thecoopdog

I realize there are numerous threads on w210 double din conversions, but I thought I would share this one with you that I completed last week on my 1997 E320. I purchased the new double din bracket or cage (Part number 2106890916 - Reinforcement for 2000 - 2003 E320 - $30 plus shipping) and new burl wood double din bezel or console (Part number 21068023367400 - COVERING - $243.80 plus shipping) from Parts.com. The new bezel or console had to be ordered from MB Germany, and it comes with seven (7) button holes across the top. Since my old burl wood console only had three buttons across the top (including the emergency flasher button), I had to order four hole fillers or covers for the four extra holes in the new burl wood console (Part number 2026831310 - BLIND COVER - $5.29 each), also from Parts.com - Joe was quite helpful with researching and handling the order. (See photo with blank buttons.) The most difficult part of the conversion was removing the old cage or single din reinforcement bracket. I simply read the threads on how to do the conversion and followed the step by step directions of those who came before me. I owe all of them a big thank you for the great information and directions. With that said, once you get to the actual single din bracket, be patient and persistent, it will come out. If I had it to do over again, I would probably remove my glove box, as suggested in some of the threads. This might make it somewhat easier to remove the single din cage and install the new double din one.

EdzBenz

Nice install. Thanks for sharing.

kbad

excellent job, looks fantastic! ...enjoy the tunes.

romarr1

Hey where exactly did you get the double din bezel? is it the one made for the factory command unit?

thecoopdog

I purchased the double din bezel from parts.com. Yes, it is the one made for the command unit. (See my original 3-28-2011 post above for specifics - part number, price, etc.)

Musikmann

I can't make out what brand or type of head unit you used. Looks nice!

roach_juts

hi
did you do the wiring by your self ?
where did you buy the harness & antena adaptor ?
did you used the amp or bypass it ??

Thanks

bad hare

good job.
i looked into this in the past, but didn't have the time to complete it.

looks great

OceanView

Looks great.

mike430sport

what kind of double din is it

ejsheltra

There are only two command covers left in Burlwood in Germany and the US for this type of retrofit. The cover has gone obsolete and stock is running out. This is a quote and look up from our sponsor Mymercedesparts.com, in Atlanta, when I did a search one month ago. The harness can be ordered from the same place or from Steve at BenzNL. There are still a good number of reinforceing brackets available.

thecoopdog

Sorry for the delayed response. I purchased the antenna adapter and wiring harness from Crutchfield. (However, I didn't really need to use the wiring harness since my radio/head unit came with the Euro harness. It was plug and play.) Yes, I did the wiring myself. The most difficulut part was wiring the backup camera. I had to tap into my rear backup light wire. I also tapped into my rear lamp wire which is the same as tapping into the headlight wire in order to have the radio dim when I turn on my headlights at night. I took a chance and purchased the radio (7" DVD Navigation Radio) direct from China from chinavasion.com. I bought their Gladiator unit and it is virtually a perfect fit. It works great and the sound is very good. I am quite happy with it. (cost under $300) Check out the site and you decide. I used ABS plastic to hide a 1/8" gap between the radio and the double din opening at the top and bottom. I bought the abs plastic from parts-express.com. As I said in my original post, check with parts.com for the double din burlwood bezel and cage/bracket. Better price and faster service than Netherlands guy.

thecoopdog

Oh, I forgot to respond to roach_juts question re: by passing the amp. My car is a 97 E320 that came with the factory radio unit. The amp was built into the radio. No external amp unless you have the Bose system. If so, I believe there are post that guide you through how to do the wiring.

thecoopdog

A few more things that might be helpful to those of you doing the conversion, the wiring harness I purchased is the same one used for a VW. If you purchase it from Crutchfield, as I did, it will come with instructions. Just enter you vehicle make and model and search the Crutchfield site for radio wiring harness. One of the modifications you may need to make is to cut the body of your factory radio harness in half (separate the A and B connectors) in order to get the ISO harness (adaptor harness) to plug into the factory harness. Don't be alarmed, I did it and it was big deal. Just wanted you to know. Crutchfield explains this in their instructions. If the aftermarket radio you install requires you to tap into your car's speed sensor wire, I read somewhere that the 97 e320 has a speed sensor wire built into the factory wiring harness (I believe it is connector A, pin 1). This is what causes your radio to increase or decrease the volume automatically when you drive fast or slow to compensate for road noise. (My old Becker unit did this, which was actually an interesting feature.) Anyway, look at your factory harness and you will be able to identify the A and B connectors and the pin numbers for each wire. Lastly, the backup wire (hot or +) for my car is the gray with yellow strip wire and the rear lamp wire (hot or +) is the gray with black strip wire. Have someone put the car in reverse while pressing the brake pedal while you test for the backup hot wire using a 12 volt tester if necessary. Turn on your headlights and test for the rear lamp hot wire if necessary . I hope this all makes sense. It really is not as complicated as I am making it sound. Just trying to be helpful as so many others were for me.

michakaveli

Nice job!!

jcasino

When you replace the original dash panel and replace it with the double din panel, where does the climate control unit go?

desired_speeds

its still above the radio. You just lose the little storage box under the single din radio.

iam_second

looks great man, goodjob

Volchock777

I just got the same exact monitor player, its a chinese player that doesnt have a brand at all, how do you like it so far, does it play DVDs at all?

tbone006

WELL DONE !!! Super sano instal brother .. i likey!
There was another guy on Benzworld.com that did it himself but put his controls on the bottom and "made" a entire console face piece and wrapped all wood pieces in Carbon Wrap .. looked pretty sick with unit up high and controls down beow.

GREAT WORK & THANKS for sharing, as the guys at local car stereo shop didnt even wanna TRY and do this for me when i bought new head unit.

E320

I'm selling my burlwood double din bezel for $150 shipped.It has 3 buttons(rear headrest,hazard, door lock).I will take pictures for those who are interested.

Lancelot

There are like FOUR pictures in the OP where you can clearly SEE that!!!
(I know, I know, over a year old post but couldn't resist!)

sendo

I am interested, you take paypal? please send pics

CA_Tallguy

Sorry to bump an old thread -- just wanted to add a little info for others that might come through here. I'm looking to do a conversion myself and I'm glad to read this thread where the OP says that the cage for COMAND will work just fine in pre-facelift vehicles.

I was trying to figure this out so I looked up the part numbers in the EPC for the standard cage and they are DIFFERENT for prefacelift and post facelift cars. That made me think that the double-din cage, which I think is just a post-facelift option, would not work on prefacelift. So I'm glad to hear the OP say that it does indeed work.

lewishamil

Hey new here just got my 2001 E320 4matic I only have radio no cd changer came with the car I dont want to mess with the stock look what can I do to get my own musice is there a Bluetooth solution or an adapter that could use usb to import songs I would like to keep car stock