Eonon GE01B 7" Sat Nav/DVD W203 Upgrade

[ldare]

Hi,I'm new but thought I'd write a post as I struggled to find the answers and have spent hours researching.


I bought a 2007 W203 C180k with a standard Audio 20 Head Unit. Previously I had a 2005 Renault Laguna and was a little frustrated that the Laguna had a far better audio system.


I search ebay and found lots of W209 (out of CLKs) Head Units which some sellers said would fit fine and other said didn't quite fit, not only look but also screw holes. (See http://www.rocosalonandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_2532.jpg )


So I went and bought a Eonon unit from China for £190 inc postage and it arrived in about 4 working days. The same day I ordered a W203 surround from Bass Junkies on ebay. This came a day after the unit from China. LOL.


I order a set from Bass Junkies for £20 which included a surround, Fakra aerial converter and wiring loom. Bass Junkies gave lots of advise and recognised that I didn't have an ignition power feed on my original Audio 20 loom.


The surround looks good ( see http://www.rocosalonandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_2527.jpg ) but wasn't easy to fit. I had to cut all four screw tags as they were too which and had sidey bits. Basically I needed to reshape them so they looked like the metal screw tags on the Audio 20 unit. I used a kitchen knife which I kept heating from a gas cooker hob. I'm sure there are better tools out there. Without doing this the metal clips that hold the aircon and ESP control won't clip on.


Not convinced by a single Fakra aerial converter so have order a twin for £7.


Tempted to buy the Canbus converter loom so I can use the steering wheel controls but it's £45 from Car Audio Warehouse. If you can get cheaper let me know.


I misplaced and rounded a few screws, the ones that hold the headunit, aircon etc in place. Order 4 from local Mercedes at a little over £3 each!! When screwing everything back I popped a little WD40 in and they go in nice.


The Unit comes with a GPS antenna that works well. Also comes with a basic DAB antenna which is ok but I've ordered a magnetic one that you pop on the roof. £14 in the UK, just ordered one from China for £2.50 - will let you know if it's any good.


The unit is a bit deeper than the original so you really have to push it in and also pop the wires behind the aircon unit but will fit fine. I used strong 2 part glue (£1) to glue the eonon surround to the W203 double din surround.


I'm really really pleased with this upgrade. Cost around £220 and hopefully will get most of that back when I sell the Audio 20 unit.


The Eonon unit does DAB, RDS (not great at the moment but hopefully will be better with the double Fakra) DVD, iPhone/iPod, USB, CD plus much much more.


Sat Nav: http://www.rocosalonandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_2529.jpg


RDS: http://www.rocosalonandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_2530.jpg


Bluetooth Handsfree: http://www.rocosalonandspa.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_2531.jpg


Any questions - just ask!


Thanks
Louis

 

[ldare]

Upgrade Update:

1) I replaced the single Fakra Aerial to ISO converter with a twin Fakra to ISO 12v Powered converter and think the quality of AM (for TalkSport) is slightly worse and I'm not sure FM is any better.

2) I bought for £7.50 a reversing camera and drilled a hole in the bumper. Very easy to fit and hide cables. Very cheap and simple upgrade for this head unit

3) Sold my standard Audio 20 Head Unit for £95 on eBay

4) Had a bill from TNT for £56 (£38 Import Tax and £18 Admin fee). I wasn't expecting to pay import tax but after re-reading the listing on ebay it's in the small print. I would advise seeing if you can pick up a head unit like this in the UK. There are lots of Asian seller with UK Warehouses. I've only paid £38 and told TNT to stick the £18 admin fee.

5) Considering the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System upgrade for this unit but some of the reviews are poor.

6) I'll be replacing the rubbish stick onto the windscreen DAB aerial next.

7) Connected the Illumination feed wire of the head unit to the cig lights illumination feed so now the unit dims and the buttons light up when the headlights are on.

Thanks for reading - hope it's helpful.

 

[ldare]

Hi,

Last update. I've replaced the standard Merc to ISO wiring loom with the loom that interacts with the steering wheel buttons. Works well. Shame it was £45 however I'm hoping to get a tenner for the standard loom on ebay and maybe £30 for the Eonon remote control too.

I've tried (and sent back) so so many DAB aerials and so far the best is
Kinetic MagnetwiG DMA-1004 Magnetic Mount DAB Car Radio Aerial as £19.99. I also sold the aerial it came with for £6.50.

The only last thing I'm tempted to do is buy one of these aerials as it would do DAB and AM/FM. AM/FM aren't as good as with the standard Mercedes headunit. Kinetic DRA-6003 Stubby DAB/DABplus/FM/SW/MW/LW Car Radio Aerial What's putting me off is someone drilling my roof and in years to come the hole starting to rust.

I'm really pleased with the upgrade, cost more than I budgeted for but was worth it.

Cheers
Louis

 

[gIzzE]

I have the 6003 aerial and have been all over the UK and only lost reception once for 30 seconds leaving the M6 heading over to Edinburgh on some funny a road.