URGENT: Aftermarket Nav Install Question
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
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2005 Mercedes CLK320
URGENT: Aftermarket Nav Install Question
Ok I am not a car audio person and I really need some help here. My Nav system ok button broke so I bought an aftermarket system. I took it to my local shop to have it "professionally" installed. Basically I just checked on it and they have no clue what they're doing. I'm hoping someone here can explain it to me so I can relay it to them.
Problem 1: no sound- they are talking about doing an amp bypass on the factory amp. I'm guessing this is not necessary.
Problem 2: manual shut off- the Jensen aftermarket unit doesn't turn off with the car, it has to be manually shut off, and screen still stays illuminated.
I drive a 2005 CLK320 coupe with the Harmon kardon system
Need to get them an answer ASAP before they charge me additional labor.
Thanks
Problem 1: no sound- they are talking about doing an amp bypass on the factory amp. I'm guessing this is not necessary.
Problem 2: manual shut off- the Jensen aftermarket unit doesn't turn off with the car, it has to be manually shut off, and screen still stays illuminated.
I drive a 2005 CLK320 coupe with the Harmon kardon system
Need to get them an answer ASAP before they charge me additional labor.
Thanks
MBworld Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,782
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
First of all, your factory head unit used a digital fiber optic cable to send audio to the amp in the trunk, so there are no analog (line or amp level) wires from behind the dash to the speakers. They are correct in your "problem 1" scenario - they must run new analog wiring to the trunk, and tie into the analog speaker wiring there "downstream" of the amp.
As for problem 2, they probably used a generic wiring kit for the install. Most cars have w wire for constant 12v and a wire for switched 12v. MBZ doesn't have this. The radio wiring harness only has constant 12v, then it uses signalling over the CAN bus to turn the radio on and off with the ignition. When installing an aftermarket system, you need to tap into the cigarette lighter to get switched 12v. This is also a good place to tap into the illumination circuit (another function that is CAN bus controlled).
My advice is to find another installer as these guys don't seem to know what they are doing. Also, all of this information has been posted on the forum many times, plus there is a forum dedicated just to audio systems. I'd suggest reading up on all of this so when you do talk yo the installer, you will be informed and not left to their mercy.
As for problem 2, they probably used a generic wiring kit for the install. Most cars have w wire for constant 12v and a wire for switched 12v. MBZ doesn't have this. The radio wiring harness only has constant 12v, then it uses signalling over the CAN bus to turn the radio on and off with the ignition. When installing an aftermarket system, you need to tap into the cigarette lighter to get switched 12v. This is also a good place to tap into the illumination circuit (another function that is CAN bus controlled).
My advice is to find another installer as these guys don't seem to know what they are doing. Also, all of this information has been posted on the forum many times, plus there is a forum dedicated just to audio systems. I'd suggest reading up on all of this so when you do talk yo the installer, you will be informed and not left to their mercy.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 24
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2005 Mercedes CLK320
Thanks Rodney,
I'm going to relay that information to them when I go and attempt to get all my installation fee back. They ended up giving up and putting my factory system back in, unfortunately it was a little late to have them salvage the project. And they still are trying to charge me $100 labor, of course.
I'll read up and try to see if another place in town could possibly do it. When I brought in my car, they seemed as if they were confident they could handle it, promised me it back by end of day so I definitely didn't question them enough.
Of course, I can wait until I am back in LA and get it done at Sonic or somewhere else. I am in my hometown aka hicktown northern canada and they have never seen a benz before it seems. For problem 1, they wanted to just power all my speakers from the head unit, just basically removing the function of my amp completely. At least that is how they explained it when I picked up my vehicle. Really, they have no clue what they are doing.
This info helps, thanks again
I'm going to relay that information to them when I go and attempt to get all my installation fee back. They ended up giving up and putting my factory system back in, unfortunately it was a little late to have them salvage the project. And they still are trying to charge me $100 labor, of course.
