How do I wire this all together?
 

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so this is the harness that came with the deck

back of the deck..
there is the antenna slot to the left..i cant fit into this pic.

So my question is, what do I do now with all this?

I don't know what the connectors are in the first picture. I think the solo wire is part of the original stereo's antitheft feature. You don't need it in for the replacement stereo.

The wires in the second picture include the hot wire (for clock and station preset memory), switched power and ground. Maybe the antenna wire is in there as well. You'll have to get a diagram or use a tester to figure out which is which. Brown is usually ground in these cars.

The wires in the third picture go to the thumbwheel fader behind the shifter.

You have a choice of using the front OR rear speaker outputs of the replacement stereo and the existing fader, or using the front AND rear speaker outputs of the replacement stereo and bypassing the existing fader. If you go with the second approach, you have the choice of tapping into the speaker harness downstream of the existing fader by hooking up the each channel (left and right) in a common ground arrangement (does the replacement stereo support this?), or using the existing speaker connectors in the stereo cavity to drive the rear speakers (keep the existing fader centered or full rear), and run new wires to the dash speakers.

Good luck.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Update from the UK Haynes W124 manual -

Here are some wire color codes to help you:

- blue = antenna power lead
- red with white stripe = always hot
- black with yellow stripe = hot when key switch is on
- gray with violer stripe = hot when lights are on (not dimmer)
- brown = ground

It doesn't describe the speaker wire pairs as left or right.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Update from the W126 CD manual (should be relevant since the stereo units are the same in the W126 and W124 models of this generation) -

connector 1 (picture 2):

- brown = ground
- black with yellow stripe = hot when key switch is on
- gray with violet stripe = hot when lights are on
- red with white stripe = always hot

connector 2 (picture 5):

- blue = antenna

connector 3 (picture 3):

- black = left (-)
- black with red stripe = left (+)

connector 4 (picture 3):

- black = right (-)
- black with green stripe = right (+)

That should be enough. Get to work!

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

In the picture 4, where my wire harness for the deck is, where can I ground the wire (#7) in the car?

Look for a screw or bolt that goes into body metal. Loosen the screw or bolt and slip the spade in place. Or drill a hole into the body metal and get a screw that will fit tightly into the hole. Or tap the replacement stereo harness black wire into the car harness brown wire at the connector in picture 2.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Hi, I just want to know if this is correct.

I am connecting the wires from picture 2 to the wire harness from picture 4.

Im grounding the brown to the black wire from the harness.
connecting the black/yellow wire from car to the red from harness
connecting the red/white from car to the yellow fromharness

where does the Gray go to? to the blue antenna wire(#6)?
that blue wire says (ANT REM MAX 0.1A)

The wires from 1 to 4 are the speaker output wires (pic4) right?

thanks,

The gray wire is illumination which your new stereo doesn't need since there isn't an orange wire in the new stereo's harness.

The speaker wires are deciphered in this thread -

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/93817-also-sony-cdx-mp70-wiring.html

The blue antenna wire connects to the solo wire with a female spade lug in picture 2.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

sixto,
did you mean picture 5?
is that the female connector u are talking about

mark

Sorry, I meant picture 5... if the wire attached to that connector is blue.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

yup..its blue..

thanks sixto

So I connected those 4 wires together. I have not wired up the speakers yet, because I just want to know if this will turn on.
And it did not turn on. Is there something I can check? I wonder why it is not turning on.

thanks

any help guys?

Have you checked all the fuses? Is there power to the red/white and black/yellow wires?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

im not sure if there is power..
i have a multimeter.but dont know how to use it..
which fuses can i check btw?

http://www.doctronics.co.uk/meter.htm
You can also use a 12V test light.

hi,
I tested the power, im not getting anything.
I put the negative to the brown wire and the positive to the red or yellow wires, im not getting any reading at all.

I remember, before I removed the becker radio, the radio would turn off on turns or over a speed bump . Also, when my mechanic removed it, because my car was leakin power somewhere, which was draining the car battery, he said it was the radio.

Maybe he unplugged something?
I lifted the carpet under the passenger side seat, there were 2 plugs that were unplugged, this black box said becker radio on it.
i plugged the 2 connectors back in and test it again, but still no power.

what else can i check??

thanks in advance.

Could it be the fuses? I read some old postings with a similar problem.

Btw, how much is it to replace all the fuses in the box?
And where can I get these, are they standard? does mb dealer sell them?

thanks

If you are referring to the ceramic fuses, you can get these at Canadian Tire. To check your power, and mind you I have a W126 (85 380SE), not 124, so these might differ, you might consider tapping into the cigar lighter wire to bypass all the old Becker wiring which sounds like it is suspect anyway. Use your tester and check that you get 12V with key to IGN, none when key is off. I think that is the case with the lighter wire. If this works, it will get your Sony powered up for testing.
Also, recheck the black/yellow, should be on/off with IGN, touch multitester - to brown, and also to a clean metal body point, like where all the brown ground wires are ganged together. The + lead of course is touched simultaneously to the black/yellow.

