acr2001

I want to put a 2007 G class (MCS II) comand unit in my 2005 W203 (G class unit, not to be confused with the GL comand unit which won't fit in a C)

I know that physically it is the same fit.
I know that the connectors on the back also match up.
I know that with the old pre-facelift comand unit this worked except that you had to run a separate wire for the speed pulse signal.

Does anyone know if it is a direct plug and play with the face lifted units?

Another question if anyone knows - is the 07 G class comand unit backup-camera ready?

Some of you probably remember that I already fitted a W203 Comand unit to my car. That worked out great except that it is a 2005 MCS II, so it does not play MP3 CDs which was a big disappointment.

nickgailloux

I'm not sure if it will fit or not, but if the G-class comand is backup camera ready then I'd be all over that.

acr2001

I'll let you know what happens Nick. Like a dumbass I went ahead and bought it on ebay. If it works out I'll sell my current unit. The unit I bought came out of a brand new 2008 G class that was exported from the US back to Europe, so they had to swap the comand unit.

I read that you can find out if your comand MCS II is backup cam ready by checking the resistance of pins 1 and 7. If you get a reading of around 75 ohms then the unit is backup camera ready. I know that the newer (2006 and later I believe) ML and GL comand units are backup cam ready (they are identical to the W203 unit except for a different sized face).

If the unit is backup cam ready it may still have to be version coded to turn that feature on.

EDIT: The 2008 G class Comand is backup cam enabled on all 08 G classes (it comes standard). So if it works in the 203 then it will add backup cam ability - no version coding required.

e1000

https://mbworld.org/forums/2405735-post14.html

nickgailloux

Thanks E. It looks like the poster of that thread has a 2002 C-class, so its pre-facelift. So no guarantee that the post-facelift will work, but its a good sign!

acr2001

I guess no one around here tried this before? The G class is pretty rare so maybe that's why.

acr2001

Alright, results are in.

The 2008 G-Class COMAND unit works perfectly in the W203 - plug and play.
The screen turns black when in reverse as it should. I'm still waiting for the camera. Tried connecting my laptop to the input and it did not work, but from what I read in another thread this is normal - for some odd reason the car will not display the input from a device unless the device is being powered by the car. Really strange, I know.

One small issue - the time is now displayed on the COMAND unit, but it's impossible to set the time without first version coding the gauge cluster for COMAND, so the time displayed on the COMAND unit will be invalid until coding is done.

e1000

NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

acr2001

Don't get too happy - when someone gets the hard drive based 2009 G class COMAND unit working we will really have something cool!

I should point out - thread title says 2007 - that is the manufacture date written on the unit, but it was pulled from a 2008 G class.

nickgailloux

Thats awesome man. If your camera works I'm going to be so impressed.

I've always wanted Parktronic but its so expensive to retrofit. Buying a comand and a camera would be half the cost or less, plus you get the benefit of everything else comand does.

Guess if this works then my comand might be for sale... on to comand #3.

acr2001

I'll let you know how it goes.
I think you should raise the bar even further and buy the 09 COMAND unit for the G class - that thing is light years ahead of this unit. I'll bet it works in the W203 with minor modifications. I'm starting to think I should have bought it! I know physically it's a perfect fit. Built in bluetooth and cd changer so you don't have to worry about the MOST loop anymore (unless you have teleaid or HK sound system, then you cant do it).

acr2001

Kenwood CCD-2000 arrived in the mail today. Works perfectly with COMAND. The camera view automatically activates when in reverse. You can override it by pressing any button or switching out of reverse. Picture quality is excellent.

I'm getting ready to mount the camera but it looks like there is no room in the center, so it will have to be mounted on the side of the license plate (above it).

I noticed when I removed the trunk lid liner that there were 2 unused plugs behind it. Wondering if one was meant for a rear view camera? There is also a 2 pin connector behind my head unit that is not plugged into anything.

Plenty of photos by tomorrow night....

Edit: OK, so it looks like the plugs behind the trunk lid are both for a Sirius antenna. Still wondering about the connector behind the head unit.

benzc230

Did you ever get the time fixed? I was not able to get the GPS enabled on the cluster as the one I had was from a GL class at all. It was modified to fit a C class. That is why I got rid of the GL unit because it never worked. The G-class NAV functions correctly the time....does not throw errors at all? Thanks.

acr2001

It does throw an error if you check the log and the time is wrong. The button on the COMAND unit to set the time is grayed out. I'm 90% sure this is because my cluster does not have COMAND enabled, so it is not communicating with the unit. Like you said on the phone, the dealer you went to did not want to touch your COMAND unit because it was not the specific unit for the C class. Regardless of which COMAND unit you installed they still could have set your gauge cluster to COMAND = enabled, which I believe would have fixed it. I will try that as soon as I can find someone with a star diagnostic computer.

