When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
First of all thanks to everyone that has contributed to the forums, I browsed it for all kinds of information in the past, now I want to see if I can get some advise.
I just bought a 2006 C55 and between the various changes I need to make one of them is the radio that is starting to go bad. I already have it all figured out, my last piece is that I want a reverse camera.
My objective if possible is to not drill into the car.
e (seems to work better at night and better reviews), the cable is a thin one (ie the part with the RCA and power is separate so its easier to fit), but still have the issue of getting the cable into the car. There seems to be a small gap on the license plate lights, maybe I can squeeze the cable thru there to behind the fascia:
Then to get it into the car perhaps I can remove/modify one of the plastic clips and use that hole to get it into the car. I read one comment about using the hole from the middle securing bolt but it seems crazy to me to leave the fascia unsecured like that. Has anyone tried this approach? Any suggestions? I am worried the cable will be too thick to fit between the fascia and the light and that if I don't use one of the plastic clips that it might rattle.
, I would buy the https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/203820055664.htm?pn=203-820-05-56-64-MBZ&fc=Y as well (ie the black piece inside the car) for which I have to cut a channel for the cable as I insert it back in (the camera has a notch on the glass to fit the cable but still leaves you to modify the housing apparently as its snug when it goes into the body).
Any feedback is welcome, hopefully we still have some people around with experience as these cars are limited and getting up there in age. thanks!
As for wiring a license plate camera through the middle bolt hole, the "bolt" (I think it's more like a "captive stud") is the belt and the clips are suspenders, so to speak. After unfastening the license plate backing trim from the stud, it took quite a bit of force with a trim removal tool to get the license plate backing trim to pop off one clip at a time. IMO, unless you are rear ended or back into a pole or something, that trim isn't going to just fall off. As to potential rattling, you can just strategically apply some CCF to the back of it before popping it back on. If you are paranoid, perhaps spring for all new clips as they can weaken/deform after removal and reinstallation, but I think it would be fine.
Perhaps the wire could be squeezed between a license plate light and the backing trim, but I would be worried about chafing the wiring long term.
I think modifying the light housing and using the license plate bulb camera is the cleanest way to do it if you don't want to drill a hole. Those license plate cameras are ugly IMO and attract attention. I installed one of those license plate light cameras and I too wanted to avoid drilling a hole, but in the end, modifying the bulb housing was too much fuss over something so small. So, I made a tiny 1/8" or so cutout for the wiring, touched up the edges with some body color paint, placed a little insulation as insurance against the small risk moisture gets in around the wiring during car washes, etc., and in about 10-15 minutes was done with it.
Last edited by brauhaus313; 06-20-2023 at 05:47 AM.
As for wiring a license plate camera through the middle bolt hole, the "bolt" (I think it's more like a "captive stud") is the belt and the clips are suspenders, so to speak. After unfastening the license plate backing trim from the stud, it took quite a bit of force with a trim removal tool to get the license plate backing trim to pop off one clip at a time. IMO, unless you are rear ended or back into a pole or something, that trim isn't going to just fall off. As to potential rattling, you can just strategically apply some CCF to the back of it before popping it back on. If you are paranoid, perhaps spring for all new clips as they can weaken/deform after removal and reinstallation, but I think it would be fine.
Perhaps the wire could be squeezed between a license plate light and the backing trim, but I would be worried about chafing the wiring long term.
I think modifying the light housing and using the license plate bulb camera is the cleanest way to do it if you don't want to drill a hole. Those license plate cameras are ugly IMO and attract attention. I installed one of those license plate light cameras and I too wanted to avoid drilling a hole, but in the end, modifying the bulb housing was too much fuss over something so small. So, I made a tiny 1/8" or so cutout for the wiring, touched up the edges with some body color paint, placed a little insulation as insurance against the small risk moisture gets in around the wiring during car washes, etc., and in about 10-15 minutes was done with it.
Thank you both for your replies!
I was concerned about removing the captive stud thinking the whole thing can come off, but I guess I was underestimating how strong the pins hold that in place. Might also replace the pins just to make it stronger.
