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.
Lowest cost option for people with Bose setup is to get Dynavin unit + 2ohm amp + some wiring. For extra $200 + some extra wiring I got 4ohm amp + nice speakers
* I figured do it once do it right. I already had the car apart anyway and it was only $200 more.... well $260 with a new subwoofer
Oh I get what you mean now.
And yes that is the 'cheapest' option. You don't necessarily have to get the Dynavin, as the process will be the same with any aftermarket headunit.
I had the dynavin installed, got tired of the 80's dashboard and did a facelift console upgrade then I replaced the dynavin with a kenwood DNN990HD. Kept the speakers for now as I am not keen on taking the door panels off.
Even if you replace it with a stock navi solution...you're looking at navigation from 2004...which is pretty much ancient by now. I mean that's what I replaced in the first place.
Bite the bullet and throw some amps in there and a new head unit. You can replace the speakers anytime after that if you feel like it.
And yes that is the 'cheapest' option. You don't necessarily have to get the Dynavin, as the process will be the same with any aftermarket headunit.
I had the dynavin installed, got tired of the 80's dashboard and did a facelift console upgrade then I replaced the dynavin with a kenwood DNN990HD.
The nice things about Dynavin are: great fit, OEM look, it matches the rest of the car great. Easy integration with the staring wheel controls.
Originally Posted by megacrazy
Kept the speakers for now as I am not keen on taking the door panels off.
Actually removing the door panels was super easy comparing to running cables
Originally Posted by megacrazy
Even if you replace it with a stock navi solution...you're looking at navigation from 2004...which is pretty much ancient by now. I mean that's what I replaced in the first place.
The nice things about Dynavin are: great fit, OEM look, it matches the rest of the car great. Easy integration with the staring wheel controls.
Actually removing the door panels was super easy comparing to running cables
thats a very good point
Oh no doubt it's easier haha. However, from experience, once you remove some of the main panels...you'll spend some time afterwards figuring out squeaks and rattles that weren't there before
Oh no doubt it's easier haha. However, from experience, once you remove some of the main panels...you'll spend some time afterwards figuring out squeaks and rattles that weren't there before
in my case it was the damage I did to the top part that goes in between the door and window. Had to glue back up this paper material part that came loose on the inside part. Was a pain to get it fixed. Luckily it looks like nothing happened once I got ti fixed. No rattles or squeaks in my case. Besides with the new audio setup I blast the music at high decibels so can't hear much
in my case it was the damage I did to the top part that goes in between the door and window. Had to glue back up this paper material part that came loose on the inside part. Was a pain to get it fixed. Luckily it looks like nothing happened once I got ti fixed. No rattles or squeaks in my case. Besides with the new audio setup I blast the music at high decibels so can't hear much
Haha that always works. I usually do that with the exhaust. Car sounds much "smoother" if the exhaust covers any other noises.
Thanks so much for the help guys!!!! I so get it now. LMAO.
It made my migrane worse. But atleast I can now mentally prepare myself to pull my car apart.
Thanks so much for the help guys!!!! I so get it now. LMAO.
It made my migrane worse. But atleast I can now mentally prepare myself to pull my car apart.
i was not being sarcastic. I actually understand =) I was just not expecting for it to be so complex. You guys cut down my reading by 2 nights probably!
i was not being sarcastic. I actually understand =) I was just not expecting for it to be so complex. You guys cut down my reading by 2 nights probably!
You are welcome look for my old threads on the install. There is lots of info there
Haha that always works. I usually do that with the exhaust. Car sounds much "smoother" if the exhaust covers any other noises.
Now if I could only get my hands on the keys to my wife's E350.... Its navi sucks big time although the audio is not bad. It has the Harmon Kardon sound system option with Dolby 5.1 In case you are stuck in traffic and want to watch a movie? you can't play video unless in Park
i was not being sarcastic. I actually understand =) I was just not expecting for it to be so complex. You guys cut down my reading by 2 nights probably!
Haha oh. If you need more help shoot me a PM. I held on to the wiring diagrams... Pilots and stuff.
because the speaker and tweeter were using the same one pair of cables joined together at the door seal and then single pair going to the trunk. You need two separate pairs to go to the crossover which is in the trunk by the amp. There is no place to add crossover in the door seal. Perhaps in your setup it was using two separate pairs, one for speaker and one for tweeter all the way to the trunk. My car is 2003 CLK320 with Bose setup.
Not true Darius. I installed two sets of JBL p660C component speakers in my 03 CLK500 (with bose/comand) yesterday and I installed the crossovers directly in the doors below the tweeter. Fits just fine . Also It was the biggest car crossover I've ever seen and it still fit no issue (done systems in every car I've owned). There was no need to run new wires to the doors.
I left the old tweeter wire unused and ran new wires from the crossover to the woofer and new tweeter. Which were a few inches away from the crossover.
Did you put your new sub in the stock location or somewhere else? Mine is still in its box and I haven't taken the rear shelf apart yet.
