C219 CLS55 and CLS63, 2004-2010

Weekend Project Part II Illuminated Sills, V1 & Ipod Fix

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Old 08-07-2006, 02:27 AM
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Weekend Project Part II Illuminated Sills, V1 & Ipod Fix

So Saturday was project day, on the list of things to do were,
Hardwire the V1, install Illuminated AMG Door sills from www.formymercedes.com, and Fix the Ipod kit install. To explain the Ipod fix, the issue is that the volume is much lower in comparison to the radio & CD. Details below on how to fix this problem.

OK so first project was the V1.

Tools and parts you need include a 12 foot black phone plug. A 1-3 amp in line fuse, and some squeeze connectors. All found at Radio shack. You can also buy the hardwire kit from V1, all units should come with one, but I left it in the Boxster when we sold it. Wire cutters, clamp ends, torx tool.


So first step is mount the V1 and run the wire straight up to the headliner. Tuck it under the plastic molding around the rearview mirror, then run it up into the headliner.



You will need to pull the headliner out just a tad in order to slide the wire inside, its a tight fit! Run it to the passenger side, once you get to the corner, unscrew the sun visor to loosen up the headliner.



Now pull out the panel on the right front pillar. If you just pull a little bit it will pop out, once that is done you can run the wire down this and along the side to the footwell area.




Run it down the side..



Next unscrew the panel under the passenger footwell, two T20 Torx screws and it pops out. Run the wire over to the center console for now.

Now you have to remove the ash tray and the CD Changer. Pull out the removable part of the ashtray where your ashes would go. Now you must pull up on the wood panel where the shifter is. Its in there really good, so pull up hard towards the top part, its a solid piece so it won't crack. Once this is out you can remove the whole ash tray, its clipped in also. There are two plugs, remove them both, the one that plugs into the lighter is a plug that looks like this.. just pull down on it to remove.



Now you need to remove the cd changer, there are two torx screws to remove. Before sliding it out, unplug the three plugs attached to the bottom of the CD changer. After these plugs are out the cd changer will slide right out. The reason for removing the CD changer is so you can now pull the black phone wire through the center console and bring it to the front where the lighter is.

OK if you bought just a regular 12 foot phone plug cut off the end of the plug that's now in front of you. Splice back the black wire and you will have 4 thin wires, red, green, yellow, and black, I believe. You only need the red and green, the two middle wires, so cut the other two off.



So looking at the plug that's in the V1 now notice the colors and their order. The middle two are power & ground, the middle one closest to the display of the V1 is the ground, the furthest is the power. For mine the Red was positive and the Green was negative. So now add the inline fuse to the positive side.

The squeeze connectors weren't that great for this use, because the phone wire is so thin, I ended up using another wire with some with some clamp ends in between the phone wire and the lighter plug. Also very important tip here be sure to splice into these wires furthest away from the plug, meaning as close as you can to under the dash. The reason for this is with the fuse and connectors you need to tuck them near the CD changer, so when you put the ash tray back it will snap into place, if not they will get stuck under the ash trany and smash the plugs, Trust me on this, I made the mistake the first time. The first pics show my mistake being closet to the plug.


Wires moved back further.



OK so now you have connected the correct plugs, brown to the green thin wire from the phone wire, and red to the red/white positive wire on the plug.


You should now be ready to test it, turn the ignition on and be sure the V1 fires up. If it doesn't be sure you have a fuse in , then re-check your connections if that fails. Hopefully it works, and you can now button it back up. Careful with the CD changer connections, also don't worry if your Comand didn't turn on when the CD changer wasn't plugged in, it will work once its plugged in.

All done..





Now on to the Ipod Fix
I had the dealer install the kit last week, and many of us have encountered a low volume, here is the solution. This fix actually has two positive features. Aside from the increase in volume, you can unplug it from the hard wire kit, and now you can have your passenger be the DJ, so you re-gain all normal controls that the Ipod has, EQ, volume, etc.

Remember this only applies to those that have the Ipod kit installed from your dealer or anyone else.

