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1996 Mercedes C220 Radio Wiring

Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Vehicle Wiring Information & File Requests
Forum Discription: Request Car Alarm, Car Stereo, Cruise Control, Remote Starter, Navigation, Mobile Video, and Other Vehicle Specific Wiring Info, Manuals, Tech Tips
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=96875
Printed Date: May 17, 2025 at 1:27 AM


Topic: 1996 Mercedes C220 Radio Wiring

Posted By: osirisguy
Subject: 1996 Mercedes C220 Radio Wiring
Date Posted: September 04, 2007 at 12:48 AM

Hey guys. I installed a Head Unit into a Mercedes the other day and had to hardwire it. I came here to find what each wire was and its color after being left in the dark by other sources we have on hand. So I clicked on the 95-96 C Class link and printed it out and went and double checked and retested my wires and found some inconsistency. Here were my results for the following vehicle.

1996 Mercedes C220

Constant 12V+[*]     RED / Blue
Switched 12V+[*]     Pink/Green
Ground       Brown
Illumination[1]          Gray/Blue
Dimmer      n/a
Antenna Trigger       Blue/White
Antenna      Left Rear
Front Speakers        6 1/2" Doors
Left Front(+)[2]          Green
Left Front(-)[2]           BROWN / Green
Right Front(+)[2]       Orange
Right Front(-)[2]        BROWN / Orange
Rear Speakers        6 1/2" Rear Deck
Left Rear(+)[3]          Pink
Left Rear(-)[3]           BROWN / Pink
Right Rear(+)[3]       White
Right Rear(-)[3]        BROWN / White

Note [*] These wires I tested and found an inaccuracy.
Note [1] This wire was NOT tested and left alone.
Note [2] These wires were tested with a 1.5 volt battery to find their location in the vehicle. The positive lead and the negative lead were assumed to be consistent with the rest of the vehicle (i.e. Brown was Ground and found on the negative speaker wires in the rear so logic says they are also negative for the front speakers). This may not be 100% accurate.
Note [3] The rear wires matched up with the original information given and was left "as-is" if you want to call it. They were not fully tested to make sure the Brown was an indication of the negative speaker wire.

Final Note: This vehicle also had component front speakers which were also "popped" when testing the front speaker wires. So the Right Front Speaker and Right Front Component are on the Orange-BROWN / Orange wires and the Left Front Speaker and Left Front Component share the Green-BROWN / Green wires.

I just figured I posted my findings. By means I do not consider this completely correct and perhaps other C Class cars are different. By all means if anyone can do research or test these findings please do. Hope this helps anyone that needs it though.

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"God invented man, and man invented the metric system."
- Salvador Dali






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