I have been wanting to integrate
Android Auto
into my head unit (and eventually add a rear camera) and have been looking at the different options available for the 987:
PCCM (Porsche Classic Radio)
(Porsche Classic Radio)- $1500, retains OEM look, but seems to only be available for 987.1
Aftermarket head unit- started around $1000 on Crutchfield for the features I wanted (wireless Android Auto and CD player)
A middle-man circuit board that is installed into the OEM head unit and can switch between the OEM functionality and the modern Android Auto/CarPlay- $500-600, retains factory hardware. Just press and hold either the Info button or the Nav button (depending on the board) to switch between OEM and Android Auto
GTA Car Kit
available from Suncoast Porsche
JOYE Auto
availble from ecarguides. Note: the JOYE Auto kit also has an extra, receiver box, that you have to connect and find a place for. Additionally, you have to separately power this box with a fuse tap. In
the video I saw
, they put the box in a small space at the frontmost section of the center console.
After owning the car for a while, I’ve come to really like the outdated GPS view and OEM head unit. I find it’s aged look charming for some reason. (Also the head unit’s GPS has been useful in situations where my phone isn’t getting good signal). Because of price and my affinity for the OEM functionality, I went with the GTA Car Kit middle-man circuit board and wanted to share some instructions for installing it.
If your head unit does not have the XM Radio component, the install is fairly straightforward. After opening my head unit, I discovered that mine did and had to cut out part of a bracket on the back of the head unit. The edge of the bracket blocks one connection on the board. I covered everything with cloth and tape and cut the blocking metal with a dremel tool. Here’s a picture with an arrow pointing to the bracket after I cut it. You can see the connection that was blocked by it.
All in all, the install was not too difficult. The hardest part was fitting the head unit back into place with the extra wires behind it.
Links:
Video Guide for the GTA Car Kit
, the JOY Auto board is installed the exact same way
Tools/Supplies Needed:
T8, T25, and T30 Torx bit
Interior Panel Removal tools
5mm Allen key
Flat head screwdriver
Small hooked pick
Android Auto/CarPlay middle-man circuit board
If your head unit has the XM radio add-on: a Dremel metal cutting blade and sanding heads (see step 21)
Steps:
Remove the Subwoofer panel in the passenger footwell:
Gently pull the vent piece outwards. It should easily pop out.
Remove the now exposed Torx screw
[T25 Torx bit]
in the center of the plastic.
Gently pull forward the plastic piece that was held in by the above screw. Don’t pull it out fully.
Unplug the 12V Socket plug by pinching it on the raised sides. Now pull the plastic piece out and down to remove it.
Remove the now exposed larger screw
[T30 Torx bit]
.
Slide the entire subwoofer unit toward the rear of the car about an inch to free it. Then pull it forward.
Disconnect the subwoofer plug and remove the subwoofer unit.
<Remove the screws holding in the leather panels on either side of the head unit.> (Mine are already missing so I can’t provide details instructions on this.)
Remove the leather panels on either side of the head unit by gently pulling back towards the seats.
Unlock the head unit. There are 2 black locks on each side, below the green clips for the leather side panels. Insert the
[5mm Allen key]
into the lock and turn counterclockwise about a quarter turn.
Gently pull out the head unit.
Disconnect the wires at the back of the head unit.
The smaller antenna wires (black, blue, and yellow) have clips at the bottom that need to be depressed to pull out the wires. There are 2 yellow wires if you have the XM Radio unit.
The large “quadlock” wire harness has a rotating lock at the bottom that need to be squeezed together, rotated upwards, then pulled out.
Remove the head unit from the car and take it to a workbench/table to open it.
At the workbench, remove the 2 torx bolts on the top of the head unit shell
[T8 Torx bit]
.
Remove the CD player (upper) section of the head unit. Using the
[Flat head Screwdriver]
gently separate the edges of the top and bottom halves of the head unit. Rotate the upper section up and back like a clamshell.
With the head unit opened, remove the locking plate
[T8 Torx bit]
at the back, above the blue antenna wire connection. If you have the XM Radio unit, this will have a yellow cable connection here. You will run cables through this port so you won’t be able to put the plate back in place, but you will still be able to plug in the antenna wire.
Gently disconnect the 2 white flat ribbon cables. There are 2 cables, but only 1 will be immediately visible. The larger one runs from near the center of the board to the screen, but the smallest is underneath the larger cable. (Don’t remove the largest cable, running to top of the clamshell.) Use the
[hooked pick]
to carefully pull up the off-white lock holding the cables into the circuit board. Pull the lock at the edges.
Remove the 3 screws
[T8 Torx bit]
holding the circuit board in the head unit. Two screws are at the back of the circuit board, the other is at the front on the left side (when looking at the screen).
Install the included longer gold posts in place of the removed screws. If your head unit has the XM radio unit, you will need to the shorter gold posts on top of the longer ones.
