I'm booked on Wednesdat (in 3 days) at the dealer to change my Instrument Cluster to the AMG one.
I was talking to the SA today and he told me that this is the first time for them to do this and he can't guarantee that it will work, also he called a technician and the technician told him that there might be an issue of "ratio conversion" since the AMG cars have different wheels than the ML500, and other issues because, according to him, the ML500 is not the same car as the ML55 AMG.
Can this be true? Is there any possibility that the AMG Instrument Cluster won't work in my car? I thought from a number of posts that I read here that this should be a straight forward work, isn't it? [?] Any comments, please!
__________________
2003 ML500 (Brilliant Silver, Charcoal Leather)
M2: Leather upholstery, additional wood interior trim, trip computer, automatic day/night driver-side and rear-view mirrors, power-folding outside mirrors w/memory, rain-sensing wipers, power front seats w/memory, locking under-passenger-seat compartment and rear privacy glass.
M4: Spare Tire Carrier
M5: Sunroof Package w/Power Rear Qtr Windows
M7: Two-passenger 3rd-row seat.
COMAND 2.0 with CD Changer
AMG Instrument Cluster (163 540 7811)
SonyEricsson HCB-30 Bluetooth Car kit
Megacomm Multimedia A/V Interface for COMAND 2.0
SONY DVX-100 DVD Changer
JVC 6.5" headrest wide color monitors (KV-MH6500)
Of course it *can* work, but there's no guarantee that your dealer can make it work. As to the wheel sizes, I doubt that they've regeared it. The ML320 and ML500 have different wheel sizes but I'm guessing that they have the same part number for the cluster. Besides, if you ever drive your truck you start to wear down the tires and the speedometer would be out of true from original. Worst case your speedometer and odometer will be off by a small amount - just as if you've put on aftermarket rims or a non-recommended tire size.
The AMG 18" wheels with the 285 R50 18s are the same diameter as the the stock 17" wheels so there is no change in tire diameter or circumference - at least no enough to matter.
__________________
Andy
2006 ML350
723 - Pewter, 104 - Macadamia Interior, H04 - Brown Birds Eye Maple Wood, 167 Standard Non-Sport Pkg, 317 Comfort Pkg, 318 - Trim Package, 319 - Lighting Package, 320 - Entertainment Pkg, 324 - Sunroof Pkg, 580 - Std. Climate Control, 873 - Heated Front Seats, 890 - Power Liftgate, Navigation System, iPod interface kit
Modifications:
Added: Chrome Door handle cups, MB Twin Spoke 5-Spoke 18" wheels and tires
I've just came back from the dealer. The AMG instrument cluster they ordered A163 540 2411 turned out to be in miles (not km). I got another number from another post in this forum A163 540 0811 but they checked it and it's been replaced by A163 540 7411 but it is also miles (not km). After some invistigation they found another number A163 540 8011, where it says in the ordering system "for Canada, km/h) but the salesman says that he is still not sure if it's an AMG, or if it will work in my car. Anybody has a correct part number for the AMG instrument Cluster with km/h and km milage? What can be the other country dependent parameters that can affect the IC not to work in my car? [?]
When they connected the miles instrument cluster to my car(before noticing it was in miles), without any programming, the BAS/ESP indicater was on, will this disappear after the instrument cluster is synchronized with the car?
Hey "E".....The cluster will work,in my situation, l purchased one off of E-bay, and it was an American cluster in miles, and l live in Canada, where KM's are used..they were not able to convert the miles on the cluster(6800 miles) to the original cluster (110,000 KM's).....they noted the mileage and will add the difference when l trade in the vehicle, which could be years from now.......As well, my ML is a 99, and the newer ML's, such as yours are "Touch Shift" transmission's, and they indicate the transmission indicator, (P,D,R,1,2,3...)as you can see in the picture, where the little box to the left of the time is empty....my ML is not able to show this...my SA said, it is something to do with the software....too bad, l really wanted that feature....Oh well, that's what you get with a 99......next, are the "Turn signal mirrors"...being painted as l speak......
__________________
1999 : Black Opal ML 430 : 125,000 KM (traded-in)
2002 : Bordeaux AMG ML 55 : 130,000 KM (traded-in)
2006 : Silver lridium ML 350 : 53,000 KM (stolen)
2006 : Cubanite Silver ML 350 : 24,000 KM
Hey "E".....The cluster will work,in my situation, l purchased one off of E-bay, and it was an American cluster in miles, and l live in Canada, where KM's are used..they were not able to convert the miles on the cluster(6800 miles) to the original cluster (110,000 KM's).....they noted the mileage and will add the difference when l trade in the vehicle, which could be years from now.......As well, my ML is a 99, and the newer ML's, such as yours are "Touch Shift" transmission's, and they indicate the transmission indicator, (P,D,R,1,2,3...)as you can see in the picture, where the little box to the left of the time is empty....my ML is not able to show this...my SA said, it is something to do with the software....too bad, l really wanted that feature....Oh well, that's what you get with a 99......next, are the "Turn signal mirrors"...being painted as l speak......
Thanks "C", I really hope that it will work in my car, my questions to you are:
1. Why did the ESP/BAS indicater was on when they connected the american IC in my car? Do you think this will dissappear after the correct IC parameters are programmed?
2. Did you need to synchronize the IC with your odometer? how is that done?
I managed to get the AMG Instrument Cluster. My MB dealer was very helpful, they ordered the IC for an AMG car, and installed it in my car. It took less than half an hour to install and version code. It is really very nice, much difference between this IC and the original one.
The correct part number for the IC (km not miles) is 163 540 7811
[:)][:)]
Linear Mode
