I have been going through a nightmare trying to hardwire my V1 into the overhead console on my '06 E55. The threads that I've found here show photos that don't seem to match the wiring in my dome light console... I tried every single connector up there (with the plugs unplugged) and couldn't find a single 12V (constant) source. My MBZ mechanic warned me that a lot of the stuff up there is low-voltage and maybe the wiring changed slightly in 2006?

I was relieved after a couple of hours of struggling to balance everything over my head (miror head, dome light) and being careful not to damage any of those brittle flex circuits..... at least I was able to get the mirror locked back into place and then gently clip the dome light housing into position without breaking any clips or pinching/damaging any wires! Getting a power source from up there was TOTALLY not worth it!

So I mapped out a plan to grab power from behind the front cigarette lighter.... easy peasy, just pop out the shifter surround (no tools needed) and the ashtray and lighter plug lift right out. The problem is that my lighter plug is dead.

There are three wires in that plug:

Red: Should be 12V constant?
Brown: Should be ground?
Blue: Looks like an illumination wire for the fiberoptic illumination tubes in the cover.

I can't get a voltage reading off the red wire.... dead.
The fuse according to the little booklet in the sidepanel fuse block describes #31 as "Cigar lighter 5A" which I assume is correct.

I did a continuity test across all the fuses in the panel and they all check out...no blown fuses. I even pulled #31 to check it visually just to be 100% sure.

My rear accessory plug (in the rear seat area in the back of the center console) works fine, so if they share the same fuse/circuit then I must have a problem in the wiring harness itself??

Option #2: If I ignore the cigarette lighter entirely, I can pull power from a 4-wire connector on the other side of that ashtray insert. They go into a small black-box that looks like it might be related to Keyless Go? The wire gauge is pretty small, but since the V1 runs on phone cord power draw probably won't be an issue....

EDIT: Photo added of ashtray plug (lower left) and mystery plug (Keyless?) towards top...




Funny how a "simple" 30-minute project can spiral into a few hours of aggravation.

 

your lucky the first owner of my car had a lazer jammer and ripped all the stuff out,I dont even have a lighter plug to charge my cell.

You should be fine with any 12v since I dont think the V1 draws that much current but double check first.

 

There are 2 seperate fuses, and depending on how you plug them in you can make the power source switched, or constant. Let me see if I can take a pic for you...

 

Thanks....anything you can show would help.

I just pulled the 5A fuse completely and the rear adapter still gives me 12V (switched) power... weird.

 

Well I feel stupid....and a bit deceived.

The owners manual calls out two locations for fuses. The panel on the drivers side of the dash on the side panel....and the one in the trunk near the DVD player. There is no mention anywhere of the one in the engine compartment near the DS hood hinge! It turns out that is where the REAL cigarette lighter fuses are located... Apparently it's #54 and the fuse was blown after all....

Tbal, is the the fuse location you were referring to? I'd still like to know how to configure the fuse to get constant 12v out of the lighter instead of switched through the ignition.


-G

 

https://mbworld.org/forums/w211-amg/...-question.html

Post #4

 

YM,

Perfect! Thank you so much....

Since I know that #54 was my front cigarette lighter fuse (the one that was blown) I'm wondering about #53? Do you know if that's for the rear lighter (back of the center console). From that image it looks as if that one has the option to set it for continuous 12V power also.



I'm still confused by the Mercedes description of Fuse #31 (side panel fuseblock) which they describe as "Cigar Lighter", unless that one was maybe for the backlighting of the ashtray? It's only a 5A fuse, so it can't be doing much....


-G

 

Just a FYI, I always wired my V1 off the power wire that feeds the garage door opener cause I like it to have switched 12v so I wont have to turn it off everytime. The V1 pull very little juice and I always grab power from there or the dome lights power soure also since its all right up there.No need to run that wire all the way down to a console.

Since we are on the subject of fuses/etc. can anyone tell me what each relay controls in all the fuse boxes? I need to trace down a few issues.I want to find the relay that controls the rear glass power sunshade. My fuse is good and the motor is good.Just the SAM or relay is only sending power in 1 direction.

 

You are a better man than I.....

I struggled with that overhead dome light console for a couple of hours trying to find a good 12V source. All I ended up with was a bunch of frustration and a mess of wiring harnesses to re-attach and resecure to the back plate. Holding that entire console overhead along with the mirror head and trying not to tear those fragile flex cables was a real aggravation.

My preference is to run the V1 on a full-time 12V source. After about 15 years of ownership I've grown VERY tired of the morning startup diagnostic beeps......"beep boop beep boop......badda badda"

-G

 

Well..... The surgery is complete and I now have a constant 12V from the cigarette lighter....swapped fuse #54 and got full time power.

The only problem is that it's not actually "hot through start" so when I hit the keyless go button it temporarily kills the power as the car starts. So I still get the stupid diagnostic V1 beeps.

Given that, I'll probably go back and set the lighter fuse back to the stock position.... Since it doesn't give me the behavior I wanted anyway.

-G

 

Well since I couldn’t find simple answer, I did it myself…your welcome.

Both rear cigarette lighters (rear seat and trunk) are located in the rear fuse panel of w211 e55. Both of mine blew. I replaced both blue 15a and all good now. See pics