I'll read up and try to see if another place in town could possibly do it. When I brought in my car, they seemed as if they were confident they could handle it, promised me it back by end of day so I definitely didn't question them enough.
Of course, I can wait until I am back in LA and get it done at Sonic or somewhere else. I am in my hometown aka hicktown northern canada and they have never seen a benz before it seems. For problem 1, they wanted to just power all my speakers from the head unit, just basically removing the function of my amp completely. At least that is how they explained it when I picked up my vehicle. Really, they have no clue what they are doing.
This info helps, thanks again
MBworld Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
Actually, you will not be able to use the factory amp. As I said, its feed is via the fiber optic bus, so unless you wan't to spend a bunch of money on MOST fiber adapter, you will be bypassing that. Most aftermarket head units have built-in amps, and that's what they were going to use. OF course you'll get better sound with a dedicated amp, but that would have to be an add-on because the factory amp is not usable for aftermarket equipment.
Super Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 985
Likes: 16
From: Queens, NY
2009 clk-350 (Black) AMG, 2009 clk-550 (Pewter) AMG
hay bro, hope its not too late. im a big car audio person and after i get another clk(hopefully 550 or 55) i will be doing an audio build.
the process is quite straight forward if you can do it yourself and use pics from this forum as examples. also, this being a benz,most shops want to charge higher. so, if you can do the installation yourself, do it and haven a shop tune it for you. oh, check out the DIYMA forums for shops in your area.
1) you can not use stock amps and speakers with an aftermarket unit due to the fiber optics
2) please, please do not use crap brands like jensen. if you are on a budget get an older version of kenwood or Alpine.
3) if you need help picking equipment let me know, we can look at some options (used and new)
4) get a 5ch amp or if you want get loud, we can look at 2 separate amps.
the process is quite straight forward if you can do it yourself and use pics from this forum as examples. also, this being a benz,most shops want to charge higher. so, if you can do the installation yourself, do it and haven a shop tune it for you. oh, check out the DIYMA forums for shops in your area.
1) you can not use stock amps and speakers with an aftermarket unit due to the fiber optics
2) please, please do not use crap brands like jensen. if you are on a budget get an older version of kenwood or Alpine.
3) if you need help picking equipment let me know, we can look at some options (used and new)
4) get a 5ch amp or if you want get loud, we can look at 2 separate amps.
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From: www.Traben-Trarbach.de
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Speakers still have a voice coil. Therefore they need an analog signal to be driven which means wires. Ergo, OEM speakers can be reused. One just has to route wires to them or splice into existing wires.
Super Member
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 985
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From: Queens, NY
2009 clk-350 (Black) AMG, 2009 clk-550 (Pewter) AMG
What ohm is the speaker? Im pretty sure they are not 2 or 4 ohms. Theb you have to worry about getting a amp to match and not blowing the speakerand causing distortion .
Plus it woildnt be worth keeoing stockies if you are switxhing everything to aftermarket. A pair of decent components will run under 200 on budget.
Plus it woildnt be worth keeoing stockies if you are switxhing everything to aftermarket. A pair of decent components will run under 200 on budget.
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MBworld Guru
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
Correct, of course. The historical problems with using the factory Bose speakers was that they were 2ohm units, which did not play well with some aftermarket equipment. Also, the Bose speakers tend to deliver failry poor quality audio with aftermarket systems - all of the Bose sound technology is in their proprietary, vehicle-specific equalization which is inside the digitally-fed amp. I don't have first hand experience, but my understanding from what others say is that the HK speakers are fine when driven by aftermarket equipment.
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Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 24
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2005 Mercedes CLK320
Thanks for all the replies... I'm not sure what I want to do now. I'm worried I might lose sound quality bypassing the amp and I'm not really wanting to put in too much aftermarket stuff at the moment. I have one aftermarket speaker in the front just because I blew one.
