Pioneer Apple Car Play

[curta]

I need some information (and help) that relates to using part of the Connects2 CTSPO003.2 converter. I don’t want to get off topic, but this forum seems to have members who have successfully used this. I have a 2004 Boxster with Bose sound system using MOST. I am trying to install a Kenwood single DIN HU to replace the CDR23. I’ve obtained the “black box” that is part of the CTSPO003.2 set-up – the optical amp part. I do not have any steering wheel controls. While I’ve found several wiring diagrams, none show the actual pin-outs on the MOST adapter (the black box). Looking at the unit there is an 8 pin connector on the left, with the optical connector on the right.
Pins:
1 2 3 4 Optical Connector
5 6 7 8

If someone knows what the function is of each pin and what wire goes to each, i would greatly appreciate the information.

Thanks.

[edc]

curta said:

I need some information (and help) that relates to using part of the Connects2 CTSPO003.2 converter. I don’t want to get off topic, but this forum seems to have members who have successfully used this. I have a 2004 Boxster with Bose sound system using MOST. I am trying to install a Kenwood single DIN HU to replace the CDR23. I’ve obtained the “black box” that is part of the CTSPO003.2 set-up – the optical amp part. I do not have any steering wheel controls. While I’ve found several wiring diagrams, none show the actual pin-outs on the MOST adapter (the black box). Looking at the unit there is an 8 pin connector on the left, with the optical connector on the right.
Pins:
1 2 3 4 Optical Connector
5 6 7 8

If someone knows what the function is of each pin and what wire goes to each, i would greatly appreciate the information.

Thanks.

I have the same year and Bose and was going to take the unit from my old Boxster and put into this current one but the MOST put me off. There are some recent experiences of this kit on boxa.net in the ICE section for both 986 and 987 IIRC.

[kingston12]

curta said:

I need some information (and help) that relates to using part of the Connects2 CTSPO003.2 converter. I don’t want to get off topic, but this forum seems to have members who have successfully used this. I have a 2004 Boxster with Bose sound system using MOST. I am trying to install a Kenwood single DIN HU to replace the CDR23. I’ve obtained the “black box” that is part of the CTSPO003.2 set-up – the optical amp part. I do not have any steering wheel controls. While I’ve found several wiring diagrams, none show the actual pin-outs on the MOST adapter (the black box). Looking at the unit there is an 8 pin connector on the left, with the optical connector on the right.
Pins:
1 2 3 4 Optical Connector
5 6 7 8

If someone knows what the function is of each pin and what wire goes to each, i would greatly appreciate the information.

Thanks.

What are you trying to do with the pins? I installed this kit a couple of months ago and it just worked straight out of the box with no modifications at all.

It is just as well you don't have steering wheel controls because this kit does not work with Boxster/911 controls. Connects2 have just released a new kit (CTSPO005.2) which is fully compatible but very hard to get hold of. The CTSPO003.2 is now designated Cayenne for the SW controls, but the MOST adaptor works with the Boxster/911 as well.

[curta]

Hi:

I don't have the Connects2 kit. I only have the "black box" that converts the signal from the HU to an optical signal. No cable harness at all. I'm going to have to make the connections on my own since I don't have a wiring harness. I got the MOST adapter before the Connects2 kit was available. I'm trying to avoid buying the whole kit, since I suspect most of the cost is the MOST adapter.

[kingston12]

curta said:

Hi:

I don't have the Connects2 kit. I only have the "black box" that converts the signal from the HU to an optical signal. No cable harness at all. I'm going to have to make the connections on my own since I don't have a wiring harness. I got the MOST adapter before the Connects2 kit was available. I'm trying to avoid buying the whole kit, since I suspect most of the cost is the MOST adapter.

I'd speak to Connects2, they are very helpful. You are right about the MOST adaptor being the priciest part of these kits. It is £150 for a MOST kit and a fraction of that for the equivalent for a non-MOST car.

I'd be surprised if the loom wasn't available separately and quite cheaply.

[curta]

Thanks edc and kingston12. I will contact Connects2 to see if they can offer any help. Even if I can obtain a wiring harness - loom, I still have the issue of what are the correct pins on the MOST converter. The photos on-line are not clear as to which wire goes to each of the eight pins on the converter.

[kingston12]

curta said:

Thanks edc and kingston12. I will contact Connects2 to see if they can offer any help. Even if I can obtain a wiring harness - loom, I still have the issue of what are the correct pins on the MOST converter. The photos on-line are not clear as to which wire goes to each of the eight pins on the converter.

Do you need to know that if you get the harness, though? What head unit are you planning to use?

The Connects2 harness connected straight to the supplied Pioneer loom. The only adjustment I had to make was splicing a switched 12V in from the aircon system, otherwise it was plug and play.

[Tiggsy]

Just tagging along as my 987 gets picked up friday and this is my second mod (behind the carnewal exhaust) to be carried out!

My car doesnt have satnav or BOSE - in fact, based on this thread I avoided it as I knew I'd get this setup.....so, given I have std boxster speakers - is there any need to fiddle with upgrading them or will the std set up and the new head unit sound ok?

