TurboDog

The antenna system on the ML/GL requires 12v to go to the rear antenna amp to get receptionon most FM and any AM stations. I spent a lot of time on this. I finally ran a 12v wire to the antenna power wire on the harness. It is supbose to power the antenna amp when the radion comes on. That did not happer for me. Once I wired it directly it worked GREAT and picked up stations I had never heard. It;s been a while so I don't remember the wire, but I searched a bit and found a video that mentioned the wire. If I can find it I will post. Running 12v to that antenna amp WILL solve your problem. you do NOT need to pull off the back hatch to check thing out, I did that and its a pain to get back on.

Hope this helps!

Diamondrichlb

Thanks for the input.

Where was the wire located? Under the dash in that harness, or under the rear of the drivers seat, or under the rear seat?

On another issue, does your rear camera work and if so - what did you do to get the that to work? And - apparently an even bigger problem - the factory installed microphone? Did you get that to work.

rich30769

Yes, if you come across that video, it would be a great help.

Thanks

rich30769

Good luck on getting the microphone to work.

TurboDog

Ok. This is a link to the install info I used when putting my radio in, sorry its not a video but is very informative: https://www.benzworld.org/forums/w16...tallation.html

The wire for the antenna amp is in the dash on the wiring harness. I tried hooking the amp con wires together like the install said, but when I checked with an amp meter I was not sending 12v to the antenna amp. I used a jumper to hook the 12v power to the amp and all is well. It was a little trial and error but it will work!
As far a the mic, I just use the one on the radio face. It seems to work quite well and everyone can hear me clearly when on Bluetooth. I had the stock rear camera on my car. and it still works and rather well. Pay close attention to the install instructions and it should work. I used the stock GPS antenna and on the car and that worked great.
Overall, this is a great radio for the money. I put a verizon jetpack in the passenger rear side panel with a glass mount antenna to supply internet access to the radio and it works flawless. I had had issues constantly hooking to my cell phone and I wanted a cleaner solution.
Sorry I don't have more specific info as it has been a few months sine my install. But, if you hit a roadblock let me know and I will see if I can help.

rich30769

Thank you. I too am running into problems with my phones hotspot. Sometimes it takes a few minutes before the radio's wifi turns on and allows me to connect to the hotspot. I thought of getting a mobile wifi to always stay connected but, I don't want, or need that extra expense.

WaveyKat

Iceytys

You lose some functions in the dash like the Navigation / Direction.....and you wont get any radio data in the dash...like song or station....but that seems to be it so far.

as for the clock...I dunno....it was set when I put the unit in....so guess I'll have to live with the right time 6 months outta the year...lol. the Avin unit has a clock too....so whatever .

steering buttons still work....my only issues at this point is FM signal.....think I need to get a in dash antenna.....but i stream most of the time anyway so the advantages of the unit outweigh the above to date.


oh...and you can no longer broadcast to the rear monitors......so they will be stand alone.....but with the factory until it wouldn't work in the front in motion anyway.....so...yeah. not a biggie in my book

WaveyKat

Iceytys

Yes...the unit comes with the 12v wire already spliced....but the problem with my vehicle is it didnt have a normal antenna wire.....I am not sure if its on the same wire as the GPS from the car
..or some other wire...but i didnt have anything to plug into the back of the AVIN.....was really weird. The factory unit has the double white Fakra connection for an antenna...but nothing was plugged into it. 🤷*♂️

as for cold weather performance....I couldn't tell ya...not super cold down here....but it's an electronic...so should be fine.

TurboDog

WaveyKat

Many things still work. The analog clock can be reset by pulling the fuse for the display cluster panel for a few seconds. On my ML it is the bottom fuse on the passenger fuse panel by the glovebox. 5A I think. The clock will reset to 12:00. Do it at noon or midnight and you are good. I do it at 11:59 to give the analog clock a little time to do it's dance and get to 12:00. Volume on the steering works fine. You can change radio stations fine as well. It's not a perfect system, but it beats the other options by a good bit.

Best of Luck!

TurboDog

The amp Com wire coming from the harness seems to be the key to this. Avinusa says to connect the 2 amp con or "antenna" wires together. This did not work for me. I hooked a 12v line from an accessory power source wire to the amp con wire coming out of the wiring harness. As soon as I did this the triggered the antenna amp to power up and work great. MB has an elaborate system for an antenna, but the in-dash antennas as crap. I have a few and they all suck.
My radio gets great reception on the MB system.

WaveyKat

Iceytys

Well worth it!!!

WaveyKat

From Reading All Post..it seems like Each model year has Different Wiring for the FM/AM Antenna..
i have 2011 GL550 With HK systems and RES.

hopefully when i get the Avin Unit i can figure out the FM/AM Radio Situation

Iceytys

I agree....let me know if you find a trick to the FM antenna......I have an in dash unit coming this week, so Ill put in in this weekend and see if it works worth a damn. I dont use FM that much, so its not a super big deal, but would be nice to have it working.

WaveyKat

@Iceytys can you let me know what in dash unit you are referring too so i can also have a backup plan..
also did the ever use: did it work for you?

thanks

Iceytys

Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have that unit and while you are going to need that for FM signal there is nothing for you to plug into....turns out the wire I thought I was going to plug it into just ran to the same unit as my Ipod adapter in the glove box, so when I plugged it in...it didnt help the reception. However if you get a stand alone antenna it will be helpful to have that adapter.

Here is the FM adapter/in dash antenna I am waiting on now...FYI.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ZHOLA-New-A...w/183238421808

Should be here later this week......wont have time until this weekend to mess with it though

TurboDog

AvinUSA FM antenna connection
This is what they tell you to connect. One side goes to the radio the other goes to the connection to wire harness. The radio "should" send 12v to turn the radio antenna amp on when the radio comes on. I hooked up the wire from the harness to another power source to send power to amp and it worked. The radio was not sending a strong 12v to the amp and Mercedes is picky about the power. Try hooking to a solid 12v source to test and then wire as you need to. I used another accessory power source so the amp is powered when the key in turned on. Been great for 9 months!

WaveyKat

ok thanks Turbo i will also try that..
and thanks Ice i will use that power Antenna as backup just in-case turbo suggestion doesn't work..

Iceytys

Turbodog...thanks for chiming in and thats great....but what plug are you plugging in to your AVIN where the FM antenna goes? See the double Fakra on the AVIN where I circled it. That's the FM connection......did u plug anything into that?

The same plug on the command center was there...but it too was not being used. 🤷*♂️

TurboDog

Antenna connection

One of the 2 white antenna connections is for the antenna. As I remember, only one of them was hot and the other looked unused. I think i needed a fakra adapter, you made need to order one. Personally I would just cut the antenna wire because your not going to go back to the stock radio anyway. These are pictures I took at install so sorry my memory of the specifics is a little foggy. Hope this helps.

Iceytys

yes...you are correct...only 1 of the 2 Fakra connections on the AVIN is hot...and I have the adapter....however....I have yet to identify which wire is the antenna wire of the car....see picture below...this is from my Command Unti...nothing was attached to the antenna on the factory unit...so I assume they are using another wire....but not sure what wire. Any thoughts?

Iceytys

I can see you plugged in a black wire to your unit....where does it go (glove box) ? I traced a wire back to a box above the glove box, however when I plugged it in, it didnt make a difference, so I pulled it out. I thought it was part of the Ipod adaptor since it was wrapped to that plug. Mmm...I may have to look again when I with my car.

Thanks for the heads up...Ill investigate further.

thanks

TurboDog