So I've slowly been gathering all the parts for my stereo swap. Honestly, this has been a nightmare, and had I known it was going to be this big of a deal, I wouldn't have done it. However, I'm at the point of no return, as I have already put too much time and money into it.

This is what I have so far:

All the wiring is streetwires brand:

20 feet of 0 Gauge power wire
7 feet of 0 Gauge ground wire
7 feet of 4 Gauge power wire
7 feet of 4 Gauge ground wire
100 feet of 16 Gauge speaker wire (for running through the door)
Soundstream powerplant 2 (for power and ground dist)
(3) 16 foot RCA cables
hi to low converters
Soundstream Reference 4.400 (75x4 RMS) for inside speakers
Soundstream Reference 1.500 (500x1 RMS) for subwoofer
12" oz audio vector in seal enclosure
Soundstream BX-20Z bass enhancer
6.5" Diamond Audio D6 components
5.25" Diamond Audio D3 Coaxials


I have made a mounting board of 3/4" MDF and attached it behind the seats (see pics) My idea here was to make the installation and visual appearence of the amps nice and easy. I did not want to build anything custom into the car (like fiberglass) so when I get rid of the car evetually I can take all the stuff out leaving the car 99% un-modified.

Here is where it gets interesting, as you can see from the pictures, I have done most of what I could. The part I don't want to do is all the taping of the wires for high-to-low conversions, running wires under the carpet, etc. I went by 2 car audio places, here is what they said about finishing my project:

shop #1:

The guy quoted me $250 to do everything. He didn't give me many details except he would have 2 guys working on it, and it would take them 3 hours to do... That sounded good to me.

shop #2:

Said the tap for high to lows would have to be done from the amplifier in the trunk and NOT the command unit. This contradicts what overdrive did with his amp replacement. The guy told me if he tapped from the head unit the signal would not be strong enough?.?.?

He also said by tapping the amp, the outputs running to the front would already be "crossed over." Meaning, tapping those wires may only yield high frequencies not suitable for a set of components.... However, he said he is not sure of this, as all models of mercedes are different. We turned the car on and listened to the door speakers and it sounds as if they ARE full range.

I was wondering if anything with a 2004 model command could tell me either way. He said it is A LOT of work to take the car apart and put it back together again. That I believe, but $550 seems a little steep to me.

I'm going to post pictures of what I have so far as soon as I take them. Any input from you guys would be great.

 

Well I have started the install myself. I will probably end up paying someone to run the power wire (0 gauge is very thick) to the rear of the car. I took the door panels off and realized the diamond audio components are actually shallower than the stock bose speakers. I did not need any spacers to mount them and they do sound much more clear than the stock ones.

I could not find a good place to hide the crossover, so I mounted them in the back and ran 2 sets of 16 gauge speaker wire to the front doors.

I decided to tap the hi-to-low converters off the stock amp. There are some pros and cons to doing this, here they are:

pros:

easier as I don't have to run RCA cables down the car or remove the command unit in my dash.

requires shorter RCA cables which is cheaper

cons:

requires operation of the stock amp (possible point of failure)

the signal may not be as clean (% of THD) as it is coming through the bose amp.

Upon pulling the carpet back, it looks like a previous owner (I am owner #3) had an after market subwoofer installed. The subwoofer had been re-spliced, and there was a 10 gauge power wire that was running from somerwhere. I didn't see it connected directly from the battery, but It may be wired into the jumpstart terminal under the hood, or (hopefully not) the rear SAM.

There is a strange fiber-optic looking connector coming from the amp... I will post pics soon.

 

nice, post picks when its done..

 

Since my install, I have already made a few revisions that I am planning to change on system. The Signal from the Comand or headunit to the amp is more than enough powerful for the hilow... (Keep in mind, The comand and headunit with and with out the bose system have there own amp built in, as the speaker wires are spliced right off the headunit (If you don't have the bose or Harman Sound system) My revision that im planning to make, is getting rid of the high-low converter and making my signal wire from the comand unit to RCA.

 

Here is what I got done today:

Tapped the wires from the stock amp for the hi to low converters. I installed the components in the doors and wired them back to the amp. I don't have the rear door speakers yet so I didn't do anything with those.

Mystery solved... The 10 gauge power wire I found was actually spliced directly off the main power for the stock amp... don't know who did that, but I put a 10 amp fuse in it and was using that to power/test my other amps.

The last remaining part is running the 0 gauge wire from the battery to the back of the car. That wire is soo damn thick there is no way I'm going to do it. I think I'm going to take it to bestbuy and pay the $69 bucks to make it their problem.

 

I will do a complete write up on this howto when I get the car completely done and cleaned up. I have posted the pictures I have taken soo far here:

http://www.seedserver.com/C32/

 

I ran /0 guage through my car. If you remove the battery and tray you can go through the firewall there. I had no water leaks, or fitment issues in the car.

 

Hmm, I'd be interested to see that. Did you mount the main fuse under the hood as well?

How long can I disconnect the battery before I would need a radio code?

 

Sorry I dont have the car, nor do I have pics. I mounted the fuse right by the battery. I don't think you need a radio code, but if you do I can get it for you!