Quick Xtrons PBX70M211 Update and 4 questions

Hey folks,
I received a reply from XTRONS regarding connecting everything together. I hope I'm close to installing this radio into my CLS.
So far I have 4 questions:
1) What is the best way or best practice to wire ACC cable? Should I wire it to the cigarette lighter or something else?
2) What should I do with that green cable coming out of CAN BUS Decoder connector?
3) What should I do with the dummy fiber optics connectors that has only two pins (yellow and black cables)?
4) What should I do with the 3 wires plugged into factory fiber optics connector that goes into my stock radio? There are two fiber-optics cables and 3 wires in that connector. I know fiber-optics cables should be inserted into the MOST module while it's not clear what should I do with the rest 3 wires.
PS: Ashwin, thank you for your help!! I really appreciate it!
Thank you!

[@ashwinramadhar7757]

Great job so far, Red ACC connect to cigarette lighter , green has two wire hi and lo connects to the can bus, you will have to tap into the Can connector which is up under the glove compartment. It has brown (low or receive ) ,brown/red (high or transmit) twisted wires in it. See one of the prior videos that I linked , it is polarized and will only work one way so if you connect them and nothing happens, reverse the wires . You have to remove the optical cable from the 3 other wire connector , plug that into the MOST and then plug the remaining original 3 wires into the dummy optical connector of the radio and that is how the radio gets its constant 12 volts (striped red yellow to yellow ) and its ground (brown to black) . The third wire (pink )is not needed its for proprietary data connection to the original Mercedes radio. then you are done..... unless -( see below) If after you connect it all up, you run into a constant car battery drain issue then I would make some modification to the connections . Start with connecting the MOST yellow power wire and the red can bus power wire to the same cigarette lighter power wire so that it is switched and now constant , I ran into a constant battery drain issue when I connected them the way you did since it can keep the audio gateway on even when the car is switched off since it keeps communicating with the Can bus. But I used an older different head unit and an older different CANBUS decoder and so they might have fixed the problem.

[@NoWheelDrive]

Thank you! I wonder if there is any way to preserve original Mercedes cables as much as possible instead of cutting cables and soldering? Should I just use something like a Posi-Tap? Please could you elaborate on constant battery drain? Do you mean that in case I connect striped red/yellow to yellow and brown to black I'll have to manually turn OFF the radio every time I turn off the engine, right? Or it won't matter if I turn the radio OFF since it will still keep the audio gateway ON, right? And another quick question: "Red ACC wire" and "red can bus power wire" is the same wire, right? Update: Meanwhile I received a reply from XTRONS regarding dummy connector and 3 wires in the Mercedes optical connector. Here is what they replied: "1) The dummy connector is connected to the power port of the original car. 2)These three wires do not need to be connected, just unplug the optical fiber interface to connect to our decoder box.". It's not clear what they mean by "the power port of the original car".

[@ashwinramadhar7757]

@@NoWheelDrive This Video should help you : kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHukfYaZm62XeKs for the green wire tap , in this video they plug their wire into the canbus and how they plug the 3 wires into the radio. The Red ACC wire is not the same as the red can bus wire , the red Acc wire connects to the cigarette lighter , you can use Posi-Tap . The constant drain from the battery in my case was because my canbus decoder was not allowing the rest of the audio gateway to go to sleep , probably because it was older technology . Yours may not have a problem. You don't need to worry about it unless you have a battery drain problem. turning the radio off manually will not solve the problem if you have the drain.

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@ashwinramadhar7757 Thank you!! I just watched that video. I also got a reply from XTRONS. They suggested the same - Connect Dummy connector with 3 wires and connect MOST yellow cable with the cigarette lighter. Ok, I need to figure out the wire gauge and then get the right Posi-taps and finally install the new radio.

[@ashwinramadhar7757]

@@NoWheelDrive Glad to help, if you are going to connect the MOST to the cigarette lighter, then connect the power for the Can Bus decoder to the cigarette lighter too. That will eliminate any potential battery drain

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@ashwinramadhar7757 I just ordered Posi-taps. The fastest way to get it here is Amazon. I ordered 2 sizes of Posi-taps - 16-18AWG and 20-22AWG. Also I got quick question: I see in that Android radio harness there is just one red wire coming into Can Bus Decoder from the radio. So just to clarify things - should I cut that red wire and then connect the CAN BUS red wire end to the cigarette lighter power power wire and just tape another end or red wire that is coming from the radio? PS: Sorry for a few dumb questions below - please remind which cigarette lighter cable is power? I see there are 3 cables there - Solid Brown, White/Blue and White/Red. Also there is a keyless receiver attached to the ashtray and it has a blue connector with 4 wires - Brown, Brown, Brown/Black and Pink/Red (or White/Red). I wonder if I need to touch that Keyless receiver connector or just leave it alone? Thank you!

[@robertehlers4330]

The fuse on cig lighter can move to acc or constant

[@recxlesstheartist]

I have a 2006 cayenne with Bose without nav so I had to get a MOST HUR 155 I cannot get sound however

[@HGazouly]

Thank you for the post, but where did you get the new harness

[@NoWheelDrive]

I ordered harness directly from XTRONS. This is it: xtrons.com/mercedes-benz-e-cls-series-iso-wiring-harness-ak-pa77m211-pwrc

[@andrewphan3002]

Can I use this harness to my Hizpo unit? Thanhs

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@andrewphan3002 Great question! Unfortunately, I have no idea if Xtrons and Hizpo units have similar rear ports and logic.

