Install of aftermarket radio and BT kit to replace Audio20 in the R171 SLK
Ok, finally got around on the weekend to installing an aftermarket radio and bluetooth kit in my SLK. One of the main reasons why I opted for a 280 rather than a 350 here in Australia was because the 350 comes standard with COMAND and SATNav(which is pretty bad in Melbourne, Australia, with lots of missing maps, streets, etc..), and I didn't relish paying for something which I knew I was going to replace with anyway. I also wasn't impressed with the MB pre-wired phone offering(UHI) which limited me to only a few phones and to top it off, will cost me extra for a cradle. Didn't want to change my phone just so I would have the privilege of paying another 400 bucks for a cradle and when I switch phones again, get another cradle, etc.. Also wasn't very impressed with the IPod integration kit and its interface, etc..
Anyway, it was always in my plans when I bought the car that I would rip out the Audio20, and install a new headunit and Bluetooth functionality. Shopped around and found a nice headunit with the features I wanted(mainly, good ipod integration option), a Clarion MAX667(think the USA has an equivalent version called the MAX675), which is a 2-DIN touchscreen unit which also allows videos to be played from a video Ipod. Also bought a Parrot CK3100 Bluetooth kit after looking on the forums and people were saying good things about it. Unfortunately, couldn't get a steering wheel control adapter which would allow me to control the headunit from the steering wheel, mainly because the Clarion didn't have an input for it. There are some aftermarket CANBUS boxes out there(see Willkommen auf unserer Webseite) which can interpret the signals from the MB CANBUS and provide the possibility of steering wheel control, but they didn't have an adapter for my particular headunit, and also, the CANBUS box was pretty expensive as well, so I gave the idea the flick. If I really wanted to, I guess I could have got the CANBUS box from Dietz, and retrofitted some sort of IR remote learning device to learn the Clarion codes and transmit to it, but I couldn't be bothered.
Here's a picture of it fully installed.
Picture of the Ipod interface, quite similar to a normal Ipod, and with ability to choose genres(something that Alpine headunits have never heard about). Can also play audiobooks, videos, slideshows of photos, composers(not shown in picture)
Picture of the unit playing the DVD "Transformers The Movie"(one of my all-time favourites, with such luminaries as Orson Welles and Leonard Nimoy voicing some characters)
Picture of my Ipod in my glovebox connected to the Ipod connector cable(had to enlarge the hole in the glovebox a bit with a dremel to accomodate the cable). I like having the ipod there because the glovebox locks automatically when you lock the car..another option was to have it in the center console but seeing as mine gets stuck half the time, I opted for the glovebox. Intending to just leave it there all the time.
Picture of the microphone which is connected to the Bluetooth unit, mounted discreetly on the overhead control panel(or OCP as Dan likes to call it That 1 cm of cable is the only visible wire from this install, which I'm quite happy about
My main objective when planning for the install was that I didn't want to cut any factory wires and be able to revert back to stock if I needed to..also didn't want complicate any warranty issues by cutting wires, etc. So first thing I had to do was to find an adapter for the Mercedes radio connector, as it wasn't standard. I chose to use ISO plugs for my install, mainly because the Parrot BT kit has ISO plugs and if I had ISO plugs on the radio, it would be a simple plug-and-play affair. After some research into figuring out what kind of adapter the SLK used, I found the adapter on German ebay(eBay: MERCEDES Radioadapter MOST Adapter Kabel ISO alle ab 04 (item 140093034029 end time Apr-04-07 03:26:13 PDT). This converts the stock factory connector to 2 ISO plugs(1 is power, the other is speakers). The adapter I got provides with all wires I needed(constant power, ground, all speakers) except for ACC and Illumination. After some research and the help of some very knowledgeable people(thanks Dan and Lenny), I decided to get ACC from the fusebox in engine compartment, and the Illumination signal from a wire in the harness leading to the gear mode selector. Note: for time being until I get an ADD-A-CIRCUIT part, the ACC is tapped from the cigarette lighter.
