DiamondNoir2K5

To lay people, AMG stands for "this car is much more expensive than yours, and will kick your car's *** in the quarter mile!!"

Saprissa

TORX are like little stars, and that's what MB / German engineering prefer.

The HEX are what like you find on a bicycle. They are more hexagonal in shape.

If you use HEX on TORX or vice versa, you risk stripping the heads of the screws or the driver itself. Remember, like the TV commercial: always use the right tools for the right job ! Don't want to regret it later !

Skip the WALMART idea, and get yourself a nice set at a HOME DEPOT or something a bit more "tooly". With a Mercedes, you're going to end up doing lots of TORX required projects, so you might as well invest in a good set.
There are tiny TORX screw drivers for some of the smaller components like overhead lights and controls, and then the bigger TORX screw drivers used for big part removals. Just don't get the ones where the bits themselves come off and are interchangeable... you'll find that MB sometimes uses some type of sealant around the screw threads, when they first assemble stuff, so when you start the counter-clockwise unscrewing you might hear a few snaps, as this sealant is breaking off. Don't worry, it's common. What you can do when you replace the screws after finishing whatever it is you're doing, is put some of the Blue Loc-Tite sealant to set the screws firmly. The reason I say to not use the interchangeable bits, is because when the screws are tightly set, the grip on the screwdriver is not as tight as it would be on a regular fixed TORX driver, so you risk stripping the screw-head.

man, am I rambling tonight !!


_________________
Carlos
Saprissa@aol.com

Saprissa

I like that better !!

nlpamg

Thanks for the clarification guys! Boy am I a dummy with tools; I think I need to go buy a wrench set now too while I'm at it so that I can install the brackets for my cargo sill net.

I take the minimalist approach to tools, if it's not on my leatherman or in the car's toolkit, then I don't have it. And I just realized, that the toolkit on this car sucks compared to the old one on my w202.

laurla

Nice one, sawloo.

Now if we could just have someone identify the pinouts in the connector it would be the perfect thread.

I would prefer to make my own cable from scratch, avoiding additional connecters between iPod and aux connector.

Saving 40 - 50 bucks won´t hurt either.

coconutpolito

For those people in So. Cal. Fletcher Jones sells the cable harness for $31 plus tax. So it should be aroung $34-$35 bucks with tax.

nlpamg

Done. I installed it, and it works perfectly. Unfortunately, I cracked the A pillar just a little bit (4 cm's) while pulling it out. It's not really noticable, so I'll just chalk it up to experience.

Thanks so much for all your help guys!

wizkid

Has anyone done this on a 2002 or 2001 C240 Sedan? This would puch me over the edge and force me to buy an ipod mini.

Eric

mick1

hehe. All this time, I thought AMG stood for Awgh My God!

XRAYVSN

Wow,
That's amazing how you figured that out. Quick question, some postings say that the aux input only works if you have a Command center (in the pics you supplied it looks like you did it through your regular radio). I have a 2004 car with the bose head unit (no in dash cd, just tape). I also have a glove box mounted factory 6cd changer. Do you think this set up will work for me? (plus unlike your radio system, the way I choose what mode is by selecting buttons and for me it only has CD, tape, radio, and phone buttons to push. If I was able to do the aux input, any ideas how to select it on the head unit?

Appreciate it,

XRAYVSN

One of the messages in this thread kind of refers to the situation I'm in, I have a C class head unit (C320) that doesn't have the CDC button. What mod do you need to have the ability to take advantage of the aux input?


Thanks

Pit-Pony

I have the cable but have not installed it yet.

Looks awkward having to reach into the glove box to fiddle with the I-Pod.


sawloo, how did you extend the cable to the console? Was it long eanough to reach under the carpet or behind the dash?

..jack

jmartinacevedo

Unless your 2004 c class came with COMAND, you do not otherwise have an AUX IN feature as part of your stock stereo - the 2005 c class headunit has an AUX IN feature. All you need is to purchase the audio cable that you saw earlier in the thread.

If you are good with electronics, you can "create" an AUX IN by modifying the head unit. In order to do so, you need to remove the head unit, do some disassembling, soldering, and, in the process, you will kill you head unit's ability to play tapes. See this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...&highlight=aux

Good luck.

XRAYVSN

Thanks for the info. I really don't think I'm so mechanically oriented to be screwing around with the head unit (afraid I'll do more damage than good). Even though I don't use the tape player, it seems a shame to make it inoperable. I really am considering getting an aftermarket Comand installed (hopefully by Steve from mbenznl. Just trying to see if I can get him to come closer to my place than Chicago (where he'll be in November).

Thanks again.

Oil Change

OK so is the 2002 coupe prewired or not? any news? and what is the european part number of that cable?

Oil Change

I just checked me 2002 coupe. its not prewired. damn those stupid ppl at mb

Pit-Pony

Well I finally connected mine on a 2005 C.

It works great.

The funny thing was that no one at the dealer had a clue of what I was about to do when I ordered the cable.

When I brought the car in for an early oil change, I asked the top tech to take a few minutes to install my cable. It took him about 10 minutes which added about $20 to my bill, well worth it as he didn't damage anything.

Everyone at the dealer was amazed when I demonstrated it. No one knew the feature was built in.

..jack

tropico

I've ordered the harness at my MB dealer. I'll install it next week end.
Thanks for the thread and for the useful pics inside.

fadedinc

i love you guys awesome thread. very informative

stoneweed1

I've tried iTrip and the reception is aweful, so I'd really like to try this mod on my '03 C320 with CD-changer and Tele-aid (which is not active).

Will it work on my headunit? i do not have the CDC button, so i think i probably can't do it with the current headunit, but i do have a TEL(ephone) button on the headunit. if I change out the headunit, is the right front seat area door sill prewired? is there another way to add an aux input without having to solder?

also, can you briefly describe how you ran the cable from the glove compartment to the center armrest/cupholders?

and where can you buy a really long wire or extension plug?

and is that wire just to identical male plugs that you just stick in the headphone side of the IPOD and the other in the female part of the cable harness?

bye the way, great post
and thanks!!!!!

tropico

I finally got the harness and had it installed today.
Thanks to Sawloo for this thread, which made the install very easy.

Blake P

I assume your HU is the standard cassette deck that came with pre-'05 W203's. If so, it is possible to add AUX. Unfortunately, I'm not mechanically inclined and had this done by another forum member:

GusGusZ

I bought a mini ipod today and i was wondering , How does it stay charged? Im going to keep it in the glove compartment but do i have to get a car charger for it to keep it charged? Please help!!!

Blake P

I don't have a mini ipod, but I can guess that it has a rechargeable battery which must be charged through your cigarette lighter. For some reason, I notice there is an interference that can be heard through the speakers if I try to charge my Dell DJ in the car while playing it. There is a noticeable "buzz" that gets louder with the noise of the engine as I rev it higher. Luckily, my battery life is like 12 hours, so I bring it in every few days to charge overnight, but I have the car charger just in case.

yukpo

I am having exactly the same problem with my iPod.. are there any permanent fix for it?