C-Class (W203) 2001-2007, C160, C180, C200, C220, C230, C240, C270, C280, C300, C320, C230K, C350, Coupe

Speaker wiring in trunk

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Old Mar 18, 2013 | 02:07 AM
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Speaker wiring in trunk

Is there a wiring diagram with color legend that will help me to sort out the vast number of wires in the trunk? Although my car came with the stock stereo system, it looks like it was pre-wired for a number of options. Behind the amp bracket appear to be positing, turnon and group leads for an amp. There are also several fiber optic cables, at least two antenna cables, and loose connectors everywhere. Here are some pics:

A lot of cable ends tucked behind the amp bracket. Is there alternate wiring in here to go to each door speaker? If so, then does each door have two pairs of wiring going to it -- one from the dash and one from here?


I pulled out one loose connection ... positive, negative, and remote turn-on for the amp? Although the positive wire looks pretty small.






Big red cable is the power lead from the battery? Are speaker wires routed from this side as well?


Several wires, including fiber, crossing over in the well behind the rear seat. Also many loose connectors in this area, with room to fasten things.


This cable can be seen when the side panels are in the trunk ... I originally thought it might be wiring for the sub, but looks like it's just the wiring for the rear trunk lid.
Attached Thumbnails Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk1.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk2.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk3.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk4.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk5.jpg  

Speaker wiring in trunk-trunk6.jpg  

Last edited by jkowtko; Mar 18, 2013 at 09:38 AM.
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Old Mar 19, 2013 | 10:07 AM
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Okay I found this thread and picture showing the pinout for the connector to the Bose amp. The connector is one of the many tucked behind the amp mounting bracket in the right side of the trunk.

Speaker wiring in trunk-amp_c36.jpg

Thread: https://mbworld.org/forums/4360733-post17.html

Based on this, if I install a 4 channel amp in the trunk I should be able to get back to the door speakers without having to run additional wiring.

Some questions --

* what gauge is the speaker wiring in these harnesses? Good enough for 100w/ch?

* Is pin 1 on the above diagram the 12v positive? If so, how to I interpret "Circuit 30, F4-16"?

* Is there a large enough 12v wire going to this area to support an aftermarket amp? (not including a sub amp)

* Is pin 19 the remote turn-on?

I will continue looking through the wiring in the trunk to sort things out ... any additional info or URL pointers will be much appreciated.

Thanks. John
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Old Mar 19, 2013 | 10:18 AM
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I can't answer most of your questions because I am not familiar. I don't know how much changed in the facelift, but you might want to make sure you are looking at the right year. 2004.5 was the last time Bose was offered. 2005+ became H/K Logic7.
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Old Mar 20, 2013 | 02:44 AM
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The cables and fiber on the bridge are for telephone modules, and tele-aid modules. The right side has wiring for the satellite receiver. Other devices that mount back there are trailer towing, parktronic, and some foreign market items like taxi cab and police modules.

I am never seen a car with a connector for the H/K amp that did not have one. Perhaps the connector is for production line test?

Ther should be a connector number on it. Armed with that info it can be looked up in the WIS to determine its use and pinout.
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Old Mar 20, 2013 | 12:39 PM
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Okay, here are better pics.

There are two wired connectors, a 36-pin and a 4-pin. The rest of the cabling in that section is fibre and antenna.

The 36-pin plug is labelled "#000-545-91-03 / AMP / 985-343-1 B":







The second plug is labelled "PBT GF-15" and has three wires going into it -- Red, Blue/Black, and Brown. Power harness?


It would be great if pinout diagrams were available.

It would also be good to know what the gauge of these wires is ... it looks to be no better than 18 gauge ... is that enough to deliver clean signal over the main speakers at 100w per channel, with HPF assuming I have a separately-powered sub? And if this second plug is a power connector, is that enough to power a 4x100 amp?

Thanks. John
Attached Thumbnails Speaker wiring in trunk-plu1c.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-plug1a.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-plug1b.jpg   Speaker wiring in trunk-plug2.jpg  
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Old Mar 20, 2013 | 01:54 PM
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Hello, PM me with your email address and i will email you the pinouts and wiring diagrams.

Cheers!

Greg
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Old Mar 20, 2013 | 02:06 PM
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Fogot to mention, the factory wiring is more than fine to use with the 100 + watt amp. Its always best to run new wire but from expirence and knwoledge the factory wiring is just fine. If you were going to be competing in a caraudio show then i would have to tell you no.Power and ground needs to be run and id suggest nothing smaller than 4ga. I just got my W203 and am in the process of upgrading everything stereo wise so i cannot really speak of what is all in the trunk of these cars as far as power wire and such.

Cheers!
Greg
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Old May 8, 2013 | 09:31 AM
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Fyi, I've since come to the conclusion that, since my car doesn't have the stereo ugrade, it has a different wiring harness that doesn't carry speaker wires to the trunk.

So, I went ahead and rewired from the doors to the trunk, mounted my MRX-V70 amp under the rear deck, RCA cables down the left side running board, power cable down the right side, and I'm good to go Next step is to upgrade my Alpine Type S speakers to something better.
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Old Jan 7, 2014 | 10:12 PM
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Do you know what color the rear speaker wiring is?
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Old May 17, 2021 | 11:36 AM
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Hi I realize how many years later I’m asking this question, but do you happen to know what the big connector goes to? I’m wanting to turn my base oem radio into the hk system that was offered. I’m just trying to figure out which amp this goes to.

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Old May 17, 2021 | 09:05 PM
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I cannot answer your question, but if you are interested in adding rear deck speakers and a sub woofer, this thread offers a couple of possible options.

I originally used the speakers and the sub woofer from the HK system, but the sub woofer started rattling a month or two after I installed it. (The car I removed it from was about 15-years old. All that time sitting on the rear deck baking in the sun probably took a toll on it.) If you can find the mounting brackets from a car with the HK speakers it will make mounting them in your car easier. However I recommend that you, at a minimum, replace the sub woofer.

I think that you will find a significant improvement in the sound quality if you install the additional speakers and the sub.

Good luck with your project.
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Old Feb 10, 2025 | 03:56 PM
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W221 s550 wiring diagram color codes

Originally Posted by GermanLuv
Hello, PM me with your email address and i will email you the pinouts and wiring diagrams.

Cheers!

Greg
82marcuscovington@gmail.com
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