So you must remove your Comand unit, to do this follow these steps..(borrowed)
1. open the ashtray
2. pry the shifter wood panel up with your fingers at the ashtray
side...the panel is held in by clips at the front side - release these
clips by pulling the panel up...the rear of the wood panel comes out by
moving the panel forwards
3. unclip the 2 plastic clips at the front of the ashtray that hold
the ashtray in
4. take out the ashtray after the clips have been released
5. take off the connector at the back of the ashtray
6. take the 2 torx 20 screws out that hold in the CD changer/compartment box
7. disconnect the 3 connectors at the bottom of the CD changer
(only 1 connector if you don't have the CD changer) BEWARE not to bend
the fiber (amber colored)!!!
8. take out the CD changer/compartment box
9. unscrew the 2 torx 20 screws at the bottom side of the comand -
turn these screws counterclockwise till they don't go any further
(won't come out)
10. take out the comand by pulling it towards you
11. disconnect the connectors at the back...BEWARE not to bend the fiber!


Ok so now there should be a plug that looks like this just laying around under the comand unit.


Back of Comand, the three wire plug is the one to change out.


This plug was replaced by the one from when the dealer installed the Ipod kit. Plug this back into the comand, now leaving the Ipod kit plug just hanging around, it won't be needed. This plug is the one that connects to the headphone plug in the glove box. This will increase the sound and clarity.

You will need a wire that has two headphone jacks, one on each end. One end plugs into the Ipod headset, and the other plugs into the jack in the glove box.



When you unplug the Ipod kit connector from the bottom of the Ipod you can then adjust your volume and EQ settings, I went through all of the settings, and the best sound for my taste was actually the Classical setting. Although I don't listen to classical, I listen to Modern Rock, old school rap from back in the day and modern R&B. The treble was perfect, and then I use the setting on the comand to increase and decrease the Bass. Also sound level adjustment is off, and volume is cranked up all the way.
Now the next best thing is if your on a road trip, or your passenger just wants to be a DJ for the night, simply unplug the Ipod connector and you will lose the steering wheel function, but since its plugged directly into the headphone jack you can use the Ipod freely.
That's it low volume problem solved, and now you have a DJ



Old 08-07-2006, 02:28 AM
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OK project 3. Installation of AMG illuminated door sills.
Thank you to Larry at www.formymercedes.com for supplying a set of door sills to experiment with. He wasn't aware that the E class and CLS use the same sill.

First of all, these are instructions that I came up with, not supplied by Jerry or anyone else. I installed a set on my Cayenne using this same method, and they have worked fine for the last 2 years.

The simple method is to tap into your existing footwell lights under the dash. Since these light go on and off when you open and close the doors, this is the perfect power supply for the door sills.


First you must remove the stock sills, they look metal but there plastic, you must pry up on them, they are held in by double sided tape and 3 plastic plugs, when you pull up from one edge, the plastic plugs will break off.


Once they are off remove the tape attached to the car. Also you will need the clear rubber plugs that the plastic plugs from the sill attached to. Some break away others stay attached, cut off the edges so you can use the clear plastic plug. Beware these fly when cutting off


OK so now you need to tap into the footwell light. Remove the panel under the passenger side, two T-20 hex screws, and it drops down. Each sill comes with a resistor that changes the 12 volt power to the appropiate power needed to light the sill. There is a left and right sill so be sure you notice that, you can tell cause the wire aims closet to the front of the car.

Lift up the black felt sill that goes along sill, plug in the diode to the sill and run it and the wire over to the footwell light. Pink and yellow is positive and brown is negative.



You have a option here, the problem is the wire from the sill has to go under that felt rubber sill, you can either drill a hole large enough to fit the plug and wire, or run the wire under the rubber/metal sill and have a small bump. I chose to have a small bump because I didn't want to drill a hole, the metal is pretty thick, two layers, and the hole has to be a good size to fit the small connector through. The rubber sill has metal pieces in it, I just bent this back a bit, and ran the wire under the bent area. As seen here.



So now you should have the wires connected, by now the lights went off from having the door open for a while, so open another door and the lights and that door sill should light up. One down 3 to go



Night Shot..


Repeat the same step for the drivers side.

Now for the back sills. Drivers side, remove the stock sills as you did above. Also lift up on the black plastic panel with chrome strip, just pull straight up and it will pop out. There are footwell lights on the back of the front seats. Unplug these, you will need the longer supplied extension wire for the rears. Feed the wire through the back of the seat and over the left wall, tuck it under the paneling, and over to the door sill area.



Remove that rubber sill as well. You will notice under the carpet on the edge of the door is a plastic cover, with two hinges. Open these up, this is where you can store the little tranistor box from the door sill.



Cut off your extra wire now, but be sure to leave a little slack on the wire that plugs in under the seat into the light. Reason for this is so in case you move the seat all the way forward or back, you won't pull the wire. I used a black zip tie to attach the wire around the bottom of the seat. After its all hidden, this is the only wire you can faintly see, from the seat to the left wall.