If i bypass all the becker radio wires, and use only the lighter power, would I just have the radio to work when the ign is turned on?

Also, my lighter does not work,
but i'll check this out.

thanks

Aha, maybe the fuse or circuit for radio and lighter are the same, hence this should get closer to the problem area. I don't see in your posts that you have actually checked the radio fuse. Have you?
And yes, normally the head unit only works with ign on (that is, the accessory positon, not engine running position), although my Blaupunkt will work on a timer for 1 hour with no key at all, but this is very rare.
The constant power wire is for retention of memory settings and clock in the radio, while the ign activated 12V wire powers it up only when key is turned to position 1 or 2 (run). Radio can be on or off, power is switched from the ignition.
I leave my Blaupunkt 'on' all the time. It powers up when the key is turned on, off when key is turned off.

hey great help..
so i tested the wires of the cigar ligar,
there are 2 brown and 2 blk/yell.

only one set of them works, i dont know why.
the readin im gettting from these wires is around 12.

so are you saying, I only need to have the blk/yellow to the red from the decks wire harness only and this won't be a problem?

and the red/white to yellow is just to keep the clock settings?

Also, could it be the small black box underneath the floor mats of the passenger side? There are 2 plugs that go into this box. It was unplugged when I first checked it out, but even when i plugged it in, there was no power from the cars wires.

thanks.

So if you connect tester lead + to black/yellow, lead - to ground, key off, no power, then turn key to position 1, you read 12V? If so, then yes, connect the black/yellow to your unit's ignition switched power lead, which I assume is the red one.

Yellow is usually constant power to unit, so if the tester shows 12V at the red/white wire, key off, then yes connect this too.:)

Anyone else know what this mysterious black box is under the floormats?:confused:

I dont get anything from the red/white wire..
is there another constant wire i can tape into?

thanks

Ground the tester - lead and try all of the harness wires in there, especially those going to plug in picture 2, until one of them shows 12V with the key 'off'. Have you checked the fuses yet?

HI,

from the picture 2, the only wire that gives off any reading is the gray/blue wire. the reading .05 amps.

I have checked the fuses, it doesnt look broken, no corrosions on the connections, but I think i will replace all the fuses in there, there are some OTHER electrical problems in the car, like no lighting on the switches in the console and light bulbs.

SO anyway, i plugged the deck into the cigar lighter wires (brown and bl/yellow) to the RED, and I heard something in the deck, like some motor but thats it, and that only happened once. There is no display on the screen.

The yellow wire is primarily for clock and radio preset memory but I believe it has to have power for the unit to work properly. Try again with the yellow and red wires tied to the black and yellow wire from the car.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Is the deck turned on? Re. the dead constant power wire, check upstream for an in-line fuse holder. Sometimes these get wired in for aftermarket radios. And sixto's suggestion is a good one, at least to verify that the HU works properly.

hey sixto,
your idea worked.
I tied the yellow and red wires together and put it into the blk/yellow constant.
Everything looks great right now, the clock does not reset when I turn it off.

Will there be any problems with doing the set up this way in the long run?

You guys have been very helpful, thanks a lot.

Now I just have to figure out how to wire in new speakers.

The clock will only hold for a while with no power (key out). I doubt it will last more than a couple of hours. The bigger problem/inconvenience is that the stereo might forget volume and tone settings and where along the CD you left off. You won't be able to insert or eject a CD with the stereo off. Things like that.

The rear dome light switch above the stereo should have a hot wire. I'm not sure if it's easier to access the back side of the switch from the glove box cavity or by pulling the ACC controls.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Hi,
I checked the rear dome light,
and its not hot, the only hot wire i can find from the console is the hazard lights.
Do u know where else there may be a hot wire?
Are the constant hots only red/white?

thanks

if you're looking for constant 12v, you should find it coming from one of the wires in the oem harness. just use a voltmeter to test for positive 12v with ignition off.

Is this what your dash looks like, and is this the same radio that you removed? If so, it looks just like mine (85 380SE), so I'll email you the wiring diagram tonight, if it will help.

EDIT TEXT (added 04/05/14)(so I don't bump to top): I sent the wiring diagrams last night. Hope you got them. I suggest checking the lead from the emergency flasher back to the fuse, and if there are no other high-amperage draw devices on this fuse, connect to this for your 12V constant, since the memory/clock are very small. Make a note that this fuse is the constant 12V circuit.

hi,

yes thats how it looks like,
you can email it here, mtang@sympatico.ca

thanks

Hi Guys,

I got a 1992 300E that I'm gonna put an aftermarket cd player in since radio/cassette doesnt work. There is no cd changer in trunk but i see a plug for one.I got the radio out, found some instructions online.

btw, where should I get a service manual for this car, either cd or download. I see a bunch on ebay, but which one is good.


