Comand for 208 CLK 2001 wanted

[web-rover]

What a fantastic site! I've had my CLK for two years and have just discovered this.

I'd love to get satnav on my car - the Comand units look really cool, but I can't run to £1000 to get it fitted so was thinking of fitting it myself. I'm no engineer but I've managed to install phones and radios in the past without setting fire to a car or blowing the wiring... but I could really use some advice.

I've have read a very handy guide to fitting at http://www.ibex.co.uk/mbstuff/Retrofitting Comand.htm which suggests that using the wrong model of Comand (eg a 210 E-class model on a 208 CLK) would result in the angle of the gyroscope being wrong so the unit won't work. Is this fixable with different clips, must I use a unit only that was on an identical 208 CLK, or has anyone found that this isn't important? I can't work out what the gyroscope is for anyway - portable systems don't have them - so maybe it'll still work at the wrong angle?

Would my MB autochanger still work with the Comand unit? I've seen that you need an optical connection with the Comand unit - how can I tell if I've got this before I start pulling wires out?

If this is OK I'm thinking of buying a Comand 2.0 with a broken CD (won't recognise discs) for around £300. How easy/cheap is this to get repaired? Any recommendations out there?

 

[sym]

Welcome.

Check out the HOWTO section - and you will find a step by step guide to installing COMAND in a CLK, from Flyer.

Any questions - feel free to ask away.

P.S. Don't buy a broken COMAND - you would be better off buying a working one from Steve Krabbenborg (MBenzNL on here) - his units all work, and hopefully won't cost any more than it would to get a broken one repaired.

Your autochanger needs to be an optical variety - correct. Does it have an Orange twin fibre optic lead connecting it to the Head Unit ? If not, then it won't be optical.

S.

 

[Paul Grainger]

Comand uses inertial guidance as well as GPS. Hence the gyro. My comand was an e-class variety, the gyro angle is different in my CLK - this all relates to the mounting angle of the comand unit.
It works perfectly though. Go figure.

Paul G

 

[web-rover]

Paul, interesting about the different angle. Have you added different colour clips or anything?

Sym, what sort of price for a secondhand unit should I expect? There doesn't seem to be any mention of prices anywhere in the forums.

Is there anyway of determining whether the CDchanger is optical WITHOUT any dismantling? If it isn't I think I'd have to forget the whole thing - it'll just get too expensive.

 

[eamonn]

Comand uses inertial guidance as well as GPS. Hence the gyro. My comand was an e-class variety, the gyro angle is different in my CLK - this all relates to the mounting angle of the comand unit.
It works perfectly though. Go figure.

Paul G

Good to hear - I'm fitting an E-class Command to my (facelift) CLK next week. Did you encounter any problems during the install?

Did you fit the illuminated sills mentioned in your sig yourself? If so, where did you pick up the feed from? Also, what tv tuner/ dvd player did you fit?

 

[sym]

Sym, what sort of price for a secondhand unit should I expect? There doesn't seem to be any mention of prices anywhere in the forums.

Well - more than £300 - but much less than £1000 !! Depends on condition & source, to be honest.

Is there anyway of determining whether the CDchanger is optical WITHOUT any dismantling? If it isn't I think I'd have to forget the whole thing - it'll just get too expensive.

Yeah - pop the head unit out instead of trying to unbolt the CD changer. . . . the optical lead would go into the back of there as well, obviously ! What Head Unit is it ?

S.

 

[web-rover]

I need to get some keys to remove the head unit then. Do MB dealers sell these? Anyone do them mailorder?

The radio cassette is an Audio 30, with an MB 6 CD changer in the boot.

 

[Shude]

From an Audio 10 removal thread:

Radio removal keys: part number A000 833 0561, cost 5.60 euro

Might well be the same items.

 

[Paul Grainger]

Comand is an easy install into a facelift CLK. The speed pulse lives in a multi-connector in the passenger side footwell. You need to strip out the plastic trim, sill cover, carpet etc to get to it.
The only *frightening* bit is chopping out the partition between the two Din-E radio sections. I used a hacksaw blade and a steady hand.
I didn't bother with any mounting clips - the comand is a good sliding fit into the aperture, I use a piece of double sided adhesive tape to make it secure. I thought hard about this, and decided that if someone breaks into the car to pinch the comand, they might as well have it without destroying the entire console (experience talking here)

Connection for the illuminated door sills took some thinking about. Dont waste your time looking for a feed from the door multi-connector - the door 'puddle lights' are switched by the door control (SAM) module which is canbus controlled. The door switches don't help either. For simplicity I took a feed from the interior light unit.

My comand was brand new and cost £650 from a guy called Frank Rowe in Germany. He sells on E-bay. I was a bit nervous about paying this sort of money for 'unseen goods' - but was delighted with the brand new unit when it arrived. The biggest problem with most German sellers is that they don't use paypal or credit cards - you have to pay by bank transfer. This costs (me) about £16 every time to do, I have bought loads of things from Germany and the bank transfers sometimes cost as much as the goods!

I purchased an MB tv tuner from E-bay for £150 (bargain). I then bought a TV wiring loom from my stealer for £250 (not a bargain). My DVD player is a Goodmans unit bought new off e-bay for £90. I mounted it under the drivers seat (I couldn't find anywhere else suitable) and connected it to the tv tuner using a standard AV phono cable. It's a perfect picture - TV by comparison is very hit-and-miss depending on signal strength where you are.

Paul G