A work in progress.

98 ML320, M1, 3rd row, smoke hood and roof deflectors, OEM brushguard ...



with Hella 500 fogs. Added '02 BiXenon ...



Bilsteins ...



35% Front window tint ...



and also 35% at the top of the windshield ...



OEM hitch ...



and added MBQuart Speakers and AMG Chrome Guage Surround ...



Installation of '01 MCS ran into a bit of a problem ...



which I'm still trying to sort out ...



So far so good!

 

 

Where you get the AMG Chrome Guage ? How to install it?

 

UncAl, that looks sweet! How are the bixenons!! (lets see some nite pics)

 

It's looking really good. I'm interested in the MCS install when you're done. Will you keep the two tone color or will you blacken the bumpur ang lower aprons? Blacken!!!

 

I am LOVING these lights!!

I apologize in advance for my crappy dig cam and lack of skillz.

Low Beam with fogs, before


Low Beam, with BiXenons


High Beam, Before


High Beam, with BiXenons


These pictures don't even come close to illustrating the difference! The improvement is INCREDIBLE!!

For aiming, I relied on comments here . I parked close to this wall, and marked the wall with white paper tape directly in front of the lights. Then, I backed up and set the alignment ...

Low


Low with fogs (VERY little difference! I remember someone telling me I wouldn't be using my fogs much!)



Also notice I tried to lower the left a little.

High Beam


And, low beam about 30 yards back ...



Do you think I need to adjust it further, or take it to the dealer? I've got them low enough that I never see the beam higher than the trunk lid of the car in front of me. No one is flashing me now.

 

I ordered the AMG chrome rings (actually, its an entire fascia with the rings already on it) from Drew, the moderator at Benzworld.org ML class forum. It was a group-buy, as I recall. It was ordered from Germany, and the cost was about $75. Removal of the guage cluster is described here , and is really easy!

 

Thanks, Darkman! I picked up the socket pins yesterday. I'll be repairing the 16 pin socket (or two 8's, whatever OEM was), the 10-pin socket, and the antennae connector. I'm shooting for this weekend!

Bumpers? Hmmm, dunno yet.

 

Dude, u need to do the 00 door seals! Makes such a huge difference. Just call clairparts, its like 180 bucks.

 

Yup! Its on the list too (see signature)! Thanks!

 

I finished the MCS re-wiring and installation today! Everything works perfectly! I'll post pics tomorrow!

 

After researching Wolfgang's site, Ken Yee's site, and other sources including Becker, I was able to determine the correct plug pinouts. I purchased the replacement plug, the socket pins, and the antennae cable (to pirate the plug) from the dealer. Most (but not all) of the wires had the pin location printed on it, but once you touch the wires, it rubs off pretty easily. Identifying the correct wires was the major portion of this project. This is a picture of the wires labeled, with pins attached and soldered on ...



and this is the completed plug. Note the end of the antenna cable is prepared for splicing (more on that later) ...



and, the MCS finally installed ...



The CD works perfectly ...



BTW, that is a burned CD, but recorded at 4x in WAV, not MP3.

After finishing, radio reception was very weak. There was not enough OEM cable to solder the (new) plug, so I spliced it. Soldered center wire, wrapped it in electrical tape, soldered shield wire, wrapped it in electrical tape.

Today, I re-did the antenna cable splice using Radio Shack connectors, and now everything works perfectly!