa. This has taken me over an hour to type! 
 

Good luck to any one else doing this, it really is quite a simple DIY job. Our cars are very well built and I managed to remove and refit all trim pieces without any trim clips breaking - not bad for 16 year old plastic! 

24 minutes ago, iborguk said:

Yes re the PSM and battery. Drive it around the block, should clear.

 

Thanks guys, I’ll do that as soon as I’ve earned enough family points (having already spent 2 hours of a bank holiday on the car I’m in deficit!!)

Well, I’m pleased to report it’s all done! 
 

It took a couple of hours to remove A-pillar trims for DAB aerial and microphone, plus removal of a stubborn CDR24. But it’s in and working! 
I will put something up on here when I get chance to go through the cable routing I used; I’ve taken a few photos. 
Now I just need to work out how to remove the PSM warning on the dash... a symptom of disconnecting the battery I suspect. Any clues??

My Easter weekend task will be replacing the CDR24 with an Apple car play unit.

I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought the replacement while Halfords had a sale on. I’ve watched the YouTube videos and fitting looks Ok from what I can tell. I’ve fitted a Kenwood unit to my previous T5.1 Transporter and various stereos to previous cars, so while no means an expert, I have a little bit of experience to rely on.

Incartec are supplying the ISO wiring kit (ordered today and due to arrive tomorrow).

First annoyance is the fact the Kenwood does not come with a DAB aerial. Amazon to the rescue there with next day delivery, but surely it should be included with the stereo and must be a relatively small cost to the manufacturer!

Anyway, I intend to take a few happy snaps as I go and I will post up the results in case anyone is interested. 
I have Sound Package Plus in my car so I’m keen to see how it works with the unit/harness. 
If anyone has any advice for me before I embark, now would be a great time to offer it 🤣

Wish me luck...