w215 specific Comand 2.5 to 2.0 swap thread WITH upper center console button facelift
08-09-2019, 11:43 PM
#1
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w215 specific Comand 2.5 to 2.0 swap thread WITH upper center console button facelift
I just finished wiring up a 2003 Comand 2.0 unit into my 2002 w215 that comes with the older Comand 2.5 system with NO AUX!!!
So I wanted to compile all of the resources and research I gathered on this subject and put it in one place. Nearly all of this information is available online, it's just a bit scattered about. Most instructions/videos/threads usually leave out one or two important details. Keep in mind ONLY the 2003 comand 2.0 will work in the pre-facelift cars!!!!!!
First you'll want to download this .pdf file linked below that holds most of the information you need. I printed it out so that I could have it with me in the car while I moved around pins and spliced wiring
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/att...grade-s500.pdf
Next you'll want to watch Tavarish's video on youtube linked below, he's doing this in a w220 car, so it's very slightly different but that's why I want to make this thread for w215...
One of the most important things to learn from Tavarish's video, is the way to disassemble the mercedes wiring harnesses. Around the 12:21 mark specifically. You'll depress one tab, and then the inner section of the harness will slide out. Most other guides do not mention this very important part of instruction. You'll need this instruction to re-pin the harness
I'll admit I was a bit nervous about re-pinning the 18 pin wiring harness...I've watched some of my mercedes harnesses fall apart in my hand from age/heat before, most recently I remember a rear wheel speed sensor harness practically break into pieces with no major stress/abuse. So i expected the worst.
Luckily I only ran into a few hold up's when I started moving around pins on the harness, my biggest hold-up (which none of the other guides mention) is two of my pins ended up getting stuck when I tried to pull them out. It was confirmed to not be user error when after the first one got stuck, I tried to pull my second pin and it came out fine. It further became clear to me I was not the first person to re-pin this connector. If I had to guess by the splices and electrical tape patching, it looks like my car maybe once had an aftermarket stereo setup. I believe this to be the case because when I first bought the car 8 or 9 years ago, there was already a baffle built into the rear shelf for (2) 10" subwoofers, and unfortunately they also removed the rear sunshade in the process. Sometimes I wish the car still had the rear sunshade. It gets very hot in florida, and a black on black leather car doesn't lend itself any favors regarding heat.
To rectify this, I spliced in some new pins from my unused harness (you'll no longer need your c1 connector (As seen in the instructional pdf) so you'll have some extra pins at your disposal. Worst case scenario these pins can be bought at the dealership)
What made me pull the trigger on this retrofit, was some helpful benz owners pointing out the following -
-that the 2003 comand 2.0 will indeed directly swap into the 2000-2002 models(with only a few mods)
-aux can be accessed through the comand 2.0 and easily wired into the wiring harness (See the instructional .pdf)
-the top row of facelift center console buttons (ESP, ABC, hazard lights, sunshade control, etc) have been discovered to work in the pre-facelift models. With only one drawback, the buttons only seem to work in one direction
So for example, you can turn ESP off but without turning off and on the car, you cannot turn ESP back on.
This may pose a dilemna for you if you still have ABC in your car, I can't speak from experience but I feel like you may only be able to raise the car, and engage ABC sport mode and not turn these features off, without re-starting the car. But it seems quite apparent since the first w215 coilover swap thread on these forums I posted, many of us are ditching ABC
and let's be realistic, usually when we turn off ESP, we just leave it off and enjoy our RWD car's how they are meant to be enjoyed...
