MBWorld.org Forums - Kenwood DNX-7120 with BackUp Cam (CCD-2000) Self Installed in ML320 2000

Alright, first the disclaimer:
This is just a guide on how I installed my system. I do not take any responsibility, implied or stated, for any of your actions. It is strongly recommended that you go to a certified installer for such an install if you do not have prior experience OR if you feel you might not be able to do it.

With that said:-

I have never installed a car radio, never knew what it entails to install one. However, the MCS w/tape was so crappy that I took upon myself to read the forums and do this all by myself. Yes, I had no clue what was the difference between ACC/ignition. What panel has what alphabet designation? What is a wire harness? I did not know! I used a DREMEL for the first time in my life. Yet, here I am. So, I will try to outline to the best of my knowledge how I did this.

First things first. You will need to remove your old MCS unit. For that you will need 'Radio removal Keys'. These are two little keys that slide in two slits under the MCS. Using them you will be able to take your MCS out. You could put 'ML320 Radio Removal Keys' in Ebay search and will find many people selling them for $5. However, I called my local dealer and paid $4.35 for them. While I was there I also asked them to give me my MCS code. You see when you unplug the MCS from the car, it will ask you for a security code the next time you plug it. This security code is unique to your car's VIN. This will help you, incase you decide to replug your MCS or sell it to someone.

Anyhow, with the radio keys in hand and the radio removed, you will now need to cut off two plastic protrusions that guide the MCS in and out of its place in the dash. (REFER TO PIC). I used a Dremel to cut them) With those cut you can now slide the double din cage (provided with the Kenwood 7120) inside the hole where your radio will fit in. I used two little screws to hold this cage in place. It is designed so that the DNX7120 will snap into place.

Lets get down to wiring now. The Mercedes wiring harness (The plug at the end of the wires coming from your car into your MCS radio) consists of three sections. Two of the sections are like a double decker (one on top of the other in a single body). If you look closely they are marked B and A. The B row has 8 pinouts. All of which correspond to your speaker cables. The A row has 8 pinouts corresponding to ground, acc, battery etc. The third section, the C section (is also marked) and is a plug by itself. It has 10 various pinouts for a CD changer. I did not use it. You could just unplug it and ignore it.

Now here is the part where I had the most trouble. The pinouts on the MCS wire plugs A/B and even C vary considerably from year to year. Everyone on this forum is referring to Wolfgang’s pinouts that are no more available online. However after extensively searching I did find some references. I will post the pinout to my radio connection below AND will post ALL the different pinouts I found in a separate post for everyone’s reference. Here are the pinouts of my ML320 2000:
Section B:
B1 – Red – FL+
B2 – Grey – FL-
B3 – Orange – FR+
B4 – White – FR-
B5 – Blue – LR+
B6 – Green – LR-
B7 – Pink – RR+
B8 – Orange – RR-
Section A:
A1 – Blue – VSS (Not Used)
A2 – Yellow – Daignostic/SRS (Not Used)
A3 – Grey – Reverse Signal
A4 – Red – Battery
A5 – Orange – Antenna
A6 – Yellow – Dimmer
A7 – Pink – Ignition/ACC
A8 – Brown – Ground

DNX-7120 - 70-1784 Harness Connection
So with this information known, we move on to the next step. If you do not wish to manually splice open your cars A/B plugs to connect to your radios wires, then I suggest you buy a METRA Volkswagen 70-1784 Harness. This is an aftermarket harness that easily plugs into the factory A/B harness. It will make your life easier. I purchased mine from ebay. While you are at it I would also suggest you to buy 40-VW10 Metra radio adapter. The radio adapter will enable you to use the factory radio antenna hookup as the radio plug from the DNX-7120 defers from that of the original MCS. Back to the 70-1784 harness, basically I used butt connectors to connect all the cables coming from my radio harness to the wires coming from the 70-1784. The speaker wires were left as were and the only wires that needed to be switched were the Ignition and Battery cables. You will also need to connect a wire for the reverse signal which is in position A3. This will provide you with the reverse signal when you put your car in reverse, camera image will show on your display. There is a light Green - 'Parking Sensor wire' - that comes comes from the DNX-7120 wiring harness. If you splice this wire and merge it with the BLACK ground wire, your system should operate while driving aswell!! This will override all limitations of GPS/DVD playback etc which are rendered inactive during driving. Kenwood systems do not use VSS hence you leave VSS and Diag/SRS slots empty. Once the plugs are in place, your DNX-7120 wiring to the 70-1784 wiring is complete.

CCD-2000 Reverse Camera Wiring
Now, you will need to connect the CCD-2000 wires. Basically there are two wires coming from the CCD-2000 back up camera. One is the red wire, which is for power. I used a T-Tap connector and connected this wire with the Red ignition wire from the 70-1784. The second wire is for ground and I T-Tap’d that into the ground coming from the 70-1784. (NOTE: THE REVERSE WIRE SUPPLIED WITH THE CCD-2000 IS NOT USED. I checked on a few forums and if you do connect it to the reverse signal, it somehow does not show the picture. Just a black screen. The reverse signal from the DNX-7120 to the A 3 slot is sufficient for all the ccd-2000 functions. I just taped off the purple/white reverse cable coming from the ccd-2000) With these connected you are ready to install the camera.

Camera Installation
For the camera installation, I removed all the trunk plastic panels. (There are detailed tutorials on how to do this on the forum, just search for ‘remove panels’). I drilled a hole for the camera wire and two smaller holes for the screws that hold the camera. (SEE PIC). After installing the camera, I routed the wire from the bottom of the trunk, along the sides of the trunk lid, on towards the top, I left a loop out enough for the trunk to open and close. Then, I routed the wire along the inner plastic panels, down towards the rear 12V outlet. From there I went along the side panels and inside the door entrances of the rear and front passenger door. Then the fuse box by the front passenger foot well, from there I routed it by the front 12V outlet and up to the head unit. (SEE PICS). For this task I removed some panels and in some cases just used my fingers to fish the wire through. It is a tedious task. Most panels are held by screw and or clips. Took me around an hour or so just to get the wire upfront.
I also routed the GPS antenna wire from behind the dash up by the A/C vent above the driver’s cup holder. Routed the USB/Ipod cable to the center console. (Had to drill a hole in the center console).

With all the wires in place, you are ready to put your DNX-7120 in its new place. First connect and check all connections. Turn on the unit to see if everything is working. Then slide the unit in with the black outer frame attached, into the kenwood cage. Slowly work your way through till you hear the dnx-7120 click inside the cage. This locks it into position. The install is complete.

TIPS:
1) Read as many posts as you can. Search on other forums too
2) Use caution using the dremel, wear eye goggles.
3) Ensure that all your connections are strong and intact.
4) When drilling a hole for the camera wire, use caution, the drill bit can slip and cause your car paint to scratch.
5) This installation should also help people trying to install the DNX-8120 DNX-7140 DNX-9120 etc.
6) Red arrows in pics show wire routing for camera
7) People on ebay are selling a 'black box' to override the driver safety functions of the unit. There is no need for that expense. You simply can ground the light green wire designated for 'parking sensor' coming from the HU. This will allow you to use the GPS and play DVDs while driving. (Although it is not a safe practice. And should be avoided at all costs).

Thanks to all the other people who have written before me. As Newton said, ‘I stand on the shoulder of giants’.

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