996 stereo upgrade keeping factory Bose optical

Hi all, I've been trying to upgrade my factory PCM2.0 since it had a little short and died, but so far I'm still pulling my hair out after hours of trying to get it to work. i have a 2004 996 C4S cab. I have a Pioneer DAB130 double din unit ( https://www.pioneer-car.eu/eur/products/sph-da130dab ) with the Connects2 CT51-PO04 ( https://connects2.com/Product/ProductItem/CT51-PO04 ). Although that connector harness says for the 997 in many places, it appears as mine is an 04 996 that I have a lot of parts that are also in the 997... i.e. optical connections between phone, amp and cd changer. Sp I've connected it up to the vehicle harness, connected that adapter harness to the standard harness that comes with the radio, plugged it into the radio, and also plugged in the dual aerial feeds to a Connects2 aerial adapter. However, nothing happens when I turn on the ignition. I've checked that I have voltage at the back of the radio which I do. I've checked the wiring looks right according to the supplied diagram. I'm at a bit of a loss. Ive also checked all the fuses in the fuse box in the drivers footwell just to make sure they are all goo, which they are. Surely these adapters are wired correctly so I don't need to start cutting and joining wires. Any thoughts?

Ive just done the same, single din to double din with a move of the climate control unit. I used an EBay Fibre Optic interface but found the standard plug on the loom that plugged into my CDR23 was usable. However, there was a switched supply fitted previously for a Parrot interface that I had to use so maybe you might need another supply fitted too? HTH Andrew

Thanks Andrew. Mines a bit different as I had the PCM2.0 double din unit already and the HVAC was already in the lower section. I also have a 2004 with the optical interface so the connector / adapter setup was almost £200 by the time I had all the bits... and it still doesn't work! I think you are right on the switched power supply though, appears thats what I need as someone else said about it and the Pioneer unit I has doesn't have a manual power button of it's own so needs to be told when to turn on. I'll report back once I've made some progress

Following this thread, i will eventually swap my head unit for a double din. i also have a BOSE amp using MOST. Let me know how you get on and what it took to sort it, if you wouldn't mind Good luck!! Nick

Not sure about the MOST cars but you will almost certainly have to send the amps a wake up signal using a switched 12V supply. normally the HU will supply an output and you will need to find the wake up wire for the PCM/AMPS. Maybe the attached will help from google-fu.. Cheers Spart

Cheers Spart. pretty sure that the optical cars like mine don't work in the same way as the older copper powered amps pre 2004. I have the CT51-PO04 adapter harness from Connects2 which comes with the optical converter and speaking to them on the phone today they say that it should be plug and play with no need for any fiddling and creating a new switched supply. So I've sent some details to their tech support and will report back. Picture attached just for reference.

I've had another look at mine today as I was naffed off with having to have the ignition on to listen to the unit, I'd used the previously fitted switched feed for a Parrot unit but looking at wiring diagrams found a feed that is actually the same as position one on the ignition switch, but stays on until the key is removed. I used it as if you have a phone call going on when you arrive home for instance, you can turn the car off and the call is still live through the Sound system until you remove the key. It's taken off the back of the fuse box rather than the ignition switch itself as it was easier to get access to it. Also I've been having issues with the Most fibre optic converter as it's not always feeding a signal to the amp, well this is what I'm guessing at really as if you remove the fibre optic plug and plug it back in again it seems to fire up the amp ok. Not really sure what's causing it but I did notice that the +'ve feed was showing 11.3V on my meter. Checking the voltage at the battery it read the same too. So it could be caused by low voltage but I might see if I can exchange the converter just to be sure first. I haven't got the Connects2 unit as this one was £50 cheaper as there's no steering wheel control interface but I might have to end up buying a Connects2 one in the end.

I have a 2003 C4S with the optical MOST amp. I would like to get rid of the PCM2 did you ever get this sorted? Is the Connects2 CT51-PO04 the right kit?

My local audio man has suggested that the easiest way it to ignore the MOST components completely. He suggests fitting a new unit with built in amp and hooking the speaker cables to the new unit. I've not looked to see how feasible this is.