I see there are seperate lock and unlock buttons on the facelift buttons, so I guess we will see how those work and see if those work continually, or only work once and then won't work again until the car is restarted....we will see (tomorrow I am installing the buttons into the car finally, today I re-wired and tested the new radio, I have not yet installed everything just yet)
One of the most important things that I learned with this swap, and that nobody seems to mention, is that when I originally finished all of the recommended wire re-pins, I tested the radio yet I had no audio. Starting to get annoyed, I noticed that the pin 1, diagnostic pin (yellow wire) is not used on the new radio, like it was used on the pre-facelift radio. So I took a gamble and i snipped this wire. I tested the radio again and voila, my facelift w215 radio started working. So try it with the yellow pin 1 connected, if you get no audio, try snipping pin 1
For the aux cable I just bought the first 3.5mm stereo aux cable I saw at walmart. If you do the full center console wood trim swap like me, this will also give you a great oppurtunity to run your aux wire to your armrest compartment, or maybe to your cupholder area for a nice appearance
I'll be posting pics in my next post (I usually type out threads on my computer, but then upload photos from my phone) and in those pictures I will include a photo explaining how the wiring is changed for the center console buttons as well. Like I said I have not fully completed this swap, but from what I have tested and inspected so far, I highly recommend this install
The full list of parts I've gotten -
2003 Comand 2.0
2003 w215 center console wood trim (try to match you wood trim if you can)
3.5mm aux cable
2003 center console buttons (esp, ABC, etc)
2003 ashtray insert
I plan to re-use my pre-facelift climate control module, I actually do not like the chrome trim around the climate control buttons on the facelift models in my black/black mercedes. perhaps if my car was silver it might look good, but in my interior there is not much chrome anyways
some of my resources:
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...upgrade-4.html
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/aud...and-2-5-a.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...s55-amg-5.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/cl-class-...-retrofit.html
So I wanted to compile all of the resources and research I gathered on this subject and put it in one place. Nearly all of this information is available online, it's just a bit scattered about. Most instructions/videos/threads usually leave out one or two important details. Keep in mind ONLY the 2003 comand 2.0 will work in the pre-facelift cars!!!!!!
First you'll want to download this .pdf file linked below that holds most of the information you need. I printed it out so that I could have it with me in the car while I moved around pins and spliced wiring
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/att...grade-s500.pdf
Next you'll want to watch Tavarish's video on youtube linked below, he's doing this in a w220 car, so it's very slightly different but that's why I want to make this thread for w215...
One of the most important things to learn from Tavarish's video, is the way to disassemble the mercedes wiring harnesses. Around the 12:21 mark specifically. You'll depress one tab, and then the inner section of the harness will slide out. Most other guides do not mention this very important part of instruction. You'll need this instruction to re-pin the harness
I'll admit I was a bit nervous about re-pinning the 18 pin wiring harness...I've watched some of my mercedes harnesses fall apart in my hand from age/heat before, most recently I remember a rear wheel speed sensor harness practically break into pieces with no major stress/abuse. So i expected the worst.
Luckily I only ran into a few hold up's when I started moving around pins on the harness, my biggest hold-up (which none of the other guides mention) is two of my pins ended up getting stuck when I tried to pull them out. It was confirmed to not be user error when after the first one got stuck, I tried to pull my second pin and it came out fine. It further became clear to me I was not the first person to re-pin this connector. If I had to guess by the splices and electrical tape patching, it looks like my car maybe once had an aftermarket stereo setup. I believe this to be the case because when I first bought the car 8 or 9 years ago, there was already a baffle built into the rear shelf for (2) 10" subwoofers, and unfortunately they also removed the rear sunshade in the process. Sometimes I wish the car still had the rear sunshade. It gets very hot in florida, and a black on black leather car doesn't lend itself any favors regarding heat.
To rectify this, I spliced in some new pins from my unused harness (you'll no longer need your c1 connector (As seen in the instructional pdf) so you'll have some extra pins at your disposal. Worst case scenario these pins can be bought at the dealership)
What made me pull the trigger on this retrofit, was some helpful benz owners pointing out the following -
-that the 2003 comand 2.0 will indeed directly swap into the 2000-2002 models(with only a few mods)
-aux can be accessed through the comand 2.0 and easily wired into the wiring harness (See the instructional .pdf)
-the top row of facelift center console buttons (ESP, ABC, hazard lights, sunshade control, etc) have been discovered to work in the pre-facelift models. With only one drawback, the buttons only seem to work in one direction
So for example, you can turn ESP off but without turning off and on the car, you cannot turn ESP back on.
