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UPDATE on Oct 30, 2021 - I was successful and very satisfied - see my post #19.
I just purchased a 2004 SL600 V12. Normally I would be hesitant of such a car, but it has only 22,000 miles and its looks brand new inside and out.
I recently installed an aftermarket CarPlay into my 2013 BMW M3 and would now like to install Apple CarPlay into my SL600. I read some of the posts here on the topic, but they were all years old and had no definitive recommendations and certainly no instructions. In contrast, for my 2013 BMW there is an almost-universal recommendation, step-by-step instructions and detailed trouble shooting on the M3 forum. (And every year there is a better/newer unit.) I want to replace the existing Radio/Nav unit.
Sorry if I just didn't search hard enough but I cannot find such a thread here. If there is one, please give me a link to it. Or give me a recommended unit; my only use is connecting to my iPhone and showing Waze or Google maps and playing Pandora; I don't care about radio, steering wheel controls, CD play, etc. I see multiple references to "Seicane"; is this still the best choice?
Also, on a different note, I'm planning to buy a tune from OE Tuning, which seems to be a popular choice here and half the price of RennTech.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
Lucky for you a plug and play box now exists for the 03/04 cars. I just ordered one from alibaba. You can fit pretty much any double din unit in by using a metra kit. I had the metra trim and center console hydro dipped in carbon so it will all look factory and bought a pioneer appradio as it looks like a modern tablet design. If you go this route you just have to either cut your factory trim at the cup holders or buy an 05+ trim & 05+ cup holder trim pieces (this is route I went).
Carguyshu: Thanks for the additional info. You you by chance have part numbers for the Alibaba site and which Metra kit to get. It hadn't occurred to me that this is a double-DIN sized unit. And if you have the MB part numbers for the 2005 trim, that would be great too.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
Here's the D2B converter box. D2B on ali. There are several other listings for it on aliexpress. There are even some on ebay, but they are a lot more on ebay.
Here's the metra kit. Might be able to find it cheaper searching Metra Kit.
The 05 trim part number depends on what color trim you have. Just search ebay for a 05+ center console trim or as I said you can just cut off your 04 trim at the top of the cup holders. If you go with the 05+ trim you'll need the 05+ cupholder covers, which are part numbers230-689-05-39-7167 COVER
Thank you again carguyshu! I'm beginning to understand the process better now. It seems the primary parts are:
1. The optical audio converter. You call it a D2B converter.
2. A double-DIN trim kit for the specific car.
3. A wide range of double-DIN head units.
Since your recommended D2B converter link has a 4-5 week delivery time, I looked elsewhere. I found this similar item on Amazon for just a few dollars more and immediate delivery:
Interestingly, it also recommends a matching double-DIN trim kit and a steering wheel control adapter, all for $265.
If you think this is likely to work, I will order it and select a suitable head unit. Perhaps the Pioneer you like.
Thanks, looking forward to your review and recommendation on that Amazon package.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
That's the wrong converter. That is a MOST converter, which is the fiber optic type used in the 05-08 cars. 03/04 cars used D2B. You need a D2B, which is the blue box. The only place I've found is to order from China, whether it be on ebay or from aliexpress so far. You might get lucky and find someone that has already imported a bunch to the US, but I wouldn't hold your breath as these D2B converter boxes just came out recently.
That's the wrong converter. That is a MOST converter, which is the fiber optic type used in the 05-08 cars. 03/04 cars used D2B. You need a D2B, which is the blue box. The only place I've found is to order from China, whether it be on ebay or from aliexpress so far. You might get lucky and find someone that has already imported a bunch to the US, but I wouldn't hold your breath as these D2B converter boxes just came out recently.
Thank you for noticing that detail. I therefore ordered the D2B converter you suggested from Aliexpress; there was an extra-cost option for faster 10 day delivery and I selected that.
I will order the trim kit/bracket from Amazon.
However, nowhere do I see an Apple CarPlay screen, same for the Pioneer you suggested. Nor do they have a front-facing USB port for connecting and charging an iPhone. Therefore, I'm thinking this might be a better choice:
Carguyshu: Thank you for noticing that important detail. I just ordered the recommended D2B converter from Aliexpress. I selected the extra-cost option for faster delivery in 10 days. I also ordered the Apple CarPlay dongle from Seicane; I see a higher priced one on Amazon:
I will also order the double-DIN Bezel/box kit from Amazon and the steering button adapter.
Since I don't see any pictures of Apple CarPlay running on the unit Seicane recommended to me, nor on the Pioneer unit, I am currently looking at this head unit display on Amazon:
I especially like that it has a front-facing USB for connecting to and charging an iPhone. I wish it had real volume buttons, but perhaps I can get the steering wheel buttons to work.
Also, the link you provided to Benzworld is very very useful, if not essential, because it describes the changes that need to be made to the fiber optic connections at the disconnected CD changer and old car phone connection.
