Comand APS fitting in CLK 209

[Midland45]

After succesfully fitting a CD changer to my Jun 04 CLK 270 Cdi (facelift model), I've decided I'd like to retrofit comand. I have access to WIS and EPC so have looked over the tasks involved and parts required. Comparing this to the brilliant thread "How to fit comand to 208" in the How to Section, my perception is I've got it easy (famous last words). There is presently an Audio 20 unit fitted where the Comand will go.

Anyway firstly the EPC churns out the following additional parts required.

A 203 820 09 75 Antenna
A 211 820 00 88 EL Cable adapter line
A 210 440 50 05 Wiring Harness Only when Aux bushing retrofitted

I'm assuming none are these are "handed" and will fit a RHD car

Part 1 is obviously the antenna, part 2 I presume is an extension cable, and part 3 sounds like the aux input cable and not actually necessary, but maybe worth fittting. Anyway I have several questions for the experts

1 I was expecting some sort of harness for the speed pulse the comand will need, so can anyone advise why this is not listed ?

2 The antenna position in the WIS sheet, shows it above the Inst cluster, towards the right. Is this the best location but should it be towards the centre of the car for RHD, for best sat reception ?

3 Obviously another trip to the stealers and £40 to have the Instrument display activated, but last time the car was programmed to accept the CD changer, will this still work once the Comand unit is fitted ?

4 I will require a Nav DVD, V 6.3 is the latest I believe, but have I missed anything ?
many thanks for any info offered
Midland45

 

[Alfie]

After succesfully fitting a CD changer to my Jun 04 CLK 270 Cdi (facelift model), I've decided I'd like to retrofit comand. I have access to WIS and EPC so have looked over the tasks involved and parts required. Comparing this to the brilliant thread "How to fit comand to 208" in the How to Section, my perception is I've got it easy (famous last words). There is presently an Audio 20 unit fitted where the Comand will go.

Anyway firstly the EPC churns out the following additional parts required.

A 203 820 09 75 Antenna
A 211 820 00 88 EL Cable adapter line
A 210 440 50 05 Wiring Harness Only when Aux bushing retrofitted

I'm assuming none are these are "handed" and will fit a RHD car

Part 1 is obviously the antenna, part 2 I presume is an extension cable, and part 3 sounds like the aux input cable and not actually necessary, but maybe worth fittting. Anyway I have several questions for the experts

1 I was expecting some sort of harness for the speed pulse the comand will need, so can anyone advise why this is not listed ?

2 The antenna position in the WIS sheet, shows it above the Inst cluster, towards the right. Is this the best location but should it be towards the centre of the car for RHD, for best sat reception ?

3 Obviously another trip to the stealers and £40 to have the Instrument display activated, but last time the car was programmed to accept the CD changer, will this still work once the Comand unit is fitted ?

4 I will require a Nav DVD, V 6.3 is the latest I believe, but have I missed anything ?
many thanks for any info offered
Midland45

You say you have an audio 20 but have been looking at my HOWTO for retro fitting to a W208 CLK. IF your car is the facelifted W209 then the procedure is totally different. (its a lot easier)

If I'm correct your existing harness should plug straight it to the back of the COMAND. So get the antennae and start work!

You can locate the antennae under the dash just above the fresh air vents. No need to remove the instrument cluster.

Navigation DVD version 6.1 onwards is fine for your unit and will give you TMC.

You will need to visit a dealer to get the cluster programmed. The car needs to be prgrammed with the MOST components in the order they aware on the bus for the whole thing to work properly. You should consider adding the IPOD connector at the same time. ITs fairly cheap and saves you dismantling the car a second time if you want it fitted at a later date.

If you have the parts and fancy coming to Surrey, Then I'll gladly help you do it.

Be aware that an A203 comand unit will NOT fit into your car. Where are you getting the comand from? Be careful with eBay!

 

[Midland45]

Thanks for your help Alfie.
You are right it is a W209 and has an Audio 20 fitted with MOST.
It is a 209 command unit I have acquired. The 203 is microscopically larger I believe.

Are you saying the antenna is the only new connection required ?
Is there no speed pulse required, or is this data provided through one of the bus systems ?

I was contemplating fitting an IPod connection interface kit, but was under the opinion these were approx £200. Not actually owning an Ipod yet maybe this would a bit premature, although I do hate handing my dealer £40 everytime I add something that requires coding to be carried out.

One further question, will the Comand unit give me any mp3 capability via DVD/CD ?
thanks in advance
Midland45

 

[Alfie]

Thanks for your help Alfie.
You are right it is a W209 and has an Audio 20 fitted with MOST.
It is a 209 command unit I have acquired. The 203 is microscopically larger I believe.