Picture of the wire harness that is supplied with the Clarion kit. I soldered the connections to an ISO plug and used heatshrink on the connections to protect it. First time I've ever used heatshrink..fun stuff
Next two pics are of the wire harnesses that came with the Parrot Bluetooth kit. Notice the ISO plugs on them(female and male on both). Basically they just plug between the Merc connector and the Clarion radio, tapping off the power, ground, etc...and can basically take over the speakers from the radio, enabling it to automatically mute when calls are being made.
Next two pics are of the Clarion and Parrot kits laid out, ready to install with all their parts ready to just plug and play into the factory harnesses. One thing that isn't shown is the fascia kit that I got to supplement the install. I got the kit from Metra Online and the kit can accomodate either a 2-DIN or a 1-DIN(and adds a storage pocket) into the space where the factory radio is.
Picture of the center of the dashboard disassembled. Instructions on how to do this are from the "How to retrofit IPOD" pdf on Billsden(Bill's Den: Documents. The factory radio connector and antenna connector are outlined in the blue box. The red box outlines the cigarette lighter connector. I had to disconnect this while taking the glove box apart. Note that this doesn't slide "out" of the unit, it slides "down", hope that makes sense.... I was pulling on it for a fair while until I realised this. Lucky I didn't break anything.
NOTE: Discovered this the hard way...when diassembling the centre dashboard, I had disconnected the wiring to the heat/AC controls. When I started the car up(testing) while I didn't have this connected, I think the radiator went into overload mode or something..either way, it didn't sound good. After some troubleshooting, figured out this wiring was the cause..from then on, I just kept that bit connected, and moved it out of the way.
Pic of where I took some of the silver trim off above the ignition. This was where I wanted to mount the BT user interface module, and figured I could just feed the wire through one of the holes that is used to secure the silver trim piece. NOTE: this trim piece just pops out, I used a screwdriver on the bottom right of it and just levered it out. The one above the glovebox doesn't POP out...it actually slides down. After having taken this bit off by just popping it out, I was trying to do the same with the glovebox one but of course it doesn't lever out, has to slide down.. Lucky I didn't break it trying to pop it off the wrong way.
Took the panel off the top and side(one piece) so I could route the microphone wire to the OCP. Quite hidden, and taped the wire down so it didn't rattle.
Success! Picture of the radio installed after being tested.
Pic of the BT module. Was mounted on the panel underneath the steering wheel(hidden on the other side of course!)
Pic of the BT Interface. I just put some double-sided mounting tape on the back of it, and taped it to the silver trim piece(after feeding the wire through).
How it looks from the driver's seat. Can't tell from the photo, but the BT interface will show the name of the phone that is currently paired(currently its my phone, Wan Hung Low :P), and when calls come in or are made, will switch to name of the caller or number. Also shows network strength, battery level and other useful info.
Total Approximate Costs:
Clarion MAX667 Radio - AUD$1000
Parrot CK3100 Bluetooth Kit - AUD$250
Mercedes Radio Connector Adapter - AUD$15
Antenna Adapter - AUD$15
Bare ISO Plugs - AUD$10
Clarion Ipod Connector cable(video) - AUD$90
Metra Online fascia kit for R171 SLK - AUD$110
Various parts from automotive store(heatshrink, terminals, cable, etc..) - AUD$30
hahaha...thanks for the vote of confidence. First time I ever attempted something this complicated, and like I said, was just happy I didn't break anything that would cost thousands to fix. Just did a lot of research on it beforehand, and had a lot of helpful tips from Dan and Lenny of SLKWorld. Only other time I had opened the car up was to install the Piecha varioroof module(a MUST-DO for all SLK owners), and that gave me the confidence to open the rest of her up
Next mod on the list, aftermarket HIDs! then puddle lights! then reversing camera! then....not sure :P
Very nice indeed. Only part that would tick me off is $110 for the plastic fascia.
(though I don't know the conversion rate it is still a big percentage considering what it is)
Yeah, that was slightly annoying...think the fascia kit sells for something like 40 bucks in the US...and somehow that translated over to 110 bucks Aussie(considering the exchange rate is about 0.80 right now, not sure how that happened...). Annoying, but I just sucked it up, and got on with it :P
That 1 cm of cable is the only visible wire from this install, which I'm quite happy about
Linear Mode