Hopefully this "ala Carte" parts selection will work as it is much more flexible and cheaper than buying the complete Seicane head unit with necessary options.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
the dongle is only to use on certain android headunits. unless you are buying an andriod headunit that needs the dongle you should cancel that part of the order.
the appradio 4 I have does carplay wired. there are several pioneer headunits that now also do carplay wireless too. you just need to browse through them to see which you like the best. i've never heard of the brand of radio you posted, but it definitely looks very similar to pioneer's units.
the steering wheel buttons will work if you buy this
I don't know yet which headunit I am going to install; might even try different ones. I enjoy trying different parts and learning. If/when successful, I will share here what I have learned. I'm sure the Pioneer units are top quality, but are 4x the price of no-brand units.
Thanks for the link to the steering wheel adapter; I already ordered it.
Did you have to disable/jumper the old CD-Player and Car-Phone fiber optic cables as in the Benzworld thread? Seems the best way is to just loop the head unit and the amplifier and leave all the obsolete stuff out.
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
since the D2B unit just takes 2 RCA inputs it should be fairly easy to swap between different headunits. Certainly look at one that has line level outputs would be suggested.
You can either run a cable direct from headunit to amp (cables aren't much) or take the other stuff out of the loop. my car didn't have the phone cradle.
That's the wrong converter. That is a MOST converter, which is the fiber optic type used in the 05-08 cars. 03/04 cars used D2B. You need a D2B, which is the blue box. The only place I've found is to order from China, whether it be on ebay or from aliexpress so far. You might get lucky and find someone that has already imported a bunch to the US, but I wouldn't hold your breath as these D2B converter boxes just came out recently.
not to derail too much from original post, but I have a 08 SL, besides the MOST converter, can I achieve the same thing with the rest of the parts?
Thanks
2003 E55, 2003 SL55, 2014 CLS63, 2018 q50 Redsport, 1968 Camaro SS, 1999 Trans am Firehawk
Originally Posted by thphon
not to derail too much from original post, but I have a 08 SL, besides the MOST converter, can I achieve the same thing with the rest of the parts?
Thanks
Thphon: no problem discussing and comparing the needs for the later years.
My aliexpress order should arrive this week.I will then select a head unit on Amazon.
Any swap out options on my 2011 sl63? the dongle which connects the iphone via the connector in the glove box plays music etc ok, but when it comes to the phone the in car unit competes with the dongle and I have to pull it out to use the phone selection on the radio
Thanks to this thread, I am making good progress and now have all the parts, and thanks to the mentioned thread on Benzworld.org I have the obsolete CD changer and car phone disconnected from the fiber audio loop and the wiring mostly figured out.
EDIT: I deleted my question about where the car's microphone connects. I figured that out but determine that mic may not work with my headunit. I decided to mount the supplied microphone in an innocuous place - where the left A-pillar comes to the dash - and run the cable from the easy-to-remove side panel on the dash to the center area. At this point I have no further questions. Thank you.
Thanks to this thread, I am making good progress and now have all the parts, and thanks to the mentioned thread on Benzworld.org I have the obsolete CD changer and car phone disconnected from the fiber audio loop and the wiring mostly figured out.
Good to hear you got everything heading in a good direction. Please post back after you have completed everything and let us know how it works. I have an 04 SL55 with D2B and am interested to know if this solution will work without issues. Thanks!
Good to hear you got everything heading in a good direction. Please post back after you have completed everything and let us know how it works. I have an 04 SL55 with D2B and am interested to know if this solution will work without issues. Thanks!
Absolutely. I am taking pics and will create a post with every step and part that I needed. It should apply to many/most other 2003-2004 R230 models.
Thanks to the help received on this thread, I have successfully gotten wireless CarPlay working in my 2004 SL600 with steering wheel volume controls. And it works, sounds and looks great!
The headunit is a "LeadSign CT-6200 Double Din Car Stereo" from Amazon for $179 delivered overnight. It supports Wireless CarPlay and came with an external microphone which I mounted at the bottom of my A-pillar.
I also bought and first tried a "Sjoybring" headunit from Amazon, but I could not get Wireless Carplay nor the steering wheel volume controls to work.
Of course the most critical component is the D2B converter which I bought from Seicane for about $120 with shipping; it took about 3 weeks to arrive, likely to due to slow USPS delivery.
Also from Amazon was the "Metra Axxess ASWC-1 Steering Wheel Control Interface" for $60.
For the bezel I bought from Amazon the "Scosche MZ2351B Compatible with 2005-12 Mercedes Benz SL" for $90. I simply cut my 2003 console bezel to fit. (Purposely left the headunit bezel screws accessible; will make rubber covers later.)
So, this can be duplicated for about $450. And have a wide choice of head units.
As carguyshu posted in #4, the thread on BenzWorld was invaluable and covered many of the details of disassembling the car to install a modern head unit.
First, the existing head unit (COMAND unit) has to be removed; this video explains it well:
This is necessary because you have to remove all the old audio components from the fiber optic loop. This includes the CD changer, the car phone (if installed) and the Voice Control module (if installed). Basically you only want one fiber line going from the D2B convert to the amp, and another from the amp back to the D2B. The necessary two fiber lines run from the old COMAND under the console box to the rear area, but you have to remove the orange fiber lines from all the old obsolete modules. I completely removed the telephone modules and of course the CD changer.
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