What aftermarket blends in ok @ $150?


I splice into wires of the car that went to the headunit. Now in the trunk, I see 3 boxes, think 2 are amps and the other one is a tuner? I'm not interested in any extra amps or anything. Just want decent sound, does not have to blow windows out. What do I do about theses? Just disconnect them? Leave them connected? Bypass them?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

btw, love this ride! my 1st MB!

Thanks,

Fish

You should be able to find all speaker leads from the 2 amps in the trunk. You'll probably find left front, left rear connections on the left amp, and right front, right rear connections on the right amp.

Bypass the amps so you can power the speakers with your aftermarket's built-in amp. This should give you a clearer sound and you can avoid bad amp problems in the future, since mb amps are notorious for going bad one at a time.

Hi, Thanks for the help.

Also, I take it my power antenna is hooked up to the tuner in the trunk? Therefore I need to run an extention up to the aftermarket radio going into the dash? If so, whats the best place to snake it? How does the back seat come out?

appreciate the help.

Fish

I would suggest that you re-post the topic, as this is now drifting away rapidly from Oasis' original post. Then, we can contribute directly to your specific issues and questions.

Help! Please explain...
 

I have checked the head unit for power and everything looks good so far....now for the speaker wires..

I don't understand your explanation because I think I have only 4 wires coming out of the car, but 8 wires into the receiver. I will try to attach a photo that shows red/black wires on the top right, green/brown on the top left, and the two bottom wires are the same color, grey/brown. Am I right to assume the top two wires are the ones to cut, but how do I attach 4 wires to 8?

Thanks for any help....:confused:

If you have the typical 80s MB with a fader control behind the shifter then you should have 4 speaker wires in the stereo cavity which lead to the fader control and 6 speaker wires downstream of the fader control.

You have the choice of using 4 wires from the replacement stereo to provide a signal to the existing fader control, or bypassing the existing fader control and running new wires to the speakers. You can shortcut new wires all the way through by bridging the front left and and rear left (-) wires and front right and rear right (-) wires leaving you with 6 wires to connect downstream of the existing fader. MAKE SURE YOUR REPLACEMENT STEREO WILL NOT BE DAMAGED BY WIRING IT THIS WAY!

I see from your sig line that you have a 240D and 300E. This should work for the 240D but the wire colors I provided early in this thread are for most 80s MBs. I don't know if your 300E has the later Becker 1432 or similar stereo that has external amplifiers. If so, you need a completely different wiring strategy.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Thanks for the quick reply....
 

This "little project" is for the 91 300E, replacing a Becker 1480 receiver. So I need a completely different wiring strategy???? :confused:

AFAIK the Becker 1480 is the kind of stereo that has separate amps. I'm not sure if it has a separate tuner. If it has a separate tuner, there will not be an antenna cable in the stereo cavity. If there is an antenna cable in the stereo cavity, there is no separate tuner. And lucky for you. I don't know where the amps are on a 300E (behind the back seat? in the trunk?). Find them and run speaker wires from the stereo to the amps then tap the wires into the amp harness. Leave the amps disconnected. Or run separate wires to the speakers.

I believe there's a left channel amp and a right channel amp. The connectors for each amp should have numeric markings. I'm fairly sure pin 7 if front (+), pin 8 is front (-), pin 1 is rear (+), pin 3 is rear (-). I said fairly sure :)

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

So much for the "simple" upgrade...
 

There is an antenna cable, so it looks like there is no separate tuner.

Ok, time to look for the amps - good thing nothing else going on this holiday weekend...

Thanks, Sixto, for your input...could not have gotten this far without this forum...

:D

radio replacement
 

I will give you my thoughts and maybe you can use some of the information to help you in case you have not already completed your installation. I have a w126, 300se & 420sel, and I totally rewired my stereo. I used the grounds behind the radio and connected them (2 I think) with the ground from the aftermarket. I used a plug from Crutchfield.com that plugged right into the factory wiring and I wired the appropriate speaker wires, power, antenna, etc. together. I agree to bypass the factory amps as in the w126's, you tend to pick up a whine sometimes if you don't. In unplugging the amps, behind the rear seat, this automatically bypasses the fader on the console behind the shifter. This puts all the balance/fader at the deck. I tapped into the speaker wires at the unplugged amps and used a AA battery to test which wires went to which speakers. I ran all new wires (bought 14 gauge from Walmart) from the rear speakers to the front and the system sounds great now. If you happen to need anything and I can help, just yell.

scottfish,

thanks for the info, but the job is done, at least for now...

working on detailing the 240 at the moment, and the next project is putting some window film on both the 240 and the 300....

but just got a good deal on a sub and amp, and I'm thinking...do I really want to tear the car apart again???? :eek: