rahlstrom

I purchased the full set of shop manuals from Sunset (only $200 for Renntech members) and found the signals in the master wiring diagrams for my '03. Luckily the signals are readily available from the existing harness in addition to the CAN bus signals. Here is the complete wiring spec for custom stereo install. I will post a DIY shortly on my complete procedure.

It worked! A combination of moving the amp ground to the chassis and careful routing of the RCA cables out the back of the head unit did the trick. The RCA cables were wound up near the back of the head unit and must have also been picking up signal noise. Thanks for all the help!!! I plan on posting a DIY on the AVIC D3/Alpine PDX-5 install shortly so others can benefit from all the great support I've received from this forum.

Another thing to note is that after I installed the AVIC I initially used the head amp to power the front and rear speakers and had no noise. It was when the Alpine amp was added that the noise began so it seems like it's related more to the amplifier than the head. The Amp power does go directly to the battery and the ground also goes directly to the battery. Would it be better to use the chassis over the battery for grounding?

I have a replacement Alpine amplifier installed in my 2003 Boxster S and I have the dreaded radio hum. I already have directional/shielded RCA cables installed and an in line noise filter. I am running the cables through the firewall on the driver side which then requires the cables to go by the battery. That, I'm guessing, is the issue. Is there a place to bring the wires through the passenger compartment on the passenger side? Any other ideas on how to fix besides putting the amp behind the seat? Radio: Pioneer AVIC D3 Amp: Alpine PDX-5 Speakers: Stock - front, rear, door.

Crutchfield only supports up to 2002 as in 2003 Porsche moved to the MOST bus. Since posting this original thread I've successfully installed my AVIC D3 and am just finishing up with an Alpine PDX-5 amplifier. When it's all done I'll post a DIY with pictures. I purchased the complete set of shop manuals for the Boxster from Sunset Imports that came with full wiring diagrams for my car. Big help in figuring this upgrade out!

No, that is a signal that the telephone module sends the stereo to mute when a call is incoming. The wire goes to the Black (plug A) connector on the back of the radio.

The image you attached, can you buy that kit? Where did you get the image from?

I copied several part numbers from harness connections to my '03 Boxster S so that I could assemble a custom harness for installing a new stereo but the numbers come up as "customer proprietary" on Amp's site... i.e., they are renumbered for Porsche. Does anyone know how I can get generic part numbers for building custom wiring harnesses for connection to existing factory connections? Specifically I am looking for the mates to: 1. Phone harness connector part # AMP 1-828-819-1 (factory harness has a female connector) 2. Amplifier harness (BE6600) part # AMP 1-828-882-1 (factory harness has a female connector) 3. Radio Harness black and yellow connectors (factory harness has female connectors) This will all end up as a DIY for stereo installations... Thanks, Rex

Thanks, I sent the poster a message asking for the pin/colors for the speed/reverse signals on plug A. Also, rather than going with banana plugs for the amp/speaker connections I am going to try and find the matting connector with the male plugs (like on the amp) so I can create a harness. Also, I found the phone/prep connector to get swicthed power easier than wiring from the ignition switch. Thanks again to Loren! Here's the link to that valuable piece of info: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=4822

I am dealing with the same issue following my purchase of the AVIC D3 and the install kit from another contributor on this board. Unfortunately the kit does not work with the MOST system. I have the AVIC installed, all the wires run, Sirius satellite tuner and bluetooth installed and NO SOUND. I recently bought a 2003 Boxster S and got to work right away ;-). The difference from what I've read here is that I have the BE6600 AMP (6 x 40W), not the 680. I believe the sound system was the DSP upgrade, not the Bose system. I also installed the Porsche rear speaker upgrade kit so I have the door subs, dash two way speakers and dual rear speakers in place of the left and right storage compartments. My main issue is figuring out how to take advantage of the work I've already done with the minimal amount of rework. As a prior poster noted, if there is a non-MOST Porsche Amp that I can just plug in I would buy it. I don't think that is the case as the harness to the rear of my CDR23 appears to be different than the standard harness installed with a non-MOST system. That leaves me with the probable job of replacing the factory amp with a standard amp. Assuming I will likely need to replace the standard amp I will need the Pinouts for the BE6600 amp so I can determine which are the speaker wires, power, etc. I can run the pre-amp outputs from the AVIC pretty easily through the firewall to the new AMP. Another diagram that would be useful would be the signals that are put into the factory harness to the CDR23. Some of these could be useful for wiring to features on the AVIC (like illumination, etc.). The pinouts on the CDR23 are available as posted by Loren but there may be signals in the factory harness that are available but not used from the CDR23 in cases where a different stereo is installed at the factory. So, Does anyone have the following wiring info: 1. factory signal/pin list for the black and yellow radio connectors for a 2003 Boxster S with the MOST bus. 2. BE6600 signal/pin list. Lastly, Does anyone know where to get a female connector and pins so I can do a connector to the existing amp harness rather than cutting it out? Always like to keep the option of going back to stock if ever needed. Also, let me know if I'm missing something? I think I'm interpreting my best path forward correctly. Thanks!!!!

I am buying a Boxster with a price limitation of $30K and have found a nice 2003 S with 20K miles and a 2005 base model with 34K miles. Not sure about the pros/cons between the 986/987 platforms in terms of reliability. Consumer Reports says to stay away from the 2003 Boxster because of repair issues. Is this true? I should also mention that I'm a tinkerer and will most likely be enhancing the sound system, adding navigation of some sort, tweaking bits and pieces to make it "mine". Not sure which platform is easier to work on. So, 986 generation 2003 S or 987 generation base model... What do you think? Thanks in advance!