[kingston12]

Tiggsy said:

Just tagging along as my 987 gets picked up friday and this is my second mod (behind the carnewal exhaust) to be carried out!

My car doesnt have satnav or BOSE - in fact, based on this thread I avoided it as I knew I'd get this setup.....so, given I have std boxster speakers - is there any need to fiddle with upgrading them or will the std set up and the new head unit sound ok?

I'd have thought that you will hear a modest uptick in sound quality from what you have got now.

With the standard sound system, the speakers are being driven directly from the amp section of the Porsche head unit, so assuming that the Pioneer's amp section is better (it should be!) you should notice the better quality.

As always, the speakers will be the limiting factor, but I'd definitely see what it sounds like first before you go down that path - a lot of people will argue that it is not worth upgrading the speakers unless you put in a separate amp. Before you know it slotting in a £300 head unit has turned into a full installation.

My car has Bose and I decided to retain everything apart from the head unit despite the adaptor to do so costing north of £150!

What surprised me was that the system seems to sound a fair bit better despite the speakers being powered by exactly the same Bose amp that was there before! I guess that the optical signal from the Pioneer must be a bit cleaner than from the PCM2.1, as I hadn't really expected a difference.

The functionality and ease of use of the system are what you are paying for really. It is night and day compared to the PCM2.1 and even further from the CDR-23.

[Yidwann]

Yep, I would say the same regarding the bose... paying for the adapter was a bit of a pain, but its all the sound quality I need. The Unit is a real tidy fit too... closest thing you are going to get to factory looking if you ask me, and much much better than the old PCM unit. Had mine done at Acutek in Winchester, they know what they are doing. The day I was in a 997 was having exactly the same thing done, so seems like a popular upgrade.

[Tiggsy]

I see you have the worn out switches too! Been searching high and low for a fix to the paint peel on the rubber (system looks good)

Any thoughts on carplay going wireless? Is that going to be a different head unit needed in the future when they launch it?

[kingston12]

Yidwann said:

Yep, I would say the same regarding the bose... paying for the adapter was a bit of a pain, but its all the sound quality I need. The Unit is a real tidy fit too... closest thing you are going to get to factory looking if you ask me, and much much better than the old PCM unit. Had mine done at Acutek in Winchester, they know what they are doing. The day I was in a 997 was having exactly the same thing done, so seems like a popular upgrade.

I agree. I need to get mine finished off (not completely flush yet), but I do actually think that it looks better than original, and that is coming from someone who hates the look of aftermarket kit. The PCM is all button and knobs and looks old fashioned compared to something that is virtually 100% screen.

I have uploaded the PCM Porsche logo as a splash screen. If I was being really picky, I'd like it not to have Pioneer on the face of the unit or the Pioneer logo as a compulsory secondary splash screen, but I think it really lifts the interior.

[Emeye]

Tiggsy said:

I see you have the worn out switches too! Been searching high and low for a fix to the paint peel on the rubber (system looks good)

Any thoughts on carplay going wireless? Is that going to be a different head unit needed in the future when they launch it?

There is going to be a new headunit - I believe wireless carplay uses Wifi. The new unit should also have android auto compatibility included too.

There is some disquiet with Pioneer on the internet as they very quickly keep releasing Headunits and then barely supporting them with new bug fix firmware releases etc before then launching new models with new features and forgetting completely about the old models and their bugs.

There has not been a firmware update for the da-120 since Oct 2014 despite there being a number of bugs - Pioneer always blame Apple when I have challenged them on Twitter - but there are simple bugs like streaming music not restarting after a Traffic Announcement report.

[kingston12]

Tiggsy said:

Any thoughts on carplay going wireless? Is that going to be a different head unit needed in the future when they launch it?

I think it will be a new unit required for wireless, but I would be surprised if we see one any time soon. Apple seem to be taking a really slow route with CarPlay, probably because they are not making any significant amount of money out of the hardware.

I'd like the option of wireless as I sometimes forget my phone is connected to the unit and leave it in the glovebox. The one reason that I do like wired is it keeps the phone charged. Using GPS runs the phone down so fast that I doubt it would last longer than a couple of hours and then be dead when I get to my destination.

When I used the Maps app a week or so ago, I started the trip with 90% battery and an hour later it was still on 90% because the GPS was using the battery as fast as the unit could charge it.

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

There has not been a firmware update for the da-120 since Oct 2014 despite there being a number of bugs - Pioneer always blame Apple when I have challenged them on Twitter - but there are simple bugs like streaming music not restarting after a Traffic Announcement report.

I must day that mine has improved a lot since first fitted it a few months ago. I wonder if Apple put any CarPlay improvements in the last iOS update?

When I first got it, I thought that the bugs would annoy me too much to keep it - a couple of times it recognised my phone went into CarPlay mode with the usual icons, but nothing worked. I actually had to restart the unit and the phone to get past that.