For the license plate camera(BOYO VTL17IR on amazon, I realized the link doesn't work on the original post), the holder goes behind the license plate and the camera pops over, so all you see is the camera. I like it because its subtle, has IR sensors for night and the connecting cable separates from the RCA connector so you can get it thru a smaller hole. If I use the captive stud hole, I can just fish it thru there without issue (and all happens behind the license plate), just need possible to remove the trim to seal the hole after so water doesn't get in thru there after.
I will give it some thought, but again thank you in particular to brauhaus for your detail info on previous experience.
PS. Brauhaus do you remember what camera model you ended up using in the end?
I used the one in the second Amazon link you posted (or at least one that looks exactly like it). I used the cutout in the lens as a template to drill a hole in the edge of the bulb housing and make a cutout, then used the housing as a template to make the 1/8" or so cutout in the trunk lid. Used body color touch up paint I had on hand for the cutout edges and put everything back together.
The boyo seems like a decent choice if you want to avoid drilling a hole, no matter how small.
Come on!
Don't hoopty up a C55 like this.
I just removed one of these rear cameras from a SLK and replaced the license plate light that someone had cut into.
Don't do this. This is a trash move.
Come on!
Don't hoopty up a C55 like this.
I just removed one of these rear cameras from a SLK and replaced the license plate light that someone had cut into.
Don't do this. This is a trash move.
This is why I am trying to limit any actual cutting, so far I am leaning on the license plate one, it just pops the camera over and can feed the cable thru the bolt hole behind the license plate. Can always be removed without issues.
The range of vision is a lot more limited on these cars than I am used to on W124's I've had before (plus the previous owner tinted the windows so makes it even harder), so I am looking forward to the aid of a reverse camera.
Either way, those solutions don't damage the car, I would keep the original housing and replace it back in the worst case scenario.
Come on!
Don't hoopty up a C55 like this.
I just removed one of these rear cameras from a SLK and replaced the license plate light that someone had cut into.
Don't do this. This is a trash move.
What would be your non-hoopty solution? Leave it stock and not have a reverse camera?
A new license plate light is $25 or so. It's not a big deal.
What would be your non-hoopty solution? Leave it stock and not have a reverse camera?
A new license plate light is $25 or so. It's not a big deal.
Yeah, I am of the same opinion. Its simple enough to replace back the original without impact which is why I picked both of these options.
My main concern with the one that replaces the light glass is the annoyance of having to cut a path for the cable in the plastic light housing and a bigger factor is that I don't trust that camera too much plus it doesn't have some of the benefits like IR for nights but I will use it if there is no other choice.
What a pathetic response. Who said anything about splicing wires? Some would say your wheels make your C55 look hooptie, orders of magnitude more than a tiny little camera on the trunk that practically all modern cars today have. That wouldn't contribute anything or be responsive to this thread either.
I used the one in the second Amazon link you posted (or at least one that looks exactly like it). I used the cutout in the lens as a template to drill a hole in the edge of the bulb housing and make a cutout, then used the housing as a template to make the 1/8" or so cutout in the trunk lid. Used body color touch up paint I had on hand for the cutout edges and put everything back together.
The boyo seems like a decent choice if you want to avoid drilling a hole, no matter how small.
Was wondering what approach you went for power. Did you snake off power from the reverse light using a tap, pulled power from the front or just have it active with ACC power and just use the car's reverse signal to let it know to switch? Thanks again!
I have an aftermarket radio. The remote turn on wire from the radio is run to the trunk to a diode relay that is wired to a distribution block connected to a 4 AWG wire for 12v constant I ran from the battery to the trunk for the rest of my audio gear.
I have an aftermarket radio. The remote turn on wire from the radio is run to the trunk to a diode relay that is wired to a distribution block connected to a 4 AWG wire for 12v constant I ran from the battery to the trunk for the rest of my audio gear.
Wow, that is a much more elaborate setup but very interesting. So the camera isn't powered when the car is on, you just use the relay to flip power to it when needed. I might look into it and probably just use the rear fusebox to pull power.