@drac yes I got it all working and it's awesome! @maldren I suspect that they say that for ease because it's probably faster just to wire in a new set of stuff they know. However there are drawbacks. I didn't go for that option because a) I would have to buy all new hardware and then mess around with the speaker mounts and a ton of wiring, b) it's no cheaper c) I don't think its that much easier, d) potentially devalues the car to some buyers, e) why would you want to when the Bose is so good Now i've done all the work I am really please I did. It sounds absolutely fantastic. Much better than it did with the old PCM2.0 head unit and thats all I changed. I am still running the factory amp and speakers. Some notes for anyone wanting to do this.... - I have a 996 C4S from 2004 with a factory Bose system with the amp located in the spare wheel bay in the front - Had the PCM2.0 double din sat nav unit originally - I installed a Pioneer SPH-DA130DAB but most of this is the same for any unit - I used the Connects2 CT51-PO04 adapter (Amp on is used to connect to the accessory on blue wire on the head unit. Sub on in the adapter is not needed as the sub comes on with the amp in the Bose system). The speed signal on the back of the head unit is not used as that signal is already wired directly to the amp from the car. - I also used the Connects2 CT27AA76 Fakra diversity antenna kit. Antenna connectors are the Black Fakra and Mustard Fakra connections (teal is the GPS) - I am not sure I needed the diversity adapter in reality as it works just fine with only one of the antenna connected so you could get the cheaper CT27AA14 - I still had to manually run a feed for ignition power to get the unit to turn on as the 996 doesn't have an ignition feed at the radio. I used a fuse tap on the phone system fuse in the fusebox for this so it was non-destructive. - As a fitting kit I used the Connects2 CT23PO02 with a 996 specific surround. Quality isn't amazing of the facia but it works... just be gentle with the tabs that hold it on to the frame. - I ran the microphone up and into the stock mic location in the right side of the instrument cluster. If you have phone prep you can just pop the factory mic out (keep it though as they are worth £90) and use the cover you already have. I stuck it in with thin double sided tape. If you have a blank you need the mic cover. I ordered 99655262602C53 as I have grey interior but your's will be slightly different if you have black - I opted to connect the park brake cable into a permanent ground because I couldn't be bothered to find the right wire and it's not really needed. DAB - I fitted a DAB antenna to the inside of the windscreen on the passenger side. - Power was taken from the same fuse tap as the head unit but you can also power some antenna's from the head unit if it supports it and that saves you running another wire. Reverse Camera - I also fitted a Pioneer ND-BC8 reverse camera. - For that I ran the wires from the back bumper to the head unit. I put a waterproof connector in line at the bumper so it can easily be disconnected when the bumper is removed. - I also took a feed from under the drivers seat to the head unit as I have memory seats and the control modules dip the mirror when in reverse so I used that to activate the camera also. - Power for the camera was taken from the same fuse tap as the head unit. If you have any questions please just drop me a message or post here.

Looking at these pictures you just made up my mind. Have been reading reviews of new updated Porsche radio that has come out and it doesn't seem that good. I have a Pioneer Dab in my S4 and was wondering which to buy....think I'll stick with Pioneer!!!!

This is what the guy who fitted my kenwood did. New dash and rear speakers off the head unit and door subs of a small amp in the frunk. Bypassed all optic stuff but left it in place in case i ever sell and new owners want the original kit. Wireless carplay is excellent. Can't recommend it enough.

I have the system test connected and working. Thank you so much for the info. I haven't put it all back in the dash but there seems a lot to cram in. Last bit to do is the mic. Running it over to the OEM position, is that a cluster off job or can you poke it through and run in down from the mic hole?

I sorted it out, but there was a lot to cram back in the dash. Even with what I thought was some pretty good cable management, it was tight. Re the mic, into the OEM position, I had to remove the cluster and take out one screw holding it to the cover to get space to thread the mic. Seems to work well in the garage but not sure how it will be on the open road. I thought I had completed this whole job, I was using a fuse tap into E1 for switched power. The only issue is I cant put the fuse box cover back on. That position lines up with the palstic bump on the back of the cover. I've moved it but I can't find another that behaves the same? Currently its on postion 2, off in others.