I need wiring diagram for 96 SL500 stereo harness.

[spinedoc]

I would like to add an aftermarket receiver to my 96 SL500 and would prefer to keep the existing wiring, speakers and amps, and would prefer to not cut any wiring at all. To this end I was hoping to make my own harness for the stereo.

Does anyone have a source for a) preferebly a wiring harness that just plugs in? I dont mind splicing my aftermarket to the harness, I just dont want to cut mercedes wires. Or failing that b) a wiring diagram which showed me which color wire goes where, including speakers, speed sensor, etc etc., I will splice into the mercedes wires if I have to, or makemy own harness.

Thanx much!!!

[tecqboy]

I purchased an aftermarket radio from Crutchfield's for my 91 300SL which had the original Becker unit. Crutchfield sells an "adapter kit" which would allow you to build a harness to go between the new unit and the connectors which went to the Becker. ( Male to female and opposite as required.) You need to run one set of the speaker wires from your new harness all the way back to the radio chassis in the trunk. But, otherwise, it does allow you to "plug to plug" to the old system. Especially nice is the male power connector which matches the female plug in the car. I found that I didn't want to use the Becker external power amp for the door woofers, so I built my system to bypass that amp. But, I could not find a diagram for the original system anywhere and had to do much of the work by taking things apart and following the wires. Note that any new system will not integrate to the speed sensitive volume control: a plus for me as it drove me crazy. There is quite a bit of depth in the console and the cables were long enough to pull out and work with. Another note: You will most likely need to extend the antenna lead from the trunk to the console. I used the cable originally speced for the cell phone. I added a console switch to disable the antenna power up as required, as I rarely listen to radio. If you have specific ?'s, post. Tod

[tecqboy]

A bit more clarity on my last post. The original Becker radio in 1991 300SL was actually 3 parts. A control head in the console which held a cassette player unit and the system controls, the actual radio located in the trunk on the driver's side, and a power amp located under the front seat. The tweeters and midrange speakers are driven by the radio chassis in the trunk, while the woofers have a seperate high power amp. The cables run down the driver's side of the vehicle and were spliced / split (in my car) within the actual cable bundle in a most difficult to access way. I left all the original stuff intact so that if someone ever wants to restore it, the cables are still there. Tod

[spinedoc]

Thanx bro!! I ordered the harness from Beckers themselves and they included a wiring diagram. They said it was as simple as plugging it in!! Unlike others, I am quite happy with my factory speakers, amp and sub and have no desire to change them. Im really only changing the recevier bc the new one I have has GPS.

[LeaUK]

Hi guys

About to purchase a 91-95 129 and want to find out a little more about the factory standard audio.

Is there a 'built-in' amp somewhere?

Does the car have rear speakers anywhere?

Can 6x9's be fitted in the rear anywhere?
Is there a sub fitted as standard? If not can one be placed in the boot?

Is the MB connector for the radio ISO or some other standard?


Much appreciated
Lea

[tecqboy]

I can only speak for the 1991 SL, as that is what I drive. As posted above, the radio electronics is in the trunk on the driver side and powers the mid speakers in the doors and the tweeters in the dash. In the console is a cassette / tuner control which feeds and controls the radio in the trunk. Under the seat is a higher power amp to run the woofers in the doors. There are no factory speakers in the rear. 6x9's can be mounted in the lids of the storage compartments, but I used 10 inch round woofers. I surface mounted a set of coaxial mid / tweeters on the "back wall" at ear lever. There is plenty of room in the storage compartments to add power amps if you want them. Here's the rub. There are no after market speakers which can fit in the doors in place of the originals. Fortunately the originals are decent quuality. The wiring on the original system is very "distributed". I decided to leave it alone and re-wire for my new system. That way I can restore the original if necessary someday. A standard DIN hole in the console will accept any DIN aftermarket radio. The system connectors are strictly Mercedes, but you can buy adaptor kits. Tod

[spinedoc]

As I stated in previous posts there are most definitley speakers that drop in with NO modification into the front doors. Off the top of my head both MB Quart and JL have 3 way component systems that drop in with no mods, I have seen it with my own eyes.

Im not sure why the myth keeps perpetuating that you cant fit speakers into the front doors. I think its because american speakers have such big baskets and magnets that they in fact do not fit.

On the 1995 and up the Bose system was incorporated, which consists of a subwoofer in the drivers side rear seat compartment. Im not sure what speakers are in the back, as there are 2 bose labeled ports in the rear compartment, not sure if these are speakers or if they are just sub ports. The post 1995 stock systems sound pretty sweet and most people are pretty happy with them.