The camera is powered when the car/radio is on. The remote turn on wire triggers the relay when the radio is on. The purpose of the relay is to ensure that enough amperage is available to safely turn on your devices if you have multiple devices that might draw more amps than what your radio can safely provide. You could easily pull power from the rear fusebox. I forget which fuse position is switched, but FYI, you may have better search skills than I do but I couldn't find a fuse tap that fit underneath the foam fusebox cover. You could leave it off, but I think the purpose of the foam cover is to try to keep the fuse panel protected in case you ever have things slamming around your trunk.
Thanks man, in the end I went down the same path as @brauhaus313 with a license plate light camera. The image quality isn't the best and I didn't get to try it too long due to other issues, but I hear that it may be related to noise from the power from the reverse light. Perhaps a relayed connection may improve the image quality.
Brauhaus, did you remove the optical system completely or did you ever use one of those MOST fiber converter boxes? I am seeing conflicting info with some saying they need to be connected to 12V and others saying to use ACC to prevent battery drain. Just ran into issues where it wasn't working, I even ran the car for like 5-10min and it never worked.
I never used one of those converters. I use the preamp outputs from my aftermarket headunit to external amplifiers. IIRC you lose some basic tuning functionality when those boxes actually work. AFAIK, those boxes only send 2 channels of output to the HK amp, and despite some saying they are happy enough with the results, I don't think the HK amp properly processes that 2 channel signal to all the speakers in the car. What headunit do you have?
Did you try to connect alternately to 12v constant and 12v ACC and neither worked? Where are you grabbing ACC from? IIRC, the stock radio harness does not provide an ACC wire to the radio, so you have to grab it from elsewhere like the cigarette lighter. If you tried to grab ACC from the harness that came with your aftermarket radio, it will be a dead wire. That's an ACC input, not an output. If you have one of those aftermarket Android headunits that are made to specifically fit our vehicles, perhaps it has a built in ACC output. I have no idea, but I doubt it. Either way, the unit should turn on whether connected to constant or switched 12v power. I would wire it to switched to avoid battery drain, and there is no purpose of having it on when the car is off. If yours doesn't turn on either way, it's likely defective. I'd get a refund and put that money towards aftermarket amplifiers. Running power/RCA isn't anymore difficult than what you've already done for the camera, just time consuming. Decent amplifiers can be had for relatively cheap these days. To me it's a no brainer vs the $100-250 or so I see those converter boxes going for. You can leverage the speaker wire harness from the stock amp and not have to run speaker wire all over the car to each speaker.
The image resolution on my license plate light camera isn't super sharp either, but I couldn't care less. I use the camera for maybe 10 seconds at most if I actually have to use it and the picture quality is more than good enough to let me know if something is behind me or not. The screen quality of my/your headunit may be a limiting factor as well no matter how good of a camera you get.
Last edited by brauhaus313; 07-19-2023 at 12:16 AM.
Success! My new android radio (seicane H2288N-P) is installed.
The biggest issue I had was with the MOST fiber converter box, I bought it with the radio from Seicane since they had it labeled specifically for the C55 but they were wrong. At first I thought it was was just non-functional, so I bought the same box from AVIN only to run into the same issue of it not working. When I went back I realized that the AVIN website showed that the right fiber converter box is the same as for the ML/GL (link). AVIN was nice enough to let me swap out my converter box. For anyone else, my suggestion is to just get the radio from the vendor and get the converter box from AVIN since its domestic.
There are some minor annoying issues here and there, but I got what I wanted out of this (reverse camera, bluetooth streaming and maps) and it looks great on the car as if it was always intended for it and not some gaps or ugly faceplate.
Success! My new android radio (seicane H2288N-P) is installed.
The biggest issue I had was with the MOST fiber converter box, I bought it with the radio from Seicane since they had it labeled specifically for the C55 but they were wrong. At first I thought it was was just non-functional, so I bought the same box from AVIN only to run into the same issue of it not working. When I went back I realized that the AVIN website showed that the right fiber converter box is the same as for the ML/GL (link). AVIN was nice enough to let me swap out my converter box. For anyone else, my suggestion is to just get the radio from the vendor and get the converter box from AVIN since its domestic.
There are some minor annoying issues here and there, but I got what I wanted out of this (reverse camera, bluetooth streaming and maps) and it looks great on the car as if it was always intended for it and not some gaps or ugly faceplate.
enjoy your car brother tasteful mods or even being a little different don’t mean nun as long as it makes you happy ima put a reverse cam on my c55 but ima use a rear view mirror
Came out nice 👍🏼
Success! My new android radio (seicane H2288N-P) is installed.
