smb7420

I've got an 03 E500 with a euro comand installed.
I recently took off my trunk panel and connected the fiber optic cable, the 8 hole-tipped wire that provides electricity to the drive, and an external GPS antenna i've got to a Navigation DVD Drive. The wires I connected to the navi drive were all behind the fusebox.
The drive worked, i suppose, as the navi disc came in and out.

My comand did not recognize the drive was attached and said "Navigation device unavailable". I gave MBdoctor a call and they said something about playing around with the audio gateway and moving fiber optics around to find the right combination for it to work.

I've read over steph280's post, and although I haven't installed the brackets yet I'm assuming that my Comand would recognize the navi drive with all the extensions I had put in it.

Has anyone installed a navi drive in an 03 - I'm supposing I'm not pre-wired for nav.
If I can get some tips and get this working I'll take some pics and hopefully it'll be as valuable as Steph280's tutorial for navi install.
Thanks for any support - I'm not sure what i'll do w/ my equipment if i can't install the navi that I'm very interested in.

murman

There's two installation steps that you did not mention:

1) GPS antenna splitter
2) MOST connection added to the MOST loop

Did you do those?

smb7420

No, i have not bought the navi kit which i believe supplies the Most connection to the MOST loop. I thought simply attaching the fiber optic(orange/brown wires) behind the fuse box would place it in the Loop system.
Am I pre-wired for nav, my early build date suggests not, but why are there all the necessary wire connections for a navi drive behind the fuse box in the trunk?

I was under the assumption that I'm not pre-wired for navi so I simply tried to take whatever existing wires are in the trunk and connect it to the drive, if it worked I'd go ahead and order the brackets and other parts needed for the full navi install procedure.

I attached my navi drive's blue connection to a full GPS antenna not attached in the car, it has a square receiver and a long wire that has a blue ending which I attached to the navi drive. It may not have worked since I was under a roof in a mechanic garage w/ lifts etc.?

Thank you very much for the help murman
you've got no clue how much happier I'd be with a navi system

murman

The steps that I mentioned are outlined in steph280's thread (steps 4-8 inclusive).

Being pre-wired does not mean plug-n-play, I guess is the long and the short of it.

smb7420

This post by jmorgis in steph280s thread suggests I need to take apart the B-Pillar...i don't even know what that is

SUCCESS ALSO!!! I installed my NAV last night. Total time ~ 2.5 hours. Not to difficult. I didn't need the MOST loop cable that is stated in this thread (MOST fiber adapter A211 540 68 33). My '03 had in preinstalled. The most difficult part is locating the fiber cables behind the B-pillar driver side. You need the MOST cable diagram indicating how to insert the NAV processor into the fiber loop. And like the original post stated removing the trunk paneling is the longest part

I do know that i've got an optic cable connection behind my fusebox, it fits into my nav drive...boy i'm confused.
I'm thinking either late today or saturday I'll just pull off my panel and leave the trunk open, take pics of my setup and hopefully I'll get some input on what to do.
Anyhow, from what I've mentioned does my car seem set to install a navi drive? I don't want to dish out hundreds more for navi install kit parts if I'm not gonna be able to set it up

tashakes

the B pillar is the post between the front and rear door, you need to remove the inside cover, it just pops out, the MOST loop connections will be there, you need to close the loop like the picture shows on the other post, I did it and worked perfectly. You will also need to remove the trim plate under the rear door opening (sill) to access the connections, and flip up the bottom cushion of the rear seat. That will give you access to all the fiber cables you need. Cheers, Edward

smb7420

I've got split folding rear seats, I'll lift them up when i pop out the B-Pillar.
The MOST loop diagram you're referring to, is that the one with a white background and a circle with arrows pointing to different electronic systems in the car? any pic of how the fiber optic layout in the B-pillar of the car should be with the nav installed?