This may pose a dilemna for you if you still have ABC in your car, I can't speak from experience but I feel like you may only be able to raise the car, and engage ABC sport mode and not turn these features off, without re-starting the car. But it seems quite apparent since the first w215 coilover swap thread on these forums I posted, many of us are ditching ABC
and let's be realistic, usually when we turn off ESP, we just leave it off and enjoy our RWD car's how they are meant to be enjoyed...
I see there are seperate lock and unlock buttons on the facelift buttons, so I guess we will see how those work and see if those work continually, or only work once and then won't work again until the car is restarted....we will see (tomorrow I am installing the buttons into the car finally, today I re-wired and tested the new radio, I have not yet installed everything just yet)
One of the most important things that I learned with this swap, and that nobody seems to mention, is that when I originally finished all of the recommended wire re-pins, I tested the radio yet I had no audio. Starting to get annoyed, I noticed that the pin 1, diagnostic pin (yellow wire) is not used on the new radio, like it was used on the pre-facelift radio. So I took a gamble and i snipped this wire. I tested the radio again and voila, my facelift w215 radio started working. So try it with the yellow pin 1 connected, if you get no audio, try snipping pin 1
For the aux cable I just bought the first 3.5mm stereo aux cable I saw at walmart. If you do the full center console wood trim swap like me, this will also give you a great oppurtunity to run your aux wire to your armrest compartment, or maybe to your cupholder area for a nice appearance
I'll be posting pics in my next post (I usually type out threads on my computer, but then upload photos from my phone) and in those pictures I will include a photo explaining how the wiring is changed for the center console buttons as well. Like I said I have not fully completed this swap, but from what I have tested and inspected so far, I highly recommend this install
The full list of parts I've gotten -
2003 Comand 2.0
2003 w215 center console wood trim (try to match you wood trim if you can)
3.5mm aux cable
2003 center console buttons (esp, ABC, etc)
2003 ashtray insert
I plan to re-use my pre-facelift climate control module, I actually do not like the chrome trim around the climate control buttons on the facelift models in my black/black mercedes. perhaps if my car was silver it might look good, but in my interior there is not much chrome anyways
some of my resources:
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...upgrade-4.html
https://www.benzworld.org/forums/aud...and-2-5-a.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/s-class-w...s55-amg-5.html
https://mbworld.org/forums/cl-class-...-retrofit.html
Last edited by ctravis595; 08-10-2019 at 10:15 PM.
08-10-2019, 03:52 PM
#2
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
yea i should have mentioned that. as you'll see in tavarish's video, these 2003 navigation units are largely outdated and obsolete. some could even argue they are dangerous if you consider how many deaths happen with wrong way drivers on the interstate. a non updated gps system could be problematic. most everyone is using their phones for GPS these days
08-10-2019, 09:31 PM
#5
08-10-2019, 09:33 PM
#6
08-10-2019, 09:34 PM
#7
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08-10-2019, 11:37 PM
#10
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Pictures do not do this center console trim justice. Absolutely gorgeous in person. Got a very good deal from my friend Nik at euroworks in tampa Florida
THIS is the only harness you’ll be dealing with on your new facelift upper center console buttons
One of the ONLY downsides to this swap, I don’t mind the lack of gps functionality with the facelift radio/navigation, but unfortunately I do not have an answer on how to re wire the passenger side airbag indicator light. This isn’t a big deal, if your passenger airbag was faulty, you will see a SRS error on the dash. But this part does annoy me about the swap. The perfect car mods in my opinion are those in which you do not need to make any sacrifices, so while this is a very minor inconvenience it just annoys me
As part of this swap I Jb welded all of the broken pieces in my new ashtray and center console lower section (by the cup holders). The jb weld is the gray shiny stuff. My old ashtray assembly was 10x more cracked and broken. Very flimsy pieces on this car for some reason
More jb weld fixes on the ashtray assembly. This will likely needed sanded and painted black to look OK. But luckily the ashtray area will be properly secured. To retain the screw hole, fill with jb weld then immediately after, before drying, screw in one of your screws. About 20 hours later you can unscrew the screw you left in place, and now you have a brand new fitting for you ashtray screws
Nik at Euroworks(tampa) was kind enough to let me sort through his small dumpster full of recycled Mercedes wiring. After about 15 minutes of digging I found this harness and luckily it’s the exact one I needed! If you do this swap, make sure to get the one harness you need from your seller. If Nik didn’t have a collection of Mercedes wires and harnesses I may have had to open this upper control module and hardwire everything!!