The biggest issue I had was with the MOST fiber converter box, I bought it with the radio from Seicane since they had it labeled specifically for the C55 but they were wrong. At first I thought it was was just non-functional, so I bought the same box from AVIN only to run into the same issue of it not working. When I went back I realized that the AVIN website showed that the right fiber converter box is the same as for the ML/GL (link). AVIN was nice enough to let me swap out my converter box. For anyone else, my suggestion is to just get the radio from the vendor and get the converter box from AVIN since its domestic.
There are some minor annoying issues here and there, but I got what I wanted out of this (reverse camera, bluetooth streaming and maps) and it looks great on the car as if it was always intended for it and not some gaps or ugly faceplate.
These newer android headunits look pretty clean. What are the annoyances you noticed? Does it sound decent? Can you adjust fade front/rear and balance side to side? How well does the sound processing work?
enjoy your car brother tasteful mods or even being a little different don’t mean nun as long as it makes you happy ima put a reverse cam on my c55 but ima use a rear view mirror
Came out nice 👍🏼
Thanks man!
Originally Posted by brauhaus313
These newer android headunits look pretty clean. What are the annoyances you noticed? Does it sound decent? Can you adjust fade front/rear and balance side to side? How well does the sound processing work?
So the sound is good in my view, showed it to a friend who has multiple mercedes and he agreed as well. You can balance but you can't fade (the converter box only has L/R input, so t outputs the same front and back). As for sound processing I am not an audiophile, but I did mess around a bit with the EQ and got it to sound better so its got quite a bit to play with.
For my specific radio there is a harness but only come with an aux L/R and sub out (the pictures online are outdated, model changed), however I am fairly certain that the main harness (that connects to the mercedes one) in theory should have the full F L/R and R L/R though might require some rewiring. This is important is if you want fade then you would probably have to run a sound harness all way to the back but then I suspect you would need to change the amp, though I think part of the issue is that the speakers are 2ohm and that isn't a common impedance for amps so its either something specific for it or replace all speakers (for me it was easier just to ignore all that and go with the converter box).
Issues (most of these are minor but things I have noticed):
- It uses Zlink to connect seamless with my android phone. Usually works fairly well, though on some rare occasions it takes a while and fails to connect, shutting it down and starting it up usually fixed it. Additional issue is that when I go in reverse, it cuts the audio (I guess cuz it halts the Zlink app) even though there are options to continue music or lower volume, it seems to apply to other stuff like the radio and stuff playing off the head itself and not Zlink.
- Haven't figured out how to replace my startup logo, wanted to do a cool AMG animated one for the boot logo but seems the options doesn't let you (or I don't have the right file type) and the unit isn't rooted so you can't just edit it yourself in the system files.
- The advanced options menu is a fairly basic UI, not the end of the world but wish this was more polished and with a bit more explanation, especially the part on how to replace the start-up logo.
- I tried looking on the appstore for the torque lite app, but only showed the paid one, not sure what is up here.
- Per some suggestions online, I made a separate gmail account just for this and then created a family using my primary account. In theory I should be able to share apps I buy with the family and share them but haven't figured that part just yet as the instructions didn't line up with what I saw.
- A couple of times I have seen a heavily distorted reverse camera with ghost images, not sure what caused it but probably some bad power delivery or something.
- The screen got a weird error a couple of times that it was like split in 2 with one side not having full colors, keeping an eye on this in case I need to RMA it back.
I didn't have to install a GPS antenna since I got a fraka adaptor that hooked up to my current antena and it works great.
Same way I got an external mic due to the complaints on various areas, just clipped it to the headliner above the rear view mirror and ran the cable around to the left pillar. Per my friend it sounds good (though might pick up some road noise), and its very subtly located in an out of the way place.
ETA: Part of the issue is I wanted a radio that would blend seamless into my car and not have some ugly gap or faceplate. Doesn't seem there are many options available now since this such an old model car and many of the vendors have moved on.
06-15-2023, 06:39 PM
