When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Well I bought one of these after finding this thread and so far it's all good. It's easier to fit than the exterrnal boxes that connect into PCM 3 and only needed one additonal cable to connect the car GPS unit to the head unit SMA male to FAKRA C male. I just removed the PCM 3 unit, connected the adapter cable, FM antenna cable and GPS cable then pushe it in. The fitting was a little loose as other have said, so I added some velcro to the top and bottom of the unit and it's all good. My car (997.2 GT3) has the base stereo so no extra bits to work about.
Is this basically plug and play? Man, this isn't a bad deal for a OEM look.
How's the sound with the crappy stock speakers? I want to replace my speakers but I'm afraid of breaking tabs when I'm removing the door panel haha broke a few when I said f it and muscled off the center console side panel trim pieces directly to the left and right of the stereo...
Is this basically plug and play? Man, this isn't a bad deal for a OEM look.
How's the sound with the crappy stock speakers? I want to replace my speakers but I'm afraid of breaking tabs when I'm removing the door panel haha broke a few when I said f it and muscled off the center console side panel trim pieces directly to the left and right of the stereo...
It's pretty much plug and play. I needed velcro to keep it pushed into place and I have to buy the additional cable to use the existing GPS module. Otherwise it was plug in and go. There are five connectors on the PCM unit. The big plug plus, yellow, maroon, blue and black FAKRA connectors. I connected the big plug adapter cable, the blue connector to the new units GPS with the SMA to FAKRA cable I bought, and the black connector to the antenna port with a cable supplied with the unit.
I play radio via my phone over bluetooth so I have no idea about FM performance and the speakers sound fine to me but obviously that is subjective.
The pccm+ internals are alot older based on the online specs, including the smaller 480p screen. Especially when compared to the newer 128gb models that only come with the 2023+ cpus.
Originally Posted by RAudi Driver
plus it's made in China so probably not much different in terms of internals.
Did you get this resolved? There is a sleep menu in the car settings. There is no wiring that needs to be done re the supplied aftermarket harness so it does get power when it is supposed to.
Originally Posted by Mika23
I installed this unit in my 997.2 as well. So far it has been great, the only issue is that the unit does not shut off when shutting off the car. It does automatically switch on when I put the key in. Anyone came across this and how did you resolve it?
There are many android car launchers (may of them for free) that can be used to customize the interface to whatever suits you best. For the most part is is fully customizable.
Originally Posted by bbroetsky
I have the PCCM in my 997.1 Turbo. I would say the user interface is better in the porsche unit but 7x better to warrant the price I don't think so. Plus I only say the PCCM interface is better bc this Ali express unit has an Android OS tha I'm not very familiar with.
Did you car have the most connector AND the 3rd brown iso harness in the photo (amplfied speaker output)?
Originally Posted by Mr.TT
Closing the loop on this for clarity and for future folks. This info is on the internet but the main android radio topic is thousands of posts and not typically centric to 997.1 GT3s with the SPP
My 997.1 GT3 with sound system plus had a MOST connector which necessitated a fiber optic decoder box
I haven't gotten confirmation that this is always the case so if you're looking to add an Android radio you should pull your radio first and check. There is no evidence of fiber connection at the amp, only at the HU.
(not my image, stolen off the internet)
Responded to your pm. But you're right you will need to do a direct unAmp'd rca out directly into the 997.2 quadlock harness.
Originally Posted by Vocan
I'm leaning towards giving this a go but it seems a fair bit more involved on a sound package plus equipped car because if you use the wire harness as-is the sound will be double amplified. I found this post in the other thread from someone who did the install on a sound package plus 987 and I imagine we'd have to use a similar process:
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried this install on a SPP 997.2 GT3/RS to confirm? If not, I don't mind being the guinea pig.
I'm also a bit overwhelmed by how many different versions and brands there are of essentially the same head unit with minor spec differences as the item descriptions on the AliExpress listings aren't always clear. For example, I'm trying to figure out if every variation has the unamplified RCA pre-outs like the picture above shows.
Did you car have the most connector AND the 3rd brown iso harness in the photo (amplfied speaker output)?
Yup! I had the 3 connectors (one of them brown) plus the MOST connector. As mentioned I had to reroute one the circled wire to the antenna trigger so that the ASK amp had the trigger to power on.
It's pretty much plug and play. I needed velcro to keep it pushed into place and I have to buy the additional cable to use the existing GPS module. Otherwise it was plug in and go. There are five connectors on the PCM unit. The big plug plus, yellow, maroon, blue and black FAKRA connectors. I connected the big plug adapter cable, the blue connector to the new units GPS with the SMA to FAKRA cable I bought, and the black connector to the antenna port with a cable supplied with the unit.
I play radio via my phone over bluetooth so I have no idea about FM performance and the speakers sound fine to me but obviously that is subjective.