I've printed out the Star Diag nav install guide(complicated), Steph's guide, and the white MOST loop diagram - I'm trying to do this the right way and I'm enlisting the help of a trusty mechanic friend who owns a nice shop.
I'll take photos of everything, but I gotta thank you guys for helping out...I'm eager to get this working and have been braving the -10 to 10 degree whether in chicago for the past few weeks to play with my trunk - if that's any indicator of my navigation nuttyness.

my06clk

See my reply in post #4 of this thread.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/182055-04-nav-install-problems.html

smb7420

How exactly can I take off the B-Pillar cover? It's the part with the seatbelt in it- the grey felt covered thing?

iookpareke

uh..before you go taking off B-pillars you need to get yourself connected to the MOST ring. Readh Stephs post again. I used it to connect my NAV successfully with out any B-pillar mumbo jumbo. Get yourself a MOST extension that comes with the NAV unit from the dealer. It comes with 1 yellow wire, the black socket and the inner black socket.

add it into the ring like Steph highlighted. by inserting the input from the Audio gateway into the NAV unit and the output from the NAV unit into the Audio gateway, and leaving the output from the Audiogateway as is. Look at the arrows on the black sockets for input/output directions of the yellow wires.

after doing that power the command and it should recognize the NAV unit.

Anyone know how to remove the Cup holder in an 03? PM me.

smb7420

I'm considering opening the B-Pillar cover because I want to make sure I've got the necessary wires to hook up my nav before I buy the kit.
Quick Rewind:
I recently took off my trunk panel and connected the fiber optic cable, the 8 hole-tipped wire that provides electricity to the drive, and an external GPS antenna i've got to a Navigation DVD Drive. The wires I connected to the navi drive were all behind the fusebox.
The drive worked, i suppose, as the navi disc came in and out.
My comand did not recognize the drive was attached and said "Navigation device unavailable".

Does that mean I'm pre-wired for nav, my early build date suggets I'm not...
About the cupholder - have you removed the wood covering the shift knob? I'd suppose since you'd see the entire front side of the cupholder you could deassemble it..

Miguk_Saram

Link: Cup Holder removal thread

smb7420

is there anyway to replace the 03 E-Class cupholders with something similar to the newer C's?
It's got a cupholder that holds one cup and pops out and extends to the passenger side if you manually force it too...
basically the cupholder is too obtrusive to the passenger, anyway to avoid that?

smb7420

I ran into a bit of a problem - the MOST fiber loop install procedure in steph280s post.

In it he says to "pry the side of the plug housing to eject the fiber plug assembly"

In the picture his fiber optics in the most cable has two wires, a yellow one and an orange one.

My most attached to the AGW has two thick orange wires

Am I not pre-wired for nav or unable to install it?

I attached 3 photos, one with red circles showing wires that go into my
AGW(Audio gateway)[A self portrait is included]

Another showing the 4 wires found in my left trunk panel

The last photo shows the MOST wire going INTO my AGW in my trunk...it was taken beside a printed version of Steph280s instructions - Notice the missing yellow

Help a poor fool out - otherwise I've got navi install parts for sale
Thanks!

tashakes

stephs post is not the same as what I did on my car, he has an 05 and the instructions are for that model year, maybe a 04 too, but definetly not the exact same as for my 03. I did not loop the MOST at the trunk, I had to do it at the door sill and b pillar as mentioned before. The rest was mostly the same.

Now, your picture and my system are not alike. I do not have the yellow plug, so I really don't know if we are talking about the same system and installation anymore. I am attaching a picture of mine. I cannot imagine that they prewired them differently, but anything is possible. Hope this pic helps, its from my phone so it kinda sucks.

Cheers

Edward

smb7420

I'll pry through my pillar and sill covers and see if there are some attachments I can make.

i'm seeing that your orange MOST seems to have the two orange MOST cables only, similar to mine.
I do not have the yellow fiber in my assembly, that's why I was concerned...not sure what to do if there are no yellow fibers for my MOST in my AGW - I thought I needed the yellow fiber otherwise my car isn't "pre-wired"
I've got the HK sound system, maybe thats the reason for the difference in MOST cables that I have which only have 2 orange wires(1 with a bunch covered in a black felt-type thing)?

tashakes

OOOOHHHHHH, Now I get it! Pic 1 is the AGW, not the DVD. OK. The pic I attached is the DVD. On pic 3, leave that as is on your AGW, I did not even go into the AGW when I did my install. Plug everything back into the AGW the way it was. I believe the picture steph posted is showing the loop adaptor that I did not need, so you do not need it either. Your Picture 1 shows the exact same wires I have and used for my DVD unit, so you ARE prewired.

AFAIK, all that needs to be done is to complete the loop at the door sill and b pillar and you should be complete.