Are you saying the antenna is the only new connection required ?
Is there no speed pulse required, or is this data provided through one of the bus systems ?

I was contemplating fitting an IPod connection interface kit, but was under the opinion these were approx £200. Not actually owning an Ipod yet maybe this would a bit premature, although I do hate handing my dealer £40 everytime I add something that requires coding to be carried out.

One further question, will the Comand unit give me any mp3 capability via DVD/CD ?
thanks in advance
Midland45

Hi,

The W203 comand is actually significantly different to the W209. The mountings are completeley different and the shape of the unit differs enough for it not to fit. You'd be surprised at how many people think that because the pre faceliftd A203 units fit the pre facelifted W209 cars, that the post facelift are they same! they aren't.

Anyway, all you need is an antennae thats all. The audio 20 plug fits into the comand as it is. Its slightly more complicated if fitting the IPOD adapter but not much.

Unless you have a TV tuner fitted (which I doubt) you will not be able to add DVD playback. The headunit will not play DVD's or MP3's.

If you have phone pre-wire then you do not need to visit your dealer to have the IPOD enabled. It works with the steering wheel without coding.

Fitting one of these takes me about 30 minutes. If you want some help, let me know.

 

[Midland45]

Thanks again Alfie for your help. I hope to have all the bits by this w/e, so will have a go fitting it all. I did have the Audio 20 out when hooking the CD Changer in, so I would thinks this time around things will be quicker. I think your 30 minute time is safe though.
I do live quite a distance from you, in the North East actually, so if I get stuck I'll have to figure it out, but thanks for the offer anyway.
Hopefully things will run smoothly, if not I'll be asking more questions in here, which i guess is what the purpose of these forums is.
I intend to purchase a new Comand manual from the dealers, but does anyone know where I can d/l a euro CLK Comand pdf from as a stop gap. I have a US version which may suffice, but wondered what the differences were ?
Midland 45

 

[Midland45]

Ok I got the Comand APS fitted this evening in approx 1 hour to my CLK 209. It was very easy, even the instrument cluster came out really easy. I have tested the Radio and all works, the Comand's CD works and even gives track titles in the display.
I've lost the CD Changer, but I presume the car will require a visit to the dealer again for a reprog on STAR, this will also activate the Instrument Cluster for Comand.
I have a Comand DVD on order from Germany(fingers crossed it arrives in the next few days), so presume I cannot test anything to do with the nav at the moment.
Is it possible to test out the GPS antenna/sats connected, or is the Nav DVD required for that too ?
thanks
Midland45

 

[Alfie]

Ok I got the Comand APS fitted this evening in approx 1 hour to my CLK 209. It was very easy, even the instrument cluster came out really easy. I have tested the Radio and all works, the Comand's CD works and even gives track titles in the display.
I've lost the CD Changer, but I presume the car will require a visit to the dealer again for a reprog on STAR, this will also activate the Instrument Cluster for Comand.
I have a Comand DVD on order from Germany(fingers crossed it arrives in the next few days), so presume I cannot test anything to do with the nav at the moment.
Is it possible to test out the GPS antenna/sats connected, or is the Nav DVD required for that too ?
thanks
Midland45

Well done.

You will need the dealer to programme the MOST devices in the order they appear on the bus. See Richards web site www.mercupgrades.com

Once coded it should all work fine.

You will need the DVD for any navigation functions. It may take a while (up to 1/2 hour) for the unit to self calibrate and find where it is. Once the DVD is in you can set the display to show the location and number of satellites. You should see anything up to 12. Four are required to display height.

Remember to ask the dealer to clear all faults when they have it on the STAR machine. As you have probably disconnected the upper row of switches, this will generate a fault in the system.

 

[miro]

Well done.

You will need the dealer to programme the MOST devices in the order they appear on the bus. See Richards web site www.mercupgrades.com

Once coded it should all work fine.

You will need the DVD for any navigation functions. It may take a while (up to 1/2 hour) for the unit to self calibrate and find where it is. Once the DVD is in you can set the display to show the location and number of satellites. You should see anything up to 12. Four are required to display height.

Remember to ask the dealer to clear all faults when they have it on the STAR machine. As you have probably disconnected the upper row of switches, this will generate a fault in the system.

The navigation unit may not work properly until

a) the country of the location is chosen - usually done with a destination entry.

b) it has been running for 20 minutes

c) it has seen at least 8 satellites

d) the firmware has been loaded from the NAV DVD (at insertion)


What normally happens is that the voltage to the underdash antenna starts at 2.5V and increases to 12V until there is a signal strength adequate for the function. This is automatically done by the COMAND unit as auto calibration.

