Hi,

I just took my 07 Cayman to my installer to have an AVIC-D3 installed. My car has the standard CDR-24 stereo currently installed (NOT Bose).

After remoiving the factor head unit, he called and said there is a fiberoptic cable running into the back of the factory unit, and wonders what to do with it.

Although I've read and searched) everything I can find here on the AVIC-D3, I've got no clue as to the function or use of the fiberoptic cable running into the back of the CDR-24, and what to do with it when installing the AVIC-D3. My installer wonders whether this fiberoptic line is used for diagnosing radio problems. He also wonders whether removal will cause the car's electronics to throw off a bunch of trouble codes that will be hard or impossible to clear.

Can anyone help me out with this???

Thanks much in advance!!!

Bob Woods
St. Paul, Minnesota

is it the cd changer cable???

Could be, although my car does not have the external CD changer (which is mounted in the trunk, I believe, on cars equipped with that option).

The stereo currently installed in my car (from the factory) is the CDR-24, no Bose, five speakers, no external CD-changer.

Isn't that the cable that shows what radio station is playing in the dashboard?

i was gonna say maybe the car is prewired for the cd changer- but i think the cable could be the one that links to the dash display...good call- i never woulda thought of that...

The fiber optic link to the optional trunk-mounted CD changer is installed at the factory by default. The car comes wired so that the CD changer is a plug and play installation.

I believe that is halfway correct. A cable is set in that runs behind the master cylinder on all cars from the factory. There are still some additional cables that some Caymans need that are included in the CD Changer retrofit kit.

Either way, it don't believe that it uses it to communicate with the car. You should be fine to leave it alone. The easy way to tell is to start the car with your cdr24 out and look for lights

__________________
"The Cayman doesn't need any more toys." -- My wife

Yeah, it just for the prewiring.

I see you are putting that bezel to good use!

Many thanks to all who provided information in response to my request; it turns out to have been very helpful indeed!

My installer spoke with a technician at the Minneapolis Porsche dealership this morning, and was told that in the 2007 models, the fiber optic cable running into the back of the factory head unit is pre-wiring for the CD changer option.

My guess is that the fiber optic cable is also used to display the radio station playing on the gauge cluster, as was pointed out in one helpful reply.

In any event, it appears that this fiber optic cable does not communicate to the car and that the only consequence of disabling it is to issue an error code when the car is hooked up to diagnostic equipment, which should be easily understood as it will be obvious that the car is equipped with an aftermarket stereo.

I expect the installation to be completed tomorrow, and will report on it. Hopefully, everything will turn out just right.

Again, thanks to everyone for their help.

I am interested in installing this unit in my Cayman, and would love to hear the feedback in how it all went and if there were any tricks involved? cheers in advance :-)