Repeat same steps for passenger rear side.



Well that's it, are you tired if reading? Cause I'm tired of typing


Last edited by Kevin M.; 08-07-2006 at 02:32 AM.
Old 08-07-2006, 03:35 AM
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WOW......!!!!

That is how a write up should be done....
Old 08-07-2006, 07:52 AM
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This guy is the master.....First I'd be too scared to take a screw driver anywhere near a CLS55. You Kevin know your ****....or are very fearless. Either way congrats man.
Old 08-07-2006, 08:28 AM
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Luv It !!! Quick question...are there any reception sensitivity issues with regard to the mounting location of the V1? I know my Sun Pass electronic toll transmitter/receiver has to be in one specific location to operate properly. This is because of the IR coating in/on the wind shield.

Great job...whats next? (other than A/C in the garage)
Old 08-07-2006, 09:12 AM
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Very nice install. BTW, how do you close the glove box with the IPOD wire hanging out of it.. Not sure why MB placed the AUX plug in the glove box...
Old 08-07-2006, 10:24 AM
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well done, door seals are next for me.
Old 08-07-2006, 11:33 AM
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job done well
Old 08-07-2006, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by byip25
WOW......!!!!

That is how a write up should be done....
Thanks!!


Originally Posted by Stiggs
This guy is the master.....First I'd be too scared to take a screw driver anywhere near a CLS55. You Kevin know your ****....or are very fearless. Either way congrats man.
oh shucks.. you made me blush




Originally Posted by sprink49
Luv It !!! Quick question...are there any reception sensitivity issues with regard to the mounting location of the V1? I know my Sun Pass electronic toll transmitter/receiver has to be in one specific location to operate properly. This is because of the IR coating in/on the wind shield.

Great job...whats next? (other than A/C in the garage)

Its hard to tell from the picture, but its right below the bottom of the rear view mirror, so the sensor that picks up the rear isn't blocked from the mirror.
Front is not a issue for radar. Next is in motion satalite TV just kidding..
Lowering module is next.

Last edited by Kevin M.; 08-07-2006 at 01:00 PM.
Old 08-07-2006, 12:59 PM
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Originally Posted by MB_Steve
Very nice install. BTW, how do you close the glove box with the IPOD wire hanging out of it.. Not sure why MB placed the AUX plug in the glove box...
Good question Steve, as you see it now, it will tuck into the glove box with no problem, the cord is thin and rubber, so you can just pull it out, and close the box with no problem, I just tried it.
Old 08-07-2006, 01:17 PM
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Kevin, your DIY mods never cease to amaze me. You've got skills bro!
Old 08-07-2006, 01:51 PM
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Kevin, you're the man!
Old 08-07-2006, 02:34 PM
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Hey Kev,

Which lowering module are you going with? I have the Carlsson, and Renntech has just released theirs. I spoke with all manufacturers (Carlsson, Renntech, Brabus) and they all say the say thing: Digital or not, all are just for lowering. No recalibration of suspension geometry or anything like that. It's lower, therefore less travel for the air shocks (or for any shocks for that matter) and so stiffer. I've experimented witht the Renntech myself, and I'm going to stay with the Carlsson. I just have a Carlsson preference.

Great job on the mods thus far, you are both fearless and skillful. Congrats!
Old 08-07-2006, 03:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Blake P
Kevin, your DIY mods never cease to amaze me. You've got skills bro!
Thanks man, come on by some time.

Originally Posted by dinko
Kevin, you're the man!



Thank you


Originally Posted by acv999
Hey Kev,

Which lowering module are you going with? I have the Carlsson, and Renntech has just released theirs. I spoke with all manufacturers (Carlsson, Renntech, Brabus) and they all say the say thing: Digital or not, all are just for lowering. No recalibration of suspension geometry or anything like that. It's lower, therefore less travel for the air shocks (or for any shocks for that matter) and so stiffer. I've experimented witht the Renntech myself, and I'm going to stay with the Carlsson. I just have a Carlsson preference.

Great job on the mods thus far, you are both fearless and skillful. Congrats!
Just picked up a Brabus lowering module, should drop it about 1" which is exactly what I'm looking for. Did you get a Euro Comand yet?
Old 08-07-2006, 05:12 PM
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you are SERIOUSLY the MB king! i love when you post and i learn so much! much much props!
Old 08-07-2006, 09:48 PM
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Great work Kevin!

