[HELP] Aftermarket Radio Issues 987 (2005)

[AmongstEnemies]

Greetings!!!!

I bought my 2005 Boxster base, built in May 05 within the past month!

Now, don't get me wrong, I love everything about this car.

You know what I don't love? The aftermarket radio!!!! This son of a gun right here, a PIONEER AVIC-Z140BH
AVIC-Z140BH - Flagship In-Dash Navigation AV Receiver with 7" WVGA Touchscreen Display, Built-In Bluetooth®, HD Radio™ Tuner, and AppRadio® Mode for iPhone® 4 and iPhone 4s | Pioneer Electronics USA

Just a week after I bought the car, the radio refused to turn off when I turned off the car and removed the keys, when it had been shutting off with the car before. I went into panic/rage mode and fiddled with the radio for an hour before I took it to a local mechanic...

My mechanic simply turned the battery off and then back on and it was temporarily "fixed" so I let the issue slip back into the recesses of my mind.
EDIT: The mechanic I went to was not an idiot, he did this out of instinct, and told me that it was not a permanent fix. He said that the JAPANESE radio was not meshing well with the GERMAN car.... I'm not sure about the technical details but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that this does make sense. He anticipated me having issues with it in the future and recommended that I simply buy another radio-- now the question is which one is compatible with the 2005 boxster?? ugh

2 weeks later (TODAY) the darn thing failed to turn on with the vehicle... twice... three times. So I turn off the battery, turn it back on and wallah it works again.

So, I have a temporary fix that should theoretically work every time.... or at least for a while. But man that is annoying as hell.

What should I do? Buy a different radio? Try to dig in the wiring and get it sorted out? Take it to the dealership where I bought it from and get their advice? Buy a stock radio? Help me friends!

[ppbon]

Are you sure the radio is wired correctly?
There are at least two wires that are hot when switched.
One is dependent on the ignition switch alone but the other one is connected through a time delay.
When you disconnect the car's battery the relay resets.
Most likely your radio is not connected correctly.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

[Smallblock454]

Was the OEM radio a Porsche CDR24?
Then you'll need a CAN bus adapter to get correct CAN bus plus from ignition.

Do you have a Bose system in your car?
If you have a Bose system you'll need an MOST bus adapter additionally.

Regards, Markus

[AmongstEnemies]

Hey guys thanks for the responses

Originally Posted by ppbon

Are you sure the radio is wired correctly?
There are at least two wires that are hot when switched.
One is dependent on the ignition switch alone but the other one is connected through a time delay.
When you disconnect the car's battery the relay resets.
Most likely your radio is not connected correctly.
Happy Boxstering
Pedro

I have no idea if the radio is wired correctly, who put it in or when it was put in. Do you know where I can get it properly connected/wired?

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

Was the OEM radio a Porsche CDR24?
Then you'll need a CAN bus adapter to get correct CAN bus plus from ignition.

Do you have a Bose system in your car?
If you have a Bose system you'll need an MOST bus adapter additionally.

Regards, Markus

Unfortunately I don't know if the OEM radio was a porsche CDR24. what does CAN stand for?

Yes my car has a Bose system. what are these CAN and MOST bus plug/adapter?

[Smallblock454]

CAN (Controller Area Network) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus
MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOST_Bus

Just google for "can bus adapter porsche" and "most bus adapter porsche".

Over here in Germany DIETZ – PORSCHE - Audiotechnik Dietz - Online Shop – is a well known manufacturer for those adapters. Don't know if they are available in the US. So maybe someone from the US can help out here more than me.

Regards, Markus

[AmongstEnemies]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

CAN (Controller Area Network) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus
MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOST_Bus

Just google for "can bus adapter porsche" and "most bus adapter porsche".

Over here in Germany DIETZ – PORSCHE - Audiotechnik Dietz - Online Shop – is a well known manufacturer for those adapters. Don't know if they are available in the US. So maybe someone from the US can help out here more than me.

Regards, Markus

Hmmmm... Okay thanks for these details. I'll relay it to the people who I talk to... The issue now is that I myself am not confident to get in there and play with the wiring. I want to hire someone to "fix" this for me, but I don't know where to find someone who is qualified. I'm in Georgia, US...

The porsche dealerships are saying "its not a porsche part", an electronics shop wasnt familiar with porsches, going to Best buy seems stupid, Hmmmmmm

[Smallblock454]

The signals for ignition are transmitted via CAN bus signals. That's why you need an adapter. Everything else won't work proper in your car.

The signals for the BOSE system are transferred via MOST-bus (glas fibre wire). So if you want to use the BOSE power amp system you'll need a MOST bus adapter.

I would recommend to ask a good car audio shop if you don't want to do it yourself. CAN bus systems are pretty common these days - even in US cars. MOST bus is maybe not that common and more an european thing.

Regards, Markus

[AmongstEnemies]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

The signals for ignition are transmitted via CAN bus signals. That's why you need an adapter. Everything else won't work proper in your car.

The signals for the BOSE system are transferred via MOST-bus (glas fibre wire). So if you want to use the BOSE power amp system you'll need a MOST bus adapter.

I would recommend to ask a good car audio shop if you don't want to do it yourself. CAN bus systems are pretty common these days - even in US cars. MOST bus is maybe not that common and more an european thing.

Regards, Markus

Any Idea on the estimate for how much these adapters cost, where to get them, how long installation will take?

[Smallblock454]

The adapters in general are plug and play. Maybe some connections needed, but nothing impossible.

Where to get best in the US and how much they are in the US – i don't know. Don't you have a good car stereo shop near you?

Regards, Markus

[AmongstEnemies]

Originally Posted by Smallblock454

The adapters in general are plug and play. Maybe some connections needed, but nothing impossible.

Where to get best in the US and how much they are in the US – i don't know. Don't you have a good car stereo shop near you?

Regards, Markus

After some quick research this is what I found:

https://incartec.co.uk/Pages/Product.aspx?P=2663

https://incartec.co.uk/Pages/Product.aspx?P=3912

I don't think I have a "good" car stereo shop near me.. I'm in this southern town that is pretty awful called Augusta. I just called a local shop and they said "we stay away from Porsches because of how they are prone to having issues"

I might have to go to Atlanta to get these installed, but do those look like the right parts?

The part that pisses me off the most is I bought this car less than a month ago from a highly esteemed dealership. Also why does the radio work perfectly 90 percent of the time and then seemingly without reason suddenly fails to function properly? Hmmmm

[Smallblock454]

Hi,

well hard to say if the Pioneer Avic has a problem or if the installation was done wrong.

From what you described i think that you don't have a CAN bus module installed. And without that it will never ever work the way it should.

If you have warranty on the car i would ask the dealershp to fix the problem. If the warranty doesn't include the stereo system you are on your own.

I don't know your technical skills. but if there is no warranty it's not that difficult to check if there were CAN-bus and MOST-bus modules build in your car. Next would be if they are installed correctly – that's a little bit more challenging.

Regards, Markus

[AmongstEnemies]

thanks for the help Markus, I'm taking it to a car audio shop in atlanta on Tuesday