Great tip about using SMA (I would not have been able to figure out what type of connector) to FAKRA to re-use the factory GPS antenna. What did you do for the microphone, did you install the one that came with the Aliexpress head unit, or find a way to re-use the factory microphone. I have done aftermarket unit install a couple of times in other cars and found their microphones to be not quite usable.
Great tip about using SMA (I would not have been able to figure out what type of connector) to FAKRA to re-use the factory GPS antenna. What did you do for the microphone, did you install the one that came with the Aliexpress head unit, or find a way to re-use the factory microphone. I have done aftermarket unit install a couple of times in other cars and found their microphones to be not quite usable.
Well I didn't install the new microphone and I haven't tested what's in there. I'll report back.
I just went out to the car and rang my son who could hear me clearly and said "It sounds like you're in a car".
I'm leaning towards giving this a go but it seems a fair bit more involved on a sound package plus equipped car because if you use the wire harness as-is the sound will be double amplified. I found this post in the other thread from someone who did the install on a sound package plus 987 and I imagine we'd have to use a similar process:
Out of curiosity, has anyone tried this install on a SPP 997.2 GT3/RS to confirm? If not, I don't mind being the guinea pig.
I'm also a bit overwhelmed by how many different versions and brands there are of essentially the same head unit with minor spec differences as the item descriptions on the AliExpress listings aren't always clear. For example, I'm trying to figure out if every variation has the unamplified RCA pre-outs like the picture above shows.
I finally got around to getting this wrapped up on my 997.2 with Sound Package Plus and figured I'd share a few things I learned along the way in case someone else with a .2 SPP car is looking to do this. As stated above, since all of our speakers are driven by the amp we need to tie into the RCA pre-outs to avoid double amplification. The quoted guide above is a great overview of that process and requires snipping a few wires and soldering. It probably sounds scarier than it is as I managed to not mess anything up and it was my first time soldering. It maybe adds an extra hour or two to the process at most. A couple of tips I picked up:
1. Not all of the AliExpress units are the same as far as cables and outputs are concerned and I didn't realize that until I received my unit. I went for a somewhat snappier unit for a bit more and picked up one of these with the Qualcomm chip and 4GB of RAM: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...yAdapt=glo2usa
However, my unit only came with RCA pre-outs for Front Left and Front Right and nothing for the rear. I had to reach out to the seller and get an additional 8 pin cable that included pre-outs for Rear Left and Rear Right (it was only $6 shipped). There are also higher end units that have a different motherboard and nicer components (see https://www.aliexpress.com/i/3256804...apt=4itemAdapt) and these have a 20 pin audio cable that includes both front and rear outputs, similar to the unit used in the guide I linked. For all intents and purposes, my unit works fine so far with the additional $6 cable so it's up to you if you want to spend a bit more on the nicer units. Either way, DO NOT get one for Bose/fiber optic cars (see left side of the product page)--you only need the standard speaker wire.
2. As far as additional parts I used to make this work:
For the RCA to speaker wire plugs I ordered 2 of these from Amazon (each order includes 2 cables so you'll get 4 total):
(note I did NOT have to do anything with the FM amplifier in the footwell, FM works great as is with just the dual FAKRA adapter)
3. The 3D printed guide rails really help snug the unit up as others have said. Would definitely recommend.
Otherwise, I'm very impressed with the unit for what I paid. After tweaking the DSP a bit, it sounds great and wireless CarPlay connects right away. No performance or other issues to report so far. I did have a feint high pitched whine on lower volumes but enabling a very minor high pass filter seems to have cleared that right up.
I installed one as well in my 2010 without Sound Package Plus and have a couple of observations:
Volume is WAY too loud. I thought this was an issues with cars with SPP?
Triggers lots of codes - about 9 Cxx codes due to not having PCM headunit in the car. I am actually having issue scanning the car completely and wondering if anyone else is seeing the issue?
I have not measured it but it feels ~50% of the stock PCM head unit.
Agreed, lack of CD mechanism (and I suppose it being a aftermarket unit that probably isn't as ruggedized as what an OEM would demand) makes it very lightweight.
I've removed all my speakers, but I kind of want to add this for maps. But, might also just buy a window mount nav since I don't drive this on thestreet
I have a 997.1 3RS I just picked up and want to do this. The car has Porsche Communication Management (PCM) so not sure if that makes a difference but which specific one should I buy that will be as plug and play as possible? I'm not very handy with my own installs but figure I can bribe a friend with some steak/beer that's handier than me to help if its plug and play. Happy to pay $300+ for one of the "nicer" ones if its plug and play vs the basic one in the link but a bit unsure of which one to order. Maybe I even end up taking it to a shop to install here in Los Angeles.
07-08-2024 | 05:35 PM
