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kindof off topic, but what about installing a facelift steering wheel in an 06? is it direct plug and play or? I have an 06 and really want to change the steering wheel; the airbag shape is the main issue so a custom modified steering wheel wont really solve my issue.
2005+ works without any other changes. All you need is new steering wheel and airbag.
my build date is 01/2004 and I have done the upgrade. soldering and whole 9 yards. replaced stalk with a 2006 e55, wiring harness was replaced also. not bad once you know what has to be done. all the information that's needed is in this thread!
one way to know for sure if yours is 804 or 805 is to look at either of the shift buttons. Pry one out (they can be removed and re-installed easily without causing any damage) and look at the part number on the switch.
It will have a part number that begins with "870273" and than a dash and 4 more digits ...
If it ends with -0002 or -0003 it is build 804 and earlier
If it ends with -0004 or -0005 it is build 805 and later
I just finished the steering wheel swap on my 04 E320 wagon with the help of member Green1212. I have $150 in it for the steering wheel, airbag, column and harness. The only problem I ran into was I somehow blew fuse 31 when cutting wires which shut off EIS along with a bunch of other systems all at once. It was big oh **** moment until I found the blown fuse. Also be aware that this specific style airbag found on the R171 and W203 was manufactured by either Takata or Autoliv. They both look identical except for the label on the back. Takata airbags have a yellow label, Autoliv are white. The Takata airbags are subject to a recall and they are DEADLY. Buyer beware. https://imgur.com/a/CtdpRoF
I apologize in advance for bumping such an old thread but I'm currently working on this project that JoeNobody and Green1212 did with the r230 wheel swap.
For the most part, I see that you both probably soldered your wires from the old connector to the new connector head to update your new steering column electronics. I'm curious if anyone have the exact wiring diagram for the column electronics that JoeNobody is referring to.
Question 1:
The factory original connector also has 12/14 pins occupied (just not pin 7 and 14) and the new connector has 12/14 pins needed (pin1 and pin2 are not needed for steering wheel heating). Since we're moving the airbag power to new connector Pins 3-6, what happens to the original connector pin 5 and 6? Since now with the new wiring we have 10/14 pins being used with 2 that are unaccounted for. Would these pins ideally go in pin 7 and 14 of the new connector?
Question 2:
Soldering is a method of last resort for me, and the new pins on the connector actually can't be used and repined to the old connector. What was your workaround for this? The new connector female pins are L biased while the original factory car pins were right biased. Did you guys buy the new pins from MB or Mouser then recrimp them to avoid soldering?
TIA!!
Last edited by ldawgtheG; May 3, 2020 at 10:48 PM.
I just dug up the work I did for the wiring and here are my notes I had written down. New connector 3-6 gets used just like you have, from the old connector pin 5,6 do not get used at all. label and cut and will just be wrapped up with wiring. so does the wire/pin 7 and 14, those are blanks also and get wrapped with total wiring when done. my notes shows for the new connector 3-6 used as you have outlined and stated here in this thread and wires 8-13 being the same. so on the new wiring connector: you will have pin/wire 1,2 not being used and wire/pin 7,14 not being used. rest you have and ready to go
what I did was use those heat shrink soldering "tubes" pictured earlier in this thread. they worked great!!! my only advice would be to cut at different lengths and spots along the wiring harness so you don't have the total soldering at one location and it would be a huge bundle to try and tuck away. move up and down the wiring harness to space the soldering at different locations. I purchased the new wiring harness and I used those heat shrink soldering tubes and really took my time with them. they work great. take your time and work slowly. its a mess at first due to you have all these wires and you taking one out and connecting that one and then another and so on, so it seems daunting at first but not bad once you get into it. I labeled all my wiring before I cut anything and double checked my number. I had small sticky adhesive tape and I labeled each wire from old and the new wiring had its label also so that made the job very easy. I did my soldering after final check all my wiring matched and in the end all soldering was done then.
yeah I believe we all soldered the wires. when you purchase the new connector, it has the connector with all the wires in its location. soldering was the easiest and best option for me. those soldering heat shrink tubes are great!!! you can actually see the solder melting inside and I then taped each individual one. PITA for sure but never had a problem and its been great!