Route the included wires (white connections on one side and black connections on the other) and the antenna into the head unit through the locking plate opening. The white connections go into the head unit and the black connections stay out.
Install the new ribbon cables onto the existing circuit board. Make sure the off-white plastic locks are unlocked and make sure to orient the cables correctly, with the metal side towards the open side of the lock. After inserting the cable, press down gently on the lock to secure the cable in place.
Now unlock all of the ribbon cable locks on the new, middle-man, circuit board.
Insert the pre-existing ribbon cables into the two locks at the front (nearer the screen) of the middle-man board.
Insert the new ribbon cables into the locks nearer the back of the middle-man board.
Connect the gold end of the antenna to the port behind the ribbon cable gap in the circuit board.
Connect the routed wires to the middle-main board. Make sure the side with the wire ends showing faces towards the board. The wire with yellow and black only, goes in the left port. The wire with more colors goes in the right port.
Now position the circuit board to align it with the gold posts. If the head unit has the XM radio unit, you may need to bend or cut a metal section at the top of the fan at the back of the head unit. This section prevents the yellow/black cable from seating into the port when the middle-man board is positioned correctly. (I covered the other sections of the head unit with cloth and tape; then used a Dremel to cut away this metal tab and sand down the remaining edge.)
Install the screws
[T8 Torx bit]
originally holding the circuit board into the gold posts, securing the middle-man board down on the posts.
Gently pull out any excess of the installed wires/antenna from inside the head unit.
Re-install the top of the head unit. Align the clamshell with the locks at the back, then rotate it downward, carefully closing it. Make sure the locks at the front of the clamshell go back into their slots and the screw holes at the top line up.
Re-install the 2 torx screws
[T8 Torx bit]
at the top of the head unit.
Wrap up the antenna in a small circle and tape it to the back of the head unit. Make sure there is no excess wire hanging over the sides of the head unit.
Plug in the small connection on the included quad-lock harness to the multi-colored wire loom from the head unit. The yellow/black loom will get plugged into the USB cable once it’s routed in the car.
Back in the car
, roughly route the USB cable to your desired location.
In the car’s quadlock wire harness, there is a orange fiber optic cable at one corner. This cable is actually both orange wires at the corner; they are a single unit. Use the
[hooked pick]
to pull up the lock on this cable and gently pull it out of the harness. This cable is the sound source that Android Auto/CarPlay will use.
Connect the quadlock female harness (without the rotating lock) of the head unit to the car’s wire harness. Make sure to rotate the lock down to secure it.
Shift the removed orange fiber optic cable to the quadlock male harness (with the rotating lock and a red wire in the harness). Install it at the bottom right corner, when viewing the harness from the front with the lock on the top.
Connect the USB wire loom to the connection at the yellow/black loom at the back of the head unit.
Connect the open quadlock harness (with the orange cable) to the back of the head unit and make sure to lock it in.
Reconnect the antenna cables at the back of the head unit.
Organize the cables at the back of the head unit.
Push the head unit back into place, but don’t lock it in yet. Getting the head unit back in with all the extra cables may be the most difficult part of this. If you can’t get it to fit, pull out the head unit and reposition the cables. This is largely based on luck and just retrying, because you can’t really get to the cables one you put the head unit in.
Test the upgrade.
Connect your phone to the head unit via the USB cable.
Turn the ignition to accessories and set the audio source to AUX. (If you don’t see AUX as a Source option, you may need insert a CD, then select Source > AUX.)
Press and hold Info (or Nav button, depending on middle-man board) for 3 seconds to switch between the Android Auto/CarPlay and original modes.
Test your audio on a familiar song.
You can pair your phone wirelessly in the head unit’s settings.
If everything is working right, pull the head unit out a little and turn the four black locks into the locked position-
[5mm Allen key]
quarter turn clockwise). This will be easier than trying to lock them once the head unit is in. Then push the head unit into place. It will take a tad more force this time.
Re-install the leather side panels.
Re-install the Subwoofer panel in the passenger footwell:
Slide the subwoofer back into position.
Install the Torx screw
[T30 Torx bit]
for the subwoofer.
Reconnect the passenger footwear 12v socket plug.
Push the plastic piece surrounding the 12v socket back into place. Work it gently in.
Install the Torx screw
[T25 Torx bit]
in the center of the plastic.
Re-insert the outermost plastic piece.
MARVELOUS!
Excellent DIY - Three, if you didn't already have it you'd receive the Technical Excellence Award - but I haven't figured out how to add it a second time. S
o we'll go with X2!
Ooooh.. ooooh..!! I figured out how to do it.. congrats on being our first 2X TEA recipient!
Thank you!
Happy to write these up and they make good use of all the time I spend researching these things haha. Hope they help other people down the line.
Well done,
@three
!!! I would have gone with the Joyeauto (I've had it in my 981 Outlaw for years), but the CDR-30 screen was so small on the 987.2 that I skipped it. At least the 981's OEM HU screen was large enough that I felt like it was worth preserving.
