Just got my new Dension in for my new car (RS 60, black top, pics coming soon, doing a photo shoot after the install!) -- I had a look through the articles posted here, a thread at ********, and a number of posts on here as well, and everyone seems to install this thing differently.. here's my idea:
I have PCM 2.1 with nav, cd changer and Bose. Do I disconnect the fiber optic cable going into the nav, plug that cable into the Dension, and then back into the nav, or should I insert the Dension into the loop elsewhere? I'm planning to keep the Dension and iPod in the front trunk, and according to Eric @ Bumper Plugs (whom I bought the unit from), it won't be a problem to retain the cd changer with the newer Densions.
Any reason to not get the power and ground directly from the battery since it's right there? I'll also add an extra fuse close to the positive terminal to prevent any problems, as the fuseholder that comes with the Dension power cable would be farther than 5" from the power source, which seems to be my friend's guideline for wiring stuff (he's an obsessive electrical engineer
From my research, it looks like the only way to get the iPod cable into the glovebox is by dropping the cupholders, glovebox and a number of interior plastic bits.. I'm not thrilled about that idea so I'll leave the iPod in the front trunk unless someone has another recommendation for getting the cable into the glovebox. I'm hesitant about taking too much stuff apart as I'm worried it won't go back together as well as it did at the factory.
I do, however, want to run an RCA->1/8 inch audio cable into the cabin to plug in any other audio sources a friend might have along.. where is there a grommet or something that I could run a little 1/8" cable through for this purpose? What about where the steering column would be on a right hand drive car, is that relatively easy to access?
If anyone has any other suggestions on how/where to run this thing I'm all ears. I'd be happy to take pics of the process as well.
Thanks!
If you've looked over the articles here then you pretty much have all the info. If you make some changes be sure to take photos and then you could write up your own article and submit it for the Boxster articles section, we need more content there.
Got everything installed this afternoon and had a nice drive with it - amazing how well this thing's been reverse-engineered, I love me a good hack!
The grommet I had planned to use wasn't really accessible, and there's not much extra room with a CD Changer and a Nav in there.. I ended up disconnecting the CD Changer's optical connection as it was easier to get to than the nav's, and hooked the Dension in there. Positive power came right from the battery (with a fuse right next to the positive terminal, ran the little wire through a small hole I made in the grommet that all the other wires go to on the front right side of the car; the negative comes from the frame that the CD Changer is attached to (at the front right fender).
Two things I haven't figured out yet:
* How do I switch to the normal CD Changer from within the cabin and back to the Dension? It works fine if I flip the switch on the Dension, but I've read, and been told, that it's also possible to do this with the newer versions of the Dension.
* If I have an iPod connected and an aux input, can I switch between the two from inside the cabin using the Dension's interface, or do I need to unplug the iPod to get the aux to work?
Thanks much!
Try cycling thru the CD button (next to the AM/FM button) - I can switch between my Dension and the CD with that.