Turning the engine off and on again in a short space of time (e.g. petrol station) used to cause problems as well, often resulting in an unscheduled stop in a layby to reset both again. I do think a power off or reset button would have been useful.

It is not a 100% experience now by any means, but my main issues do not seem to be returning.

[Emeye]

There were updates in the last release of iOS - they have improved things along with making carplay wireless at the same time.

The phone GPS shouldn't need to be used - the Pioneer uses the external GPS antenna as it is more accurate - I placed my in the bottom left corner of the windscreen.

I prefer wired for the charging capabilities, but I also wonder what damage the constant charging does to the battery life - I had to have new battery in my iphone5, luckily it was only £24 fitted.

The nav is definitely the best feature - the traffic is pretty accurate - I use mine everyday to and from work - it is only 8 or so miles, but I have a few routes and since I got the carplay HU I get to and from work quicker than having to take a chance on choosing the route!

Streaming has improved since the last iOS update, but I still have some issues - there a couple of new apps - radioplayer and tunein radio with carplay recently - they work pretty well as long as you have a reasonable 3G signal.

I tend to run Spotify and Rdio in offline mode as they can struggle to even start sometimes.

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

I tend to run Spotify and Rdio in offline mode as they can struggle to even start sometimes.

Spotify is the one thing I can't get get to work at all at the moment.

I went for a drive last night. On the way, I started Spotify and selected a track. It played the first 5 seconds and then went to a completely different track. Whatever I selected, it always went back to that same track.

On the way back, whenever I selected a track Spotify crashed altogether and I was back to the Home screen. I tried several times and each time it was the same. Spotfiy was in offline mode the whole time.

I hope it improves as I'd like to use Spotify in the car, but I can live with it as the Music/Maps/Phone apps and the general UI seems sine.

[Emeye]

kingston12 said:

Spotify is the one thing I can't get get to work at all at the moment.

I went for a drive last night. On the way, I started Spotify and selected a track. It played the first 5 seconds and then went to a completely different track. Whatever I selected, it always went back to that same track.

On the way back, whenever I selected a track Spotify crashed altogether and I was back to the Home screen. I tried several times and each time it was the same. Spotfiy was in offline mode the whole time.

I hope it improves as I'd like to use Spotify in the car, but I can live with it as the Music/Maps/Phone apps and the general UI seems sine.

Sorry if these are obvious questions. I assumed you have subscribed to Spotify Premium? Is the Spotify app up to date? I think you can use the Spotify app for free on mobile devices now but only on streaming not downloaded choons, though not sure how well it works with carplay.

Have you rebooted the iphone? Every month or so I have to to get things working again.

Try the free trial of Rdio, as Rdio initially worked better than Spotify with carplay.

A good test is starting Spotify from the Iphone and see how well it works - streaming seems to have greatly improved since the latest IOS update. I have my iphone 5 mounted just to the left of the steering wheel on a brodit mount which allows me to start and control apps that are not Carplay integrated - for example Soundcloud works well once you have opened the app and started a stream playback - you can even jump through tunes from the Now Playing carplay screen once it has started and use the steering wheel controls if you have these connected.

Download and try the Radioplayer App and the Tunein radio apps as these are carplay integrated.

[Beanoir]

kingston12 said:

Emeye said:

I tend to run Spotify and Rdio in offline mode as they can struggle to even start sometimes.

Spotify is the one thing I can't get get to work at all at the moment.

I went for a drive last night. On the way, I started Spotify and selected a track. It played the first 5 seconds and then went to a completely different track. Whatever I selected, it always went back to that same track.

On the way back, whenever I selected a track Spotify crashed altogether and I was back to the Home screen. I tried several times and each time it was the same. Spotfiy was in offline mode the whole time.

I hope it improves as I'd like to use Spotify in the car, but I can live with it as the Music/Maps/Phone apps and the general UI seems sine.

Like I mentioned and warned another poster at the start of this thread, it doesn't work with Spotify.

Shame really.

[kingston12]

Emeye said:

Sorry if these are obvious questions. I assumed you have subscribed to Spotify Premium? Is the Spotify app up to date? I think you can use the Spotify app for free on mobile devices now but only on streaming not downloaded choons, though not sure how well it works with carplay.

Have you rebooted the iphone? Every month or so I have to to get things working again.

Try the free trial of Rdio, as Rdio initially worked better than Spotify with carplay.

A good test is starting Spotify from the Iphone and see how well it works - streaming seems to have greatly improved since the latest IOS update. I have my iphone 5 mounted just to the left of the steering wheel on a brodit mount which allows me to start and control apps that are not Carplay integrated - for example Soundcloud works well once you have opened the app and started a stream playback - you can even jump through tunes from the Now Playing carplay screen once it has started and use the steering wheel controls if you have these connected.

Download and try the Radioplayer App and the Tunein radio apps as these are carplay integrated.

Yes, I have a premium account and the app is up to date. I use it most days to listen to offline playlists on the phone itself. It is just CarPlay that it won't work with. I'll try starting it from the phone as you suggest.