Kenwood DMX-5020DABS

[RFD]

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...

 

[Gutley]

Following along with interest. I've just ordered the DMX-8020DABS and also the Incartec wiring kit. 

[graeme81]

Must be something in the air, I've just ordered the exact same headhunt, installation kit and I did remember the DAB aerial too. I've watched a few vids on YouTube about removing the existing unit but will be watching how you get on RFD. Good luck

[DaveEFI]

I bought a DAB unit for my other car years ago. It came with a windscreen aerial for DAB - you used the car one for FM and AM. And that supplied DAB one was rubbish, reception wise. Then bought an adaptor to share the car aerial - a simple telescopic wing one. That gave poor DAB reception too. Eventually went to a specialist aerial maker and got a bee sting roof one made for DAB and analogue  - which works very well indeed. But you can't really fit that to a Boxster. My guess would be to get the aerial amp Porsche themselves use for a DAB factory install with the screen aerial. Assuming that is the same for FM and DAB.

[Gutley]

@RFD and @graeme81 . If either/both of you fancy setting up a Whatsapp Group for installation, PM me your phone number. 

[Bleedsoff]

watching with interest as well. Very much want to do something like this. I e seen a few vids how to take the original unit out but not many showing how to wire a new one in etc. Very much a novice to all this. 

[RFD]

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??

[iborguk]

Just now, RFD said:

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??

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

 

[Paul P]

There’s a set pattern something like steering centre then 15 deg left then centre then 15 right then drive forward at more that 7 mph for 20 feet - but as above. Goes away round the block normally. You will need to reset the windows top and bottom position so one touch works. To to that fully open  them. Let go then “open” again and hold for 5 secs. Do the same for “close”. 

[RFD]

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!!)

[RFD]

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! 

[½cwt]

@RFD good work & excellent write up. 👍

[Def1]

Great informative write up , 👍

[Bleedsoff]

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

[RFD]

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!

[Greyanglia]

Very clear and easy to follow write up. Thanks for taking the time.

[Patrick1964]

Re the USB cable in the cubbyhole, I did this with a USB socket like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082VT4VSH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_0YX096PFJZVX4HQYQFPN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I didn’t bother with a DAB head unit as the windscreen aerials are not terribly good unless you have a strong signal - whereas using apps such as BBC Sounds means I can listen to digital stations anywhere I get a phone signal.

[Babaa]

I went with the DAB aerial option that didn't need to mess with trim removal and it has been working pretty well for me. Made some longer journeys recently too and admit there are some patches of loss of signal in some areas, but would say pretty minimal (i.e. 200 miles on motorways maybe 10-20 miles without solid reception). Also locally for me works great except for a few bits with more built up buildings in town. Was only around a tenner from Halfords and seemed like less install work.

On 3/1/2021 at 9:02 PM, Nick C said:

Yes that's the one I brought. I'll try and upload a pic of where I mounted it, was a straight forward job. 

Ignore the dirt under the cowling I've removed, I need to give it a clean under there. The magnet is stuck to the bulkhead so the aerial is horizontal, hope this helps. 

[myfirstboxster]

Bit off the wall solution to the Ariel problem , this guy fitted a sharks fin Ariel under the front bumper , seems to work for him ok ( I know it's in French but you get the idea ) ! 

 

[invisible]

Does anybody use a wireless phone charger in their Boxster’s cubby hole? Do they work?

[Slurms]

On 4/3/2021 at 4:18 PM, Patrick1964 said:

Re the USB cable in the cubbyhole, I did this with a USB socket like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082VT4VSH/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_0YX096PFJZVX4HQYQFPN?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I didn’t bother with a DAB head unit as the windscreen aerials are not terribly good unless you have a strong signal - whereas using apps such as BBC Sounds means I can listen to digital stations anywhere I get a phone signal.

Don't suppose you have any images of where you put the USB socket? 

I've just completed the same install in my 987.2 and wanted to run the USB into the cubby but wasn't sure exactly where to mount it. 

 

[Slurms]

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. 

[RFD]

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 😎

[Gutley]

35 minutes ago, RFD said:

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

@SlurmsHere’s what I used:

 

[Slurms]

So that’s what I’ve tried, the problem I’ve had is that it just seems to open the menu when doing the corner tapping bit. I’ve got to be doing this wrong somehow.