BF_JC230

Hi ACR2001,

What Antenna are you using...do you have a number, link or an image? I was supplied an antenna, but I am not crazy about it. Can you (or ANYONE) share what you are using as a good antenna?

Thanks...and keep us posted on this project!
Good luck,
Jake

acr2001

GPS antenna? I snagged a cheap one off eBay and got lucky I guess, because it works great. I have it mounted under the dash (in the area you get access to when you remove the vents) because I didn't want to bother removing the gauge cluster. I placed it all the way to the left so that it isn't under the center speaker grille (metal). In an open area I get 6 or 7 satellites. With buildings all around me it gets closer to 4 or even 3 - but I have never had a problem with it losing the signal.

This is the item I bought (same seller too) - http://cgi.ebay.com/GPS-ANTENNA-FAKR...3%3A1|294%3A50

I know our car is not specifically listed, but there is no difference. The type of antenna our car uses has no electronics in it (other than the antenna itself!) - it's just an antenna - the head unit does all the work. Not to be compared with a laptop GPS antenna which actually has electronics built into it.

nickgailloux

My antenna is very similar to that and I get the same results... 6-8 satellites usually. Mine is mounted behind the cluster.

By the way, taking out the cluster is super easy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDADClzM160

acr2001

Yep, I guess I was just being lazy. I don't think it made too big a difference, but maybe I'll put it back there next time I'm bored.

Picture of the rear view cam is here: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...ml#post3486998

Sorry I didn't take pictures of the entire process, but it was far more of a pain in the *** than I expected.
To get the camera mounted high enough so that it looks stock (and can't be stolen) I had to cut the plastic license plate surround and then cut a square into the body of the car (this way the camera can recess into it). The exposed metal also needs a coat of paint to prevent rust. After doing that there was nothing to mount the camera to so a bracket had to be made and bolted into place. I filled the space between the camera and the sheet metal with expanding polyurethane foam (MB uses something similar in a few places) so that it is water tight. The foam is hidden by the (plastic) license plate surround which goes in front of the actual sheet metal of the car. This part of the install included a lot of broken dremel tool bits and a lot of cursing.

Next comes the wiring - I zip tied the camera "brain" to the rear SAM unit and tied into the grounding bolt there. Then I used an "add-a-circuit" (looks like this, but you only need to use 1 fuse, not 2) to tap into an unused fuse slot on the rear SAM. Mercedes actually makes a part that plugs into the SAM unit (or interior fuse box) to create additional circuits. I wanted to use that, but it appears that all of those circuits have a constant 12 volts, not switched - connecting there would cause the camera to drain your battery by never turning off. The camera only uses 2 amps - so the "add-a-circuit" method should work well. For high amp items it would be a really bad idea. By doing it this way I did not have to splice into ANYTHING for the entire install.

The camera comes with a reverse sensing wire - this powers up the camera only when you are in reverse and requires that you tap into one of the reverse lights. Rather than splice one of those wires I ran the reverse wire into the positive power lead - this means the camera will be powered by any time the car is on. The COMAND unit automatically switches to it when you are in reverse.

BF_JC230

Thanks guys...I just ordered the FAKRA connection antenna...when it gets in I may start operation MCSII...I am interested in the G-Class unit...but that is a whole new project...Plus I have an aftermarket PTS in the car that works great from www.carsensors.com for me.

Where did you get the G-Class unit?

I am thinking of running the GPS antenna up to the upper windshield, or above the overhead console, with 10' of cable...If I pull the A pillar cover, can I get it up there...I already have an Easy Pass on the right of the mirror...why not a GPS antenna to the left?

Thanks and looks great!
Jake

acr2001

G-Class unit came from eBay - they seem to be rare, the one I got came off an 08 being exported to Germany from the US, so it needed the Euro COMAND unit.

I guess GPS on the top of the windshield should work good, you just need a way to stick it on. Hopefully the pattern at the top of the windshield does not contain anything that would degrade the signal. You can't really install it above the overhead console because the antenna wont work well behind the metal of the car.

BF_JC230

What is the little plug that is white and rectangular in shape for, located in the upper middle rear of the MCSII unit?

Thanks!
Jake

acr2001

No idea! I wanted to know that myself...

nickgailloux

I wouldn't bother... your GPS reception doesn't get any better once you have roughly 4 satellites. Mounting under the cluster gets you about 7-8. Plus its completely concealed and takes about 3 minutes because there is already a passage between the back of the comand and the back of the cluster. And it will be really easy to remove should you ever need to.

maverik259

so any thoughts as to why the w203 comand is so much more expensive than all the others? I've found a hundred ML comands for like 500 and all the w203 are over a grand!?! wth, the same with oem bix for our car!

acr2001

A lot of those cheaper ML / GL COMAND units do not have the nav drive installed, basically making them a radio with a really nice screen. Believe it or not in Mercedes infinite wisdom COMAND was standard on certain models, but without the nav drive in it!