Not true Darius. I installed two sets of JBL p660C component speakers in my 03 CLK500 (with bose/comand) yesterday and I installed the crossovers directly in the doors below the tweeter. Fits just fine . Also It was the biggest car crossover I've ever seen and it still fit no issue (done systems in every car I've owned). There was no need to run new wires to the doors.
I left the old tweeter wire unused and ran new wires from the crossover to the woofer and new tweeter. Which were a few inches away from the crossover.
Did you put your new sub in the stock location or somewhere else? Mine is still in its box and I haven't taken the rear shelf apart yet.
-James
thats a great point, its been a few years I was doing the install. Now I'm remembering that one of the reasons I did not install inside the door was that I have a number of adjustments on the crossovers and wanted to have access to them after the install was done to be able to take time to fine tune the setup. Having them inside the door would not be very practical
I installed the sub in the default space under the shelf. Had to make small modifications. I would get better results using a box setup but 1) did not want to loose trunk space and have a box there in the way. 2) I'm not a bass head preferring more natural real sounding music therefore heavy buss is something I don't want
I installed the sub in the default space under the shelf. Had to make small modifications. I would get better results using a box setup but 1) did not want to loose trunk space and have a box there in the way. 2) I'm not a bass head preferring more natural real sounding music therefore heavy buss is something I don't want
Did you take any pics? I am planning to put a free air one in the stock location also.
Guys, firstly THANK YOU for this thread and the info which I haven't found elsewhere.
So I bought my MC2000, and only today realised i have that darned Bose 'upgrade' <sneer>
Can you please explain 2 things I haven't seen above:
How do I connect wires to the MC2000 to take to the new amp in the boot? Is it only 2 wires and if so to what wires on the MC2000?
Once installed, how do I set the merc dashboard clock which I used to set from Comand?
Cheers, and thanks again for the effort behind this thread!
Edit: another Q; can I wire straight from the mc2000 to the speakers if I replace them with 4ohm ones? Is there any merit in this if sound quality is so not an issue for me?
Guys, firstly THANK YOU for this thread and the info which I haven't found elsewhere.
So I bought my MC2000, and only today realised i have that darned Bose 'upgrade' <sneer>
Can you please explain 2 things I haven't seen above:
How do I connect wires to the MC2000 to take to the new amp in the boot? Is it only 2 wires and if so to what wires on the MC2000?
Once installed, how do I set the merc dashboard clock which I used to set from Comand?
Cheers, and thanks again for the effort behind this thread!
Edit: another Q; can I wire straight from the mc2000 to the speakers if I replace them with 4ohm ones? Is there any merit in this if sound quality is so not an issue for me?
No, you need to run basically RCA cables from the AMP to the headunit. The new AMP would connect to the speaker cables at the OEM AMP harness in the trunk. Then it would have outputs to the headunit. You also need to connect an AMP wake up wire...as well as the power antenna wire...to make sure you get radio reception.
Yes you could wire directly to the speakers but it doesn't make much sense. You'd have to remove many more interior panels (and the door panels are not pleasant to remove) just to get ****tier sound quality. Also, you can always go ahead and replace the speakers after you have installed the AMP in the trunk at any time.
Hope that makes sense.
Forgot to mention. You set the clock before you remove the oem unit...then you head down to the dealer and have him remove the comand option. Or if you're lazy like me...you learn to tell time by your dash clock that's wrong haha.
Darn! The comand stopped working hence this upgrade (vs a $5k new comand - I kid you not - and I could not find a scrap one for love of money here in ZA). So setting the clock is a real issue. Merc saying they cannot find a way to set it thro Star. Are they just being lazy perhaps? If they remove the comand option, how can I then set the clock?
I need a tad more clarity on the RCA please: The MC2000 has a bunch of RCA's connected to a plug called "out". So I use that rather than splicing into the set of speaker wires on the MC2000?
The wake up wire makes sense. Where would that connect to on the MC? Can I not just have the amp powered up whenever the car is turned on? OK, so I wouldn't have radio without ignition, but that's OK.
Cheers dude - you've taken me from panic mode to seeing that this is entirely fixable.
No problem. You should keep an eye on ebay if you want to remain stock. They sell for about 350 a piece every now and then...not 5k. That's nuts.
They simply need to program the car and take off the comand option. You'll be able to set it through the instrument cluster like cars without comand. Or, by their logic, cars without comand don't set their clocks at all.
The "OUT" output is referring to sound out...so to the speakers, or in your case the AMP. Yes, connect the RCAs from the AMP to the appropriate RCAs on the Dynavin. I believe it has Front L/R, Rear L/R, SUB and Center.
The wake up wire is probably called "remote" or something similar on the Dynavin. Check the manual for wire colors/names. You could connect it to any wire that has 12V on ACC but why bother if the unit provides a wire for just this?
Eh it's a long project but in the end it's still pretty basic...figuring out wire colors and locations. Don't despair hahah.
I had the Android version but I remember that being in the settings somewhere. It could be turned on or off. I forgot what the name of the setting was exactly.
Hello, first i would like to thank for your answers.
Im runnig iGo Primo 2.4, but the language of the Gps is only in spanish; english or french, i think, do you know if there is some portuguese version?
Megacrazy, if could help me with the setting, ill will be very greatfull