Plugging Bluetooth into Aux port of CR220?

[jluetjen]

I picked up a BT-BEK bluetooth receiver for my Boxster to allow us to play music from our phones over the car's stereo.

It plugged in to the C2 and C3 plugs in the back of my CR220 radio instead of the mult-disk CD player. It seemed to power up OK because I was able to link my phone to it. But for some reason I couldn't get the CR220 to recognize it Pressing the "S" button results in the car toggling from FM to CD (the in-dash, single-disk CD player), and back again. Obviously the CD/MD doesn't appear since it's no longer plugged in.

Has anyone else tried using one of these? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Obviously for $36, you get what you pay for. The vendor has offered to refund me for it, but before I give up I figured that I'd ask.

[jluetjen]

I guess a simpler question is - is a CR220 even set-up for AUX, or only Multi-disk CD player?

[jluetjen]

Never mind. It looks like it's just cheaper and easier to replace the radio.

[pdxfj]

You likely need to activate the function in the stock radio to use the CD Changer/AUX input.

If you want to keep the stock stereo and add BT functions, I put an iSimple BlueTooth Hands-Free kit into my Cayman with the CDR24. It goes in through the antenna line and actually sounds better than I thought it would. My radio does not have the CD Changer option enabled and do I not have access to a durametric pro or the Porsche tool to enable it.

You'll need an adapter for the euro antenna connection. The transmitter is programmed using an app on your phone and when it is turned on, it disables the signal form the car's antenna so you get a clean signal through.

[Jim & Kim 986]

I added a Sony RM-X7BT Bluetooth Commander to our 2001 986 a couple of years ago. I also had to buy a wiring harness (plug-in adapter and power cord). The factory Becker radio accepts the plug. The power cord hardwires into the radio power source. The installation isn't overly complicated. However, you do need to remove the radio to plug in the connector and access the radio's setup menu to turn on the AUX INPUT port. You can then use the radio source button to select the AUX when needed or select the other menus options. The RM-X7BT website explains all of it's functions.

The easiest way to do it is to watch a couple of YouTube videos on the subject. I don't remember the procedure and I'd have to do the same thing to remember how I did it.

One thing I can tell you is that by the time I was finished buying the stuff to make it work I had spent almost $150.00 and unless you are going to be taking a trip or have a long commute it's not worth the effort. Our trips are so short that if we receive a call we have reached our destination before either the call or the last song is over. The Boxster is my wife's daily driver and has been for the past 14 years.

One last warning! Connecting to the radio power source extends the vehicle's 12VDC power. Make certain that the items you connect requires 12VDC. Cell phones, Ipods,etc only require 5VDC (plus of minus). If you wish to power another device (and don't want to use a cigarette lighter adapter plug) there are online sources that will sell you an inline adapter to reduce the voltage down to the requirements of your device. Tell your supplier what you want to use and they will custom build you a harness with the proper plug and voltage for your device, for about $25/$30 more. I didn't want wires hanging all over the dash so I figured out the power issue.

I did this and it wasn't worth the effort. Shortly after completing the installation my wife said "Hey, look at these cool new Bluetooth earbuds I just bought!" ARghhhh

[jluetjen]

Just to bookend this thread, I ended up buying a Pioneer DEH-S4220BT from Crutchfield (as recommended by Wayne) for less than $100. It sounds awesome using the stock amplifier and speakers, and connects to our phones using Bluetooth just great. It came with a microphone for hands-free phone conversations, and I installed that and it works great also. The people are nice and helped me out with some wiring guidance since the instructions were a little ambiguous.

A very useful upgrade for the original radio.