Notes on Dension 500S BT Installation into 2006 C4S

I am thrilled to report that I installed a Dension Gateway 500S BT into my 2006 Porsche 911 C4S (997). My car has PCM 2.1, Navigation, Bose , and a CD Changer. Thanks to the Gateway, I now enjoy BT audio and hands-free phone! Here's a big THANK-YOU to this community for the information necessary to accomplish this! The below article was extremely helpful in removing the head unit, with excellent pictures. http://www.planet-9.com/reviews/electronics/p92-suncoast-porsche-pcm-2-1-install28cdr-24-radio-removal-29.html Some notes: 1. BEWARE, the Bluetooth signal strength is TOO LOW when the gateway is placed in the trunk. Place the gateway behind the head unit for best results. The head unit is not very hard to work with, the cabling will be simpler, and the signal will be great. Unfortunately, it will be harder to retain the existing CD Changer (unless you buy fiber optic extension cables); with that in mind, consider buying the single-FOT gateway to save money. The PCM has a single-CD player built-in anyway (and it still works). 2. Regarding the removal of the head unit, I was able to rotate the four black disks easily with an allan wrench. No need to depress the metal clips, as some articles have suggested. 3. To power the gateway, tap into the head unit's power. Use a quick-splice wire connector. The red wire should be attached to the red/green wire. The black wire should be attached to the brown wire (ground). This will correctly provide unswitched power (i.e. on when the ignition is off) to the gateway. 4. I added the gateway as the last device in the loop. In other words, I disconnected the IN cable on the head unit, attached it to the IN port on the gateway, then attached a new cable from the OUT port on the gateway to the IN port on the head unit. I suggest taking advantage of the cable management clip that is behind the head unit. 5. Remember to remove the factory CD Changer from the fiber loop. The CD Changer is covered by a plastic cover that is removed by pulling straight up (there are no screws). This is the only cover that you will need to remove within the trunk. You'll see the orange fiber cable running into the changer; squeeze the prongs of the clip to detach it from the changer, then detach the fiber cables from the clip. The Dension gateway comes with a simple connector to join together the male ends of the fiber cables. 6. Regarding microphone placement, I suggest placing it in the crook between the driver's side air vent on the dash and the A pillar. Don't bother to install the mic behind the grills in the steering column, because it is reportedly ineffective (that said, I did not attempt to). The mic cable can be run under the dash and hidden behind the rubber on the pillar. 7. Regarding connector box placement, I simply screwed it to the removable paneling on center column (immediately beside the AC plug near the passenger's feet). The cables are hidden within the center column. 8. I left my battery attached throughout the process. The benefit was that I could play-test throughout the process. I would not have caught the above-mentioned Bluetooth range issue otherwise. 9. I placed a thick towel over the center console to protect it and the head unit. I also taped a towel to the climate control panel.

Congrats on the install. Given all the pointers this would have made for a good article had you shot some pictures, or feel free to revert your install and do it all over again this time taking pics for an article.

I have the Dension 500S BT installed in my 996 turbo Cab - and have sync issues with my iPhone 4S, address book does not sync - according to Dension a known issue, 4 weeks ago they told me they were working on it.. Dension just released a new firmware 045 - as I am travelling and cannot test I am curious to hear if anyone upated the firmware to 045 and fixed a similar issue with iPhone ...?!