Edward

LIONHEAD

Yikes! Hope you can get it to work. Maybe you want to email Steve (MBenzNL) to see he's going to make a trip to Chicago this year to help you out if you can't get it to work!

smb7420

I've sent some emails over to Steve - he's considering a trip around early or mid-summer time. It's just hard to wait for so long, plus I'd save a few bucks - either way I've got a whole plate of things I'm interested for him, and him only to install - Well maybe Wanda could give it a shot.

P.S. - The Bears are braking my *****. Jones is gone! Benson is so far an overpaid, Injury prone player...pretty Gross-man!; pun intended. Briggs should get a long-term contract, but not more than Urlacher as he wants it to be. How the hell did they let Rivera go after he lost bids for Head Coach? Word is that Smith got a big pay increase only b/c the NFL told the Bears its destroying their image that they're willing to give only 2.5-3 million to a Black coach who just went to the SuperBowl. And Randy Moss might go to the Packers...The NFC north is

smb7420

I'm having trouble pulling off the carpet in the rear door sill area. My only view of the wires so far is a top view - the photo I took is blurry as I was struggling to kept the carpet stretched away from the black box containing the connections.

Photos of what I'm struggling with - any suggestions on how I can take off the carpet more easily?
In the black connection box there are 2 layers: 1 on top with 1 open-ended orange wire and a bunch on the lower 2nd level below - No way I can reach the below ones until I stretch out the carpet a bit more - Any help/tips?

When/If I finish this I'm gonna compile a DIY like steph280s for 03/04s - I was thinking of how cool it'd be if people made videos of the DIY jobs - it'd be ridiculously easily for people to follow...

tashakes

You're right there bro! Just plug the right connectors like the MOST loop picture shows and you're done.... You are going to need a little more room on the bottom of the B pillar, but that should not be difficult. You're almost done! You can do it......

smb7420

Any idea how can I pull the carpet from the rear footrest area up? I don't have enough room to play with the connectors from the top.

I'd be able to access the wires from the side of the black box, not just the top right?
Also, Am I removing some of the connections already present and switching them to other connectors? I bought a MOST cable, seems like I wont need it...

my06clk

You have all the cable you need in the pic you posted. There is no need to remove the carpet.
The open cable is from the plug that was in your hand in the first pic of your threat #14.
therefore the other cable should be red, and either by itself, or on a black connector alone.
right in front of the open cable there is a black connector connecting two wires. That is your connection point.

If you open that connector you will see one red and one white tipped connector.

just put the red end to the free white end and connect it back.

Then, the White end you just removed goes with the Free Red end that is there in front of you somewhere. If it didn;t have a black connector on it, then you will nee one but I believe it has one with black foam over it.

when you are done there are no open cables.

Again, Don't worry about the carpet its pointless. just pull the wires till you find the other free cable with the red tip. Mine was facing the dirction of the drives seat and tucked under a bunch of wires. WHen I pulled on it it felt like it was going to the front of the car but I realized it was only snagged on something making it feel that way. Just follow it with your fingers till you get to the black connector and pull it loose.This is the missing KEY to getting this done.

LIONHEAD

HAHA....welcome to Chicago Sports. The McCaskys has always been looked upon as being "Cheap". You were probably too young then but the '85 team should have won more championships but they let go a couple of key players after the Superbowl and were never the same. Trading Jones for a 2nd round draft pick? WTF! They need help on the D Line (especially the ends) as they weren't getting any pressure at the end of the season. Looks like they are going to be a mediocre team again. White Sox taking a step backwards this year by letting go of Freddy Garcia and Brandon McCarthy for some young arms but now they are struggling in the pre season finding a 5th starter. The Cubs...well...they're the Cubs. Terrible trades and drafts in the pasts and last World Series Championship...1904..WOOHOO! At least they spent some money this off season....we'll see how good they are. Chicago Bulls....Good Ole Jerry Krauss who the players and Phil Jackson hated and ultimately broke up the team. I doubt they will go far in the playoffs without a go to guy and inside offensive presence. Looks like another crappy year for Chicago Sports. At least we can look forward for the possibility of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago.

smb7420

Great news! It's working!
I'm shocked I dismantled so much of my car and managed to get everything installed by myself
Now I just need to install the brackets, at least it shows in the Comand