I apologize in advance for bumping such an old thread but I'm currently working on this project that JoeNobody and Green1212 did with the r230 wheel swap.
For the most part, I see that you both probably soldered your wires from the old connector to the new connector head to update your new steering column electronics. I'm curious if anyone have the exact wiring diagram for the column electronics that JoeNobody is referring to.
Question 1:
The factory original connector also has 12/14 pins occupied (just not pin 7 and 14) and the new connector has 12/14 pins needed (pin1 and pin2 are not needed for steering wheel heating). Since we're moving the airbag power to new connector Pins 3-6, what happens to the original connector pin 5 and 6? Since now with the new wiring we have 10/14 pins being used with 2 that are unaccounted for. Would these pins ideally go in pin 7 and 14 of the new connector?
Question 2:
Soldering is a method of last resort for me, and the new pins on the connector actually can't be used and repined to the old connector. What was your workaround for this? The new connector female pins are L biased while the original factory car pins were right biased. Did you guys buy the new pins from MB or Mouser then recrimp them to avoid soldering?
TIA!!
Does any one know what Pin 5 and 6 in the original connector are used for ? I have been reading many posts about the process of fitting E63 wheel to 04 e55 and want to be sure before I start. Many did soldering of the wires to the new connector but I was able to get a used connector and test re-pinning/ changing the location of the wires. (planning to get new connector for the job). It is not too difficult but off course it is on table in front of me not in the car.
I was able to source a 2003/2004 column harness so I can compare it with the new plug. The attached picture show the new plug vs the old plug on the right. Taking the pins out of the old plug is much more difficult than the new plug. The old plug pin as shown in picture (Green wire) is different than the new plug pin. They are shorter and little taller so they wont fit in the new plug. My question does any one know the part number for the new pin? Is there an aftermarket pin that would work.? The most common Mercedes pin connector that show when I do a search looks different and is almost $4 each. left is old plug pin. Right is new plug pin
I am updating this post in case a person in the future attempt to do the conversion (e63 steering wheel on 03/04 e55). You can buy the electric plug without pins. Part number is A0435458528. As for the pins, the part number is A0009823426. They are MLK1.2s style pin.The cut off date for changed electronic is 6/30/2004, so if you have an 04 model that is made after that date then you won't need to change the wire harness or electronic. Another way to tell if you decode the vin and see code 805 or 806 production code then you will only need the steering and an airbag.
I am updating this post in case a person in the future attempt to do the conversion (e63 steering wheel on 03/04 e55). You can buy the electric plug without pins. Part number is A0435458528. As for the pins, the part number is A0009823426. They are MLK1.2s style pin.The cut off date for changed electronic is 6/30/2004, so if you have an 04 model that is made after that date then you won't need to change the wire harness or electronic. Another way to tell if you decode the vin and see code 805 or 806 production code then you will only need the steering and an airbag.
How many pins did you use? Thanks for the part numbers.
Old Connector (OG):
Pin1 airbag
Pin2 airbag
Pin3 airbag
Pin4 airbag
Pin5 (not used in swap)
Pin6 (not used in swap)
Pin7 blank (not used)
Pin8
Pin9
Pin10
Pin11
Pin12
Pin13
Pin14 blank (not used)
New Connector:
Pin1 blank (steering wheel heat) (not used)
Pin2 blank (steering wheel heat) (not used)
Pin3 airbag (Pin2 OG)
Pin4 airbag(Pin1 OG)
Pin5 airbag (Pin4 OG)
Pin6 airbag (Pin3 OG)
Pin7 (not used)
Pin8 match to OG
Pin9 match to OG
Pin10 match to OG
Pin11 match to OG
Pin12 match to OG
Pin13 match to OG
Pin14 (not used)
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