corsario2

I need your help!!!!

I am brand new on this forum, in fact this is my first post and i will appreciate your help very much to complete my navigation retrofit on my 2005 E-500 sedan and I am in the U.S (San Fco Bay area).

The past few weeks i have read lots and lots of posts regarding the navigation retrofit and i keep running into lots of conflicting information. I decided to go ahead with the project which i just completed but unfortunaly did not work for me, i believe that i did everything as outlined in multiple threads for my retrofit but still my command unit displays the same message of prior to the retrofit "Navigation device unavailable" the following is exactly what i did.

1.- Used OEM e-bay processing manuf. model # 2208703589003, which seller stated will work with all 2003-2008 E-class w211.
2.- MOST bus extension cable part # 211 540 6833.
3.-Antenna splitter:678 23 111.
4.-Processor & base brackets:211 545 6340 & 211 545 7940 + nut & bolt
5.-Trunk panel with processor access doors:211 690 6953-9f08.

My car already had the DVD drive GPS antenna cable and the power cable in the trunk, although the antenna cable was disconnected at the other end.

A.- I plugged the tele-aid to one output of the splitter and the processor antenna cable to the other output of the splitter.(tele-aide works fine)

B.- I removed the Yellow #1 fiber optic from the plug on the back of the AGW and replaced it with the orange fiber from the MOST bus extension that i purchased and plugged it back on the back of the AGW.

C.- I inserted the yellow fiber that i removed from the AGW into the free little hole on the connector i purchased and plugged it into the back of the Processor drive.

All the conectors are nicely and firmly connected to the back of the processor and also at the back of the AGW. I handled the fiber optics with extreme care, i can see the light emitting from the end of the yellow fiber.

I can also see a couple of little yellow pilot lights showing from the inside of the processor indicating that at least there is some sort of power comming into the dvd drive. These little lights in the dvd are there even if the ignition switch is off, however when i try to insert the map disc into the drive, it won't even attempt to take it or pull it into the drive even if the ignition is turned on. It feels like if there is already a disc inside the dvd drive since i bought it used but nothing is ejected when i press the "eject" button.

Here is part of my confusion i read in several posts that after the physical installation that the command unit must be "version coded" or "re-programed" or "re-configured" with the "STAR" tool in order for the command to recognize the new navigation drive. While other posts stated that the new drive will be IMMEDIATLY recognized without ANY programing or updates from the dealer. Someone please tell me what is correct and what is not. Do i have to have it reprogramed by the dealer OR NOT??????

Yet another post that i read from www.mercuapgrades.com/command+aps+retrofit+e++, states the following:

"..If your are not installing the i-pod and the car had the AGW wring loom already you need to cut the pink wire on the navigation processor loom so is the right lenght to connect to the pink wire on the fiber connector of the AGW and than use the cable joiner to connect the two pink wires together, now plug the fiber connector in the back of the AGW."

I did not want to venture into any wire cutting yet, since i only read it on one single post.

Someone please tell me what I am doing wrong here, why my command unit still reads " "NAVIGATION DEVICE UNAVAILABLE" I am willing to try any advice provided, i already did lots of reading and willing to a lot more.

Thanks




These are the instructions i followed from multiple posts:

corsario2

Please don't jump in all at once with your advice, one at a time please !!!!

thanks

corsario2

Hi there:

I am wonder if there is anything that i am doing wrong here in my post for help, it has been a week since my post was place and I have not receive a single reply, i am wondering if my post was not place properly or if is not not visible to other members, any advice on this will be appreciated as well. Thanks

ap10046

Hi corsario2,
Try using the audio and electrics forum..there exists a "genius-bar" of sorts with guys like Skylaw, who was helped me immeasurably during my, not-so-smooth, Dension install.
Good luck, though.
Areez

Diesel Benz

First, welcome to the forum. This should be a good place to post your question, the audio & electronics could have done as well. It is good to be persistent when nobody replies. I'm afraid this time it was because you have a long list of questions in one message and your description is a bit confusing. See my comments/questions below.

By the way, did you read carefully this thread at this same forum:
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...it-w-pics.html

corsario2

Thanks for your reply:

1.- No, the car did not had DVD unit in the trunk it only had the Command Unit in the dash. What i meant to say in my post is that the DVD drive power connector and antenna connector where already there.

2.- Yes, after the installation the radio and Tele-aide and everything else continued to work just as it did before the installation.

3.- The pink wire in the power plug for the DVD seems to be connected, at least at the back of the DVD, the DVD electrical/power plug has three wires, (the pink, a brown and a red wire) i can follow these three wires for about one foot and then they merge into a thick roll/bundle of other wires held toghether with plastic ties that seem to run from the trunk towards the front of the vehicle perhaps under the carpet, i have no idea where the other end of those 3 wires terminate or are connected to.

4.- The last line of my original post, that reads, " These are the instructions i followed from multiple posts" was supposed to be at the very top of my original post describing what i did, somehow that paragraph got moved to the bottom of my posting, which confused things further.

Thanks a lot


Sorry about the original very long post, i just

Diesel Benz

Looks like everything should be fine but your COMAND still does not find the NAVI unit. Did you try a full reset for the COMAND, from the menu or preferably pulling the fuse off for a couple of minutes?

