Installed German Bluetooth (A2DP music & phone) radio

[spidklr]

Just got the radio in my '88 Targa and it's pretty great. The PO had put in a good quality JVC aftermarket head unit, but it had a CD player and old-style iPod connector instead of bluetooth. I didn't especially love the look relative to the car, and the buttons were the small, fussy, late 1990s aftermarket ones.

Here's how - this is a GREAT DIY project. I looked for recommendations for a 911-matching reasonably priced radio and PabloX here on the forum suggested the Kienzle MCR116BT

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/863241-bought-new-head-unit-my-86-coupe.html

Having no US dealer I used the InterTubez to order from Amazon.de. That worked great, but I did have to have a chat with my credit union about how the fraud computer shut off my card for suspicious activity :-).

Here is the "after" shot in the car.

[spidklr]

Installation is not very hard, but takes some time (16 or so wires to match up and splice). The old DIN radios used to be replaced -- and stolen -- on a routine basis when I was a kid, but not so much with modern cars.

The first trick is how to remove the old radio, and the mechanics of how the new one fits. These old radios typically came with a tool (a U shaped wire or a long flat "key") that would release the radio from the enclosure. The old one in my car, and the new, uses the long keys. One slides in on each side of the radio, they release the radio from two clamps at the sides, snap into place, then you pull them out and the radio comes along too.

[spidklr]

Once removed most of these have a sheetmetal "sleeve" around the opening in the dash that the radio seats into.



The sleeve is held in place with small tabs that bend to hold it in the opening. I unbent the old tabs on the existing sleeve from the old radio and removed it, then put the new one in and bent the tabs back to hold it in position.

[spidklr]

Next I turned my attention to the wiring. The old owner's radio has a different, US spec connector than the European ISO 10487 that turned out to be required by my German radio find (and which I suspect was original to the car with a Becker or Blaupunkt or something). I had to order a correct one - again with guidance from a friendly Pelican.



The existing wiring from the car on the right, new connectors on the left. Heat shrink crimp terminals from Amazon to splice the wires together, left. Combo crimp/strip tool is vital.

[spidklr]

Previous owner had put in (?) Molex connectors (the white ones) between the existing radio and the car, for some reason. The cool thing about that is all the different color wires from the car end were mapped to the correct colors for the modern connector at the radio end. After looking at wiring diagrams for the new and old radio, it became clear the color coding was the same on the radio end of the wiring for my new radio, even if the physical connectors were different.

I was able to just "walk over" 3-4 wires at a time using the old harness as a guide.


Porsche vs Audio Maker wiring colors. Car end is on the right.

[spidklr]

Affixed crimp terminals to the ends of all the new radio's wiring that would be used. There are a few unused connections shown on the manufacturer's diagram, which I left alone.



I then temporarily attached the terminals to the car wiring uncrimped, using blue painter's tape, just to be able to hook up the radio for a test run and be sure the connections mapped correctly.

[spidklr]

One oddball thing - be sure to connect the (probably blue) wire for the antenna power booster, which is not part of the car side of this harness, but instead comes in with the antenna wire itself from under the glove box.

With all the wiring temporarily connected, I reconnected the battery and gave 'er a test run. Worked!

[spidklr]

Knowing the wiring was correct, I disconnected the battery and unplugged the radio, then one at a time removed the blue painters tape and permanently crimped the wiring on the car side of all the terminals.



Once crimped, the terminals get a very careful sauna under the heat gun, to shrink the sleeves. I was a little terrified of melting stuff, but the gun is adjustable.

[spidklr]

Up through the dash again with the antenna wire, harness, new bt phone mic cable.



Plug 'er all in

[spidklr]

Ease the radio back in making sure the wiring doesn't get pinched, and that the all-important rear USB port stays accessible :-).

Push - click.



Reconnected the battery, and we have wireless tunage. And one very happy, if Pearl Jam addicted, wife.

[spidklr]

And a car phone! (Mic mounted just below the ash tray)



Sure beats the $2500 Motorola DynaTAC that might have been original to the car.

[ninesixfour]

Can you tell us which wiring harness you had to get?

[PabloX]

Just saw this. Very nice write up and the install looks great! Glad it worked out well.