Then you also need a diagnostic to flash your COMAND unit with with the lastest firmware. Otherwise it may still have some limitations in function. If you have Harmon Kardon and TV then you would want to flash those also.

Coding the cluster is relatively simple.

There is also a situation which can arise where the COMAND will stall and no amount of testing will make it function normally. Hold the NAV+5 buttons together and that will cause a soft-reset function within the processor and has been known to clear the data processing error. Only do this if the unit fails to respond after an hour outdoors.

 

[miro]

Ok I got the Comand APS fitted this evening in approx 1 hour to my CLK 209. It was very easy, even the instrument cluster came out really easy. I have tested the Radio and all works, the Comand's CD works and even gives track titles in the display.
I've lost the CD Changer, but I presume the car will require a visit to the dealer again for a reprog on STAR, this will also activate the Instrument Cluster for Comand.
I have a Comand DVD on order from Germany(fingers crossed it arrives in the next few days), so presume I cannot test anything to do with the nav at the moment.
Is it possible to test out the GPS antenna/sats connected, or is the Nav DVD required for that too ?
thanks
Midland45

The most recent firmware of the COMAND is more agile than the older one. The current version allows more functions to be viewed without a NAV disk installed and then only asks for the DVD if that operation requires a map read.

A subtle but interesting difference.

 

[Midland45]

Thanks for your reply.
I'm still awaiting the DVD coming at the moment, it is however v 6.3. I have the car booked in for monday morning, I'm just wondering if I should cancel this until I have the Comand Nav Disc and the unit all up and running.

Miro,
Is the firmware flash done via the Star Diagnosis machine, or is it read from the NAV DVD to the units eeprom, then flashed prior to the next boot ?


thanks
Midland

 

[Alfie]

Thanks for your reply.
I'm still awaiting the DVD coming at the moment, it is however v 6.3. I have the car booked in for monday morning, I'm just wondering if I should cancel this until I have the Comand Nav Disc and the unit all up and running.

Miro,
Is the firmware flash done via the Star Diagnosis machine, or is it read from the NAV DVD to the units eeprom, then flashed prior to the next boot ?


thanks
Midland

There is a firmware update that is done by STAR. Plus when you load up the DVD the first time, it loads more new code also.

 

[miro]

There is a firmware update that is done by STAR. Plus when you load up the DVD the first time, it loads more new code also.

What he said !

 

[Midland45]

OK just an update.
The Nav DVD v6.3 arrived from Germany this morning(total cost 120 euros), which I promptly loaded into the Comand. It attempted to do an update but failed initially with error code 3. I tried again and this time the update was successful. I presume this was just a read error. On displaying the map, it was approx 200 miles out. However as soon as I'd backed out of the drive and gone 20 yards up the road the location was updated and accurate. Driving upto a junction the location was absolutely spot on as indicated by the map. The number of sats connected seems to be between 7 and 11.
I tried putting a destination in and the unit navigated me accurately, pre warning approx 1/2 mile with "prepare to turn left" and "then turn left in 80 yards" followed by "turn left now" literally yards before the junction.
There is also a graphical representation and bargraph of the last few yards to the turn.
So thanks to everyone who replied another successful retrofit, and for anyone thinking about fitting this system it is a superb piece of kit. I need to learn what else is available on this such as how to list nearby restaurants etc.

Now comes the dodgy bit, the car is booked into the local MB Dealer this afternoon to have the comand firmware updated, MOST bus components corrected and the INST cluster updated for the NAV. Fingers crossed they can manage it. I will order order the manual for the Comand from the dealers
whilst there.

Midland45

 

[Midland45]

Ok back from the stealers where they charged 1 hours labour (£116.91). They told me they completed a comand upgrade, sorted out the MOST bus and coded the inst cluster. On checking their work in the car park the CD changer was working but no Nav menu in the Inst cluster.
Straight back into the service dept, back on the STAR Diagnosis Comp and cluster enabled. Now all working OK.

One question is how can check I have the lastest firmware on the Comand Unit ?

many thanks
Midland 45

 

[Alfie]

Ok back from the stealers where they charged 1 hours labour (£116.91). They told me they completed a comand upgrade, sorted out the MOST bus and coded the inst cluster. On checking their work in the car park the CD changer was working but no Nav menu in the Inst cluster.
Straight back into the service dept, back on the STAR Diagnosis Comp and cluster enabled. Now all working OK.

One question is how can check I have the lastest firmware on the Comand Unit ?

many thanks
Midland 45

Its worth checking your phone pre wire still works if you have it.

You have to tell the MOST bus what order the components appear in!