saint1010

Hey everyone - I am swapping out my HU for a Pioneer Avic D3 but would like to keep my sw controls. I did a search and came up with PAC-audio but can't find info on which control interface i need for 03 55 amg? SWI-CAN or SWI-CAN2.....Pac has no info and can't be certain.
Anyone out there have this info??

MarcusF

According to the PAC-Audio website, the SWI-CAN is for the 2003.

I know the SWI-CAN2 fit my W208. It also (allegedly) fits the 2003 through 2005 W211 E. Here's my install, I think your install will be similar.

saint1010

Thanks a million!!

dynomite05

Nice write up!

neilbo75

Yes, very good stuff as usual, Marcus.

I'm thinking about changing the HU on my CLK. The amps and speakers have already been seriously upgraded, but the installer says my factory HU is holding back sound quality. He recommends Kenwood, which makes a nice touchscreen double DIN unit with all the bells and whistles.

From your write-up, it looks like with the right adapter I should be able to continue to use SW controls. I assume this means the button for system volume. I am also assuming the telephone pick up and hang up button can also be hooked-up to the new system. But what about the display in the driver information center on the dashboard? I like seeing the radio station call letters or, even better, the turn information from the navi, which is easier to watch on the info screen while driving than on the COMAND screen. If I switch the HU, am I right that there will no longer be any telephone, navi, and audio channel output to the little pixel screen?

MarcusF

Thanks for the complements.

With an SWI-CAN2 and an SWI-JACK, a Kenwood will work - as long as the Kenwood is designed for steering wheel controls. I just hit the Crutchfield site and they showed 23 Kenwoods designed for steering wheel controls. My car didn’t have a phone, so it always says “no phone” when I hit the phone buttons. The screen in the speedometer on my car is blank when I put the screen in audio mode. No error, but nothing else either. When the screen is blank (audio mode), and I press the up or down button on the left side of the steering wheel, the radio station changes, or if it’s playing music on an SSD, iPod, or iPhone, it goes to the next or previous file (track). The entire time, the screen stays blank. All the other screens work (digital speedo, trip computer, oil level, etc.).

neilbo75

Thanks again - I'm pleasantly surprised that you can still use the left button to scroll through tracks or radio stations with the SW adapter.

My CLK has the full factory set-up: COMAND, TV, linguatronic, CD changer in the trunk and the telephone in the armrest. It's not easy to toss all that stuff out. Everything is four or five generations out-of-date by now but heck it still works ... most of the time - Navi can be an adventure and the linguatronic lady listens about as well as my wife.

Recently in fact I did toss the TV since reception was lousy, and watching TV in your car is not something I crave. Worse, obsolesence loomed since Hertzian TV signals are being phased out In France. The installer hooked up a DVD player to the TV input, so now I can watch DVDs simply by pushing the TV button on the COMAND unit - this is good for concert videos but the the DVD audio quality is poor compared to CDs. Hence my HU problem.

The installer also put a little backup camera over the rear license plate which automatically comes on the screen if the car is shifted in reverse (provided the TV mode is selected). This is a handy thing to have.

MarcusF

I was at the opposite end of the factory audio spectrum: AM/FM/cassette w/trunk mounted changer. My system had to go. Although true audiophiles (which I'm not) probably fall out laughing at the description of my original equipment "1960's era cassette" as having ever been a "system". Nowadays, even Buicks use hard drives to store music. My OE cassette was akin to having a Commodore 64 as a workstation. Even worse. A Commodore is old, but kind of retro cool.

You, on the other hand, actually have a system. Something of value. Even with certain parts starting to show their age, your console speaks of usable, modern technology.

neilbo75

Thanks.

Let's not forget the COMAND console looks cool at night with all the little buttons back-lit. And the Nokia telephone popping out of the armrest for me is so James Bond. Bluetooth pucks just don't cut it.

Actually I kind of wish I had the factory cassette player 'cause in my younger days I made custom mix tapes for long drives. In theory I can still play the tapes thanks to a little walkman that can plug into the auxilliary jack in the glovebox. But the sound is only so so.