You really should find someone with Star to have a look at the car and anyway have the MOST ring coded and possibly the cluster menu activated. Star should explain why the head unit does not see the navi processor even if it seems to be correctly installed to the fibre ring.

corsario2

Hi there:

Yes, i will appreciate your help with the MB DATA CARD here is my VIN# WDBUF70J35A755435.

MY E-MAIL ADDRESS IS: tmendoza1961@aol.com

Thank You

corsario2

Hi: Thanks a lot for providing me with the MB data card.

I am happy to announce that i finally got my Navigation working very nicely.

My initial installation was done the correct way. It was the Navigation processor itself that was malfunctioning. I followed your advice on the fiber optic wake up pink wire, i checked it out and it had voltage, meaning that it was connected properly at the other end, i removed fuse number 6 for a few minutes to reset the MOST ring but nothing happened, so i figured it must be the DVD drive itself, so i removed it, i opened it up and found out that just like I initially thought it had the original DVD disc inside, from whoever was using it before ( i bought it used) , it was stuck inside i managed to get it out of the unit, i assembled it back and put power in it and immediatly heard the processor's motor spinning and took the disc in and my command unit picked it up right of way, I m one happy camper now. Thank You very much.

Now, what exactly is what i will gain by having the Navigation "version coded" with the Star Diagnostic Tool, i read that it will update the "cluster"? will i be able to used the steering wheel controls to access the navigation command unit instead of the using the command buttons? what will i see in the tiny cluster display, just wondering if it justifies what i will have to pay at the MB dealer.

Thanks a lot again to those who offered me your advice.

M3Jota

Hello, I am new to the board and have been doing some reading on this topic. This retrofit seems pretty easy and am probably going to tackle it in the next few months. My question is the following, in the link Diesel Benz posted "https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...it-w-pics.html" Steph mentions that that "particular model has everything pre-wired, so the install would consist of installing a DVD processor in the trunk for plug and play operation.". How can I tell if my car is prewired for this? I have a 2004 E500 4Matic, with the COMAND system but no nav. Any help will be appreciated.

Barry45RPM

What you will gain in the cluster will be arrows showing the street you are on with 1 or 2 of the next possible turns (the right one and the most likely wrong turn you can make by turning too soon) also the distance to the turn with a "thermometer" that will go down the closer you get to the intersection turn. Also the street name of the turn will be listed, as well as the distance in Miles to your next decision/turn, with helper arrows showing where to bear right/left/straight at confusing island medians/exits'lane markings.

It makes using the NAV easier to use while driving, since your whole route could be displayed on the Comand screen, while your immediate next maneuver will be on the dash. I reccomend it be done, as the Comand is low down in the dash (old style) and the cluster is an easy glance right in front of you, eliminating long low glances at the nav screen with the resusltant air bag deployment.

You will gain no "inputting abilities" with any steering wheel buttons.

corsario2

Hey, sorry for the delayed response, i had been away for awhile, just came back. I will definitly have my nav "version coded" at my earliest covenience, it make sense, anything that help me keep my eyes more on the road than on the nav screen will be better, so it sound like i definitley is something that i will benefit from. So far i still enjoying my new nav, just like i did the first day i got it up and running. Take care.

corsario2

Well, the post with pictures from Diesel Benz were very, very helpful for me to be successful in completing my retrofit, he was so detailed oriented, so specific ilustrating every step of the way with those sharp pictures, Thank you very, very much Diesel Benz. Regarding "plug n plug" well, yes and no,
like in his case his car was totally pre-wired and not only that, his car also had the proper carpeted panel and the brackets, see, a really cool thing he did, is that even his car was pretty much ready to go, he still went ahead and listed in detail all the parts that are needed for the retrofit for a vehicle like mine that needed everything.

Mine i can say that it was pre-wired but i still needed to buy the "bus fiber optic extension, the splitter, the brackets and the carpeted panel with the trap door to access the dvd slot. Initially the jargon held me back big time, as a first timer none of those terms made any sense to me, i actually had to read the instructions over and over step by step again and again, do my own investigation as to the meaning of that jargon, once i passed that it was very easy. It is most likely you are pre-wired to a certain degree, you an also tell if you already have the carpeted panel and brackets as well, like diesel benz did. 1- If your left rear trunk panel has a rectangular trap door that you can open downwards ( rather than a thin vertical fuse access door) is most like you already have the correct panel saving at least $120 already, from there you can see if there are any bare aluminum brackets one on top of the other, if you don't see them right there as you open the trap door, you don't have them. 2.- The dvd unit has 3 ports on the back, once for the antena, other for the optical harnes and the other one for the Power. Mine had the antenna and the power conectors there tied up hanging just waiting to be plugged in, but it did not had the Optical Plug, which is the one that i had to buy and it runs from your AGW (Audio Gate Way) to the back of you dvd unit, in installed the antena signal splitter and you are ready to navigate. (in my case i did not see the nice results right of way because the dvd unit i bought was a used one on e-bay and it had a nav dvd disc stuck inside that refused to eject it until i had to actually open the unit up and physically force it out of the unit, that cleared the mechanism and and immediatly was seem by the command and started navigating on the spot. Sorry if i got carried away with this post but i still get exited about it. Good luck.

Take care