vss for 04 mercedes c230

I have a 2001 C320 and searched for 2 years for the location of the VSS. My installer is a Mercedes tech guy and with all of their resources, could not find any way to connect to it. Mercedes has gone to a fiber optic communication system in the C class and all new models. That makes it difficult for after market stuff. He installed an after market VSS used mostly for cruise controls. That is NOT a good solution since those dont register a speed below 10 MPH. Not an issue for cruise control, but will mess up your location with navigation- City driving, traffic jams ect.

All of that being said, I found the answer on this forum, and made the connection yesterday - 04/18/2004. The instructions I found were vague - so I redid it with detail. I have confirmed that it definately is correct. IT IS A LOT OF WORK TO GET TO AND IS NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. Here are the instructions to reach it - be careful - if you are not, you can disable your car if you unplug the wrong things.

1) Put key in ignition and turn on wipers. When they  are all of the way up, remove key from ignition. This moves the arm under the hood so that you can reach it.

2) Open hood and move it to it's straight up position - You have to push in the red release buttion on the drivers side hood shock to get it all the way up.

3) Remove drain tray in the engine area on driver's side near firewall and above mentioned shock.

4) You will see a fuse box - remove the cover - it will contain big fuses - 50 amp - and LOTS of wires.

5) You will see the wiper arm is above the fuse box - separate the arm from the wiper - push/ pull on each side of the joint. This will allow each to move out of the way - very necessary

6) Remove the screws from the fuse panel - it needs the star type bits in most screwdriver kits nowadays. BE CAREFULL not to drop them - it is VERY difficult to retrieve screws dropped in this area. There should be 4 - the ones in the back will probably require a screwdriver with an angle attachment - it is tight. A magnetic tip would help so you dont drop them.

7) Pull the fuse panel up and out - be carefull not to pull fuses - they will pop out. It is very tight - but this panel DOES come out. You may have to remove a couple plugs of wires to get it out - do so at your own risk .

8) Almost there - The bottom of the panel will have connectors and wires also - and are numbered. We are looking for a plug labeled "24" - it should be empty on a non-navigation equipped car. It is near the right side. Once you find it - the pin you want is pin "3" - it is labeled inside the connector. The connector is MALE- so the pin is sticking out. I used a quick disconnect female plug and it fit fine. I wrapped the plug with electrical tape to made sure it did not touch any other plug. Make sure it is secure - you definately dont want to do this again.

9) There is a sponge looking thing on the firewall - that passes through to the passenger compartment. Pull it out  and use a coat hanger or fish tape to get your wire in.

10) Put the sponge back and put it back together. Run the wire to the Nav unit.

11) Attach to the Nav VSS input and you are off - NO other box is necessary.

GOOD LUCK - If you are careful you will be good to go.