On the left, is the new plug I was able to source for the new upper center console buttons. On the right is the old plug. THE ARRANGEMENT OF WIRES/PINS IS THE SAME WHEN SWAPPING BETWEEN THESE HARNESSES. ONLY 4 WIRES and YOU ARE DONE!
Again, on the left is the new plug. On the right is the old one. perhaps you can sand down some of the key shapes of the old one to fit, luckily I was able to find the right harness
Some extra w215 car-**** for you guys, my new dual wideband(bosch wideband sensors)/oil temp and boost pressure gauge for my upcoming turbo build. This was the PERFECT oppurtunity to do all of these mods all at once. The gauge pod cluster I found on ebay for about $8 and is absolutely fantastic for $8
This photo shows my new (braided cable) for the aux I have run under the wood center console trim, to keep my phone/ipod/bluetooth reciever in the cupholder or center console storage compartment. This photo also shows some more JB weld parts I had to repair on my 2002 w215, these things were not in good shape, Not sure if it's because of a bad aftermarket stereo install job in the past, or the florida sun but these things were broken off cleanly. This photo also shows the C2 connector I have re-pinned (with aux input!) with electrical tape wrapped around to try to keep things in order. Keep in mind for US applications you will only be using this c2 connector from what I understand and have tested so far
Closer pic of the c2 connector for clarification
Last edited by ctravis595; 08-14-2019 at 10:41 AM. Reason: spelling
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biker349 (08-14-2019)
08-11-2019, 07:04 PM
#12
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All done and out for a drive. Fm/am radio works. Aux works and sounds great! Upper control panel works( you just have to restart the car to turn esp back on after turning it off), cigarette lighter works. Built in navigation does not work. Now to decide whether to 3d print some cup holders or buy some oem versions
08-14-2019, 10:37 AM
#13
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Thread Starter
just want to add one more thing
so far I have not been able to get my 6 disc cd changer in the trunk to work with this new system. having the aux input this does not bother me, and I think there is indeed a way to get this setup -
on the c1 connector, there are two wires i never set up, and on the wiring diagram these are shown as "cd changer power" so I'm thinking these are the wires that need setup to make the cd changer work again?
another alternative is the Cd changer built into the head unit should play CD's , but only holds one CD instead of the 6 discs
like I said, this doesn't bother me because I don't have many CD's anymore. Changing Cd's in the trunk is also a bit cumbersome, so I'm going to forego figuring out this step of the conversion, but just wanted to warn everybody in case they have an extensive CD collection they wanted to use for this swap
so far I have not been able to get my 6 disc cd changer in the trunk to work with this new system. having the aux input this does not bother me, and I think there is indeed a way to get this setup -
on the c1 connector, there are two wires i never set up, and on the wiring diagram these are shown as "cd changer power" so I'm thinking these are the wires that need setup to make the cd changer work again?
another alternative is the Cd changer built into the head unit should play CD's , but only holds one CD instead of the 6 discs
like I said, this doesn't bother me because I don't have many CD's anymore. Changing Cd's in the trunk is also a bit cumbersome, so I'm going to forego figuring out this step of the conversion, but just wanted to warn everybody in case they have an extensive CD collection they wanted to use for this swap
08-14-2019, 11:05 AM
#15
also
I sell a complete set of Command 2003+
Bose Most amp
Cd charger
GPS
+ Command radio
all matching and fully functional of course
send offer to PM
shipping from France
I sell a complete set of Command 2003+
Bose Most amp
Cd charger
GPS
+ Command radio
all matching and fully functional of course
send offer to PM
shipping from France
