2008 Mercedes Benz AMG CLK63 Head Unit Replacement

Hello everyone.

Newbie here with a question or sixteen...

I have a 2008 Mercedes AMG CLK63 convertible, a very nice car, if a little old (I prefer "future classic" by the way), which I've had for over four years. It's great to drive but the stereo head unit is rubbish.

The original owner of the car clearly spent his money on the important stuff like the 475 horsepower 6.2-liter V8 under the hood, but ran out of money or didn't care about 20th, let alone 21st, Century electronics. It has the basic radio / CD player (no sat-nav or Bluetooth) and a CD autochanger in the glovebox. It has an "aux" socket too for playback of MP3s or FLACs via a separate MP3 player too. No Bluetooth at all, and retro-fitting Bluetooth is a financial no-no. It has the Harmon-Kardon speaker package which comprises a center channel in the top middle of the dash, four main (fronts and rears) drivers all of which are in the doors, plus front tweeters in the door pillars / corners behind the rear view mirrors.

I want to fit a new head unit and I am looking at the Clarion NX807. it's a little bit pricier than some of the Chinese units on eBay and Amazon but I'm happy to pay the difference for a reputable brand and a seller who is likely to stand behind the product and warranty.

What I'm looking to do is have AM/FM radio, Bluetooth phone connectivity, sat-nav / GPS, CD and MP3 playback from a USB or SD-RAM card, and the ability to plug in a back-up camera.

THe Clarion ticks all of those boxes, except, perhaps, that the USB sockets are on the back (why?) and I will have to live with a USB cable hanging out under the dash or something like for MP3 playback.

I am quite happy to bypass the M-B fiber-optic network entirely and wire the speakers directly to the head unit or to small power amps (e.g. 4 x 50 watts RMS) but would like to retain the steering wheel controls and the Merc's in-dash display if at all possible.

What I would like to do most of all is retain the ALL of the original M-B speakers, including the center channel and sub, and that's really where I need advice. On how to hook those up. Also on steering wheel control or MODBUS interface gizmos. I'm happy to add a couple of modest power amps for the center and sub at some point, then a power amp or amps if needed for the mains. They can either go in the trunk lid or in the space vacated by the (obsolete) CD autochanger in the glovebox. Not looking for window-shattering shake-the-car-to-bits bass, just normal levels.

Any help welcomed.

Thanks.

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Semper in excretum est. Solum profundum variat.

You may be able to pull up diagrams here:

https://www.bbbind.com/free-tsb

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.

^ Looks useful, but will have to explore more.

Thanks :-)

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Semper in excretum est. Solum profundum variat.

Okay, so the wife bought me the CLarion NX807 for Christmas and I'm about to start installing it.

I'm going to bypass the M-B fiber optic and old amps entirely. I will be wiring directly to the door speakers, using small crossovers for the front woofers and tweeters, then adding new power amps in the trunk to drive the center channel and subwoofer off the twin subwoofer RCA "outs" provided by the Clarion. Hopefully they're both full range outs otherwise I'll have to think again for the center!

I need to identify the following wire INSULATION COLOR CODING to tap into the Mercedes system:

* +12 volt accessory (switched - local aternative to tapping into the back of the cigarette lighter if possible

* Illumination / headlights on for the radio backlight / illumination trigger

* Parking brake ground (yes, I know brown wire by the parking brake pedal but a local alternative would be nice)

* Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) or speedometer pulse cable

* Reverse gear light / switch

If possible I'd like to do all the connections locally behind the radio using the wires feeding the 12-pin or other connectore provided for the OEM radio.

Thanks in advance!

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Semper in excretum est. Solum profundum variat.

Check the interior fuse box for accessory. I don't recommend fuse taps, since they damage the female connectors, but one of those "add-a-circuit" things should work.

Since it's probably simplest to run to the back for the reverse lights, go ahead and connect to the tail lights for illumination. Use either some speaker wire, or even pick up some 4-conductor stranded wire for the run. Then, if you add something later, you still have some unused wire and don't have to pull everything apart again.

If you have trouble locating a VSS wire, try one of the ABS sensors.

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My ex once told me I have a perfect face for radio.