Are those sills the genuine AMG / MBZ part or the $149 aftermarket ones sold here ? If the $149 set, do I understand correctly that the front and rear sills he sells for the E class are a perfect fit for the CLS ? If so I'm ordering ! Though I may not be as brave as you, probably will give these to the shop to install
Old 08-07-2006, 10:22 PM
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Kevin is THE MAN!

I went to kevins house on Weds and his 55 looks GREAT! the pictures don't do the car justice the wheel setup turned out very nice, the powder coated centers with the MB center caps with the chrome lip looks very classy. The Renntech steering wheel is just beautiful, Euro command DVD, ipod, V1, door sills, etc, Damn Kevin, i wish i had your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and knowledge. When i left your place i felt like crashing my CLS! keep us posted on your next project. Oh! by the way how are the fish? Larry
Old 08-07-2006, 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by ekovalsky
Great work Kevin!

Are those sills the genuine AMG / MBZ part or the $149 aftermarket ones sold here ? If the $149 set, do I understand correctly that the front and rear sills he sells for the E class are a perfect fit for the CLS ? If so I'm ordering ! Though I may not be as brave as you, probably will give these to the shop to install
Hey Eric,
They are the aftermarket ones from the site you posted. And yes the front and rear set do fit the CLS perfectly. Come on Eric, if you can do the Comand and lowering you can do this
Old 08-07-2006, 10:54 PM
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Originally Posted by larryv
I went to kevins house on Weds and his 55 looks GREAT! the pictures don't do the car justice the wheel setup turned out very nice, the powder coated centers with the MB center caps with the chrome lip looks very classy. The Renntech steering wheel is just beautiful, Euro command DVD, ipod, V1, door sills, etc, Damn Kevin, i wish i had your $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ and knowledge. When i left your place i felt like crashing my CLS! keep us posted on your next project. Oh! by the way how are the fish? Larry
Thanks Larry!! don't reck that beauty of yours, it inspired me to do mine Fish are good in the game room, but my office tank sprung a leak last night, my fish guy spent 5 hours on it today, my wife said she heard F*&* bombs flying out of his mouth, I thought that was hilarious!
Old 08-07-2006, 10:55 PM
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Kevin - no remote display for you? V1 was my first installation on the cls - https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/147791-v1-install.html

BTW - Thanks for the chrome door locks idea... I got them on Sat and installed this weekend and they are awesome!
Old 08-07-2006, 10:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Dogshine
Kevin - no remote display for you? V1 was my first installation on the cls - https://mbworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=147791

BTW - Thanks for the chrome door locks idea... I got them on Sat and installed this weekend and they are awesome!
Hey Dogshine, no remote display for me, since the I keep the V1 in display under the mirror, thats all I need, you might be hindering your rear protection with the V1 so high up. Hey glad you liked the chrome locks, they do look good.
Old 08-07-2006, 11:21 PM
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awesome pics and instructions... can you do one for the A Class as well?
Old 08-07-2006, 11:26 PM
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Originally Posted by WishforE55
awesome pics and instructions... can you do one for the A Class as well?
Sure send me a ticket to Melbourne and I'll install it for you
PS I fly first class
Old 08-07-2006, 11:30 PM
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I'll take a pic this weekend.... the rear facing sensor has a great view thru the back window... should be equal to yours. The v1 sits up next to the mirror where as the driver you don't see it, and its not really visible from the outside of the car so you don't have to worry about someone trying to steal it as much as you do if it were more visible. The remote display is in a perfect location and it works really well where it is. I love it.

The door locks came with these little 'amg' tops.... did you put yours on? also, they have a brass ring that I don't really like, but they aren't visible when the car is locked, so you don't really notice them since the car locks itself when in motion... so its not really a big deal. your car is really nice.
Old 08-08-2006, 12:14 AM
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Originally Posted by Dogshine
I'll take a pic this weekend.... the rear facing sensor has a great view thru the back window... should be equal to yours. The v1 sits up next to the mirror where as the driver you don't see it, and its not really visible from the outside of the car so you don't have to worry about someone trying to steal it as much as you do if it were more visible. The remote display is in a perfect location and it works really well where it is. I love it.

The door locks came with these little 'amg' tops.... did you put yours on? also, they have a brass ring that I don't really like, but they aren't visible when the car is locked, so you don't really notice them since the car locks itself when in motion... so its not really a big deal. your car is really nice.
Sounds like the V1 install is perfect, as long as you don't block rear visibilty with the sensor thats great. I bought the locks that have the star logo on it, and the round thing is chrome on mine..



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