[@pyric]

Were you ever able to get this all hooked up and working? curious how you feel about your Xtrons unit as I'm considering that or a Seicane for my CLS55 especially if the music quality improved or got worse

[@NoWheelDrive]

Unfortunately, not yet. I'm on vacation and will try to install it in the end of July when I get back home. I think my XTRONS is just another Android head unit. I don't have high expectations about it just because I don't want to be disappointed later. I'm not an audiophile, but I hope the music quality is fine. Anyway when you are driving AMG you hear that V8 rumble. Also in CLS doors are frameless, so sound insulation is not like in S-class. What I want to say is that you won't hear a crystal clear audio when driving. So far my concern is about GPS and radio antennas. I'd like to hook factory ones and I don't want to use ones that came with this unit, because I'd like to keep my dashboard and around clean and maintain OEM look. But Idk how to hook OEM GPS and radio antennas yet.

[@pyric]

@@NoWheelDrive ya modifying is a very mixed bag of very high end and very questionable lol I would hope maintaining the factory antennas wouldn't be impossible.

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@pyric Yeah, I agree. As for antennas - you can see aftermarket GPS and Radio antennas included but Idk how to conceal them. If I could perfectly conceal it then maybe there is no need to re-use factory antennas. But something tells me that factory Mercedes antennas aren't that bad. I read there are multiple antennas there while XTRONS only provided single GPS and single Radio antennas. We'll see. I guess first I'll install this head unit without antennas just to make sure it works.

[@pyric]

@@NoWheelDrive ya I've seen people hide the antennas behind the A pillar trim or the glovebox but its not ideal for reception

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@pyric Thank you. It may be a nice solution to hide it inside A-pillar trim. I just didn't want to remove lots of parts. You know, the more parts you remove and re-install the more random and annoying squeaks you'll have later... I just hate when something is squeaking inside the trim or vibrating too much... But anyway using A-pillars sounds like a good idea if I won't be able to reuse my OEM antennas.

[@pawelczostekful]

Hi there. It's been a while since u gives us a update. Did u manage to get it running? Got a exactly same head unit setup. Just wandering how's it go in your case. Gives a some update buddy

[@yolo-cars]

Hey, it's my other account. Unfortunately, I didn't do anything yet. I didn't have time to upgrade my CLS. Since that video XTRONS already released newer version(s) of W211 headunit and also there is another good head unit called TEYES that has huge (Russian speaking) telegram community. So currently I'm moving and I'm in the process of restarting my career, thus I don't have time for CLS, XTRONS head unit. I barely do videos on my other channel. Hopefully I could install it this year. It seems I already forgot all the knowledge I had when I was researching how to wire this head unit into existing harness. It is what it is...

[@pawelczostekful]

@@yolo-cars sorry to hear that, I thought is done by now. Looking for some advice aswell. Have done some research on HU. TEYES clearly said installation of their unit in our mercedes specification (MOST) is not possible. Bit sad cuz their unit looks amazing and has some really good scores. Other one is JOYING. The one I want off the 3 (JOYING, TEYES, XTRONS). Far as I know only XTRONS will works in mercedes MOST system. Good luck mate

[@yolo-cars]

@@pawelczostekful That's strange because I know my Russian "CLS folks" have installed TEYES successfully. It should be plug and play. I didn't buy it because I have already invested in Xtrons. But not Xtrons has newer models for W211 and I'm on the fence. I like the fact my head unit looks OEM but I'd like to have bigger screen. I guess I need to proceed with what I have. Hopefully I could remember all that wiring stuff I researched more than a year ago.

[@robertehlers4330]

Tp canbus harness under glove box

[@ocrash22]

Could you finish that project, because i have also a cls and i want to change my radio.

[@NoWheelDrive]

I'll try to do it soon. The thing is I temporarily switched focus on to a local car meets, because here in a few months the weather will suck and there will be no car meets after October till spring. But I'll do it. I don't want to go back to my old stock radio...

[@willlucy5810]

I have exactly the same system as this and i'm trying to install it in my W211 E class. I have wired it up exactly as above. The Red ACC wire and the yellow Most box wire are both connected to the 12V feed to the cigarette lighter. The black wire from the most box is connected to the black wire coming from the harness on the back of the radio. However, when I try to turn the radio on nothing happens. There are no lights on the radio, it makes no sound and the screen does not turn on. Have you run into any problems like this? I have checked the feed from the cigarette lighter and I can there there is 12V when the ignition is on. Do you have any suggestion about what to try?

[@NoWheelDrive]

Hey, sorry for late reply. I didn't install my radio yet so I have no idea if my radio works. You know procrastination really sux. I haven't touched my CLS probably for 2 weeks already. I may suggest to try use other source of 12V. Can you connect it to your car battery directly? Just red acc wire to "+" terminal and black wire to "-" terminal. I'm not sure what else you could do, but if it doesn't help then your radio may be defective. Idk if you want to go inside and check if maybe some wires inside your radio are loosen or not connected properly.

[@willlucy5810]

@@NoWheelDrive No problem. I eventually got mine to work. I had to return my first xtrons unit as it was faulty. The second unit didn't work straight away either (this time no sound but the unit turned on) I have now disconnected the yellow wire from the MOST box to the switched 12V feed and everything seems to be working properly. The optical cables to the old CD changer also have to be connected to get sound. So you have to virtually reassemble the entire dash in order to test which is frustrating. Good luck with your install!

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@willlucy5810 Thank you bro! I'm just fighting with procrastination and I temporarily switched to doing livestreams and videos from home. I hope to get back to my Xtrons unit soon. It's stupid I stopped in the middle of the process. I need to finish it and move on. PS: did you use Xtrons radio and GPS antennas supplied with the kit or did you reuse your factory ones?

[@willlucy5810]

@@NoWheelDrive Easy to get distracted when they're so complicated! I used both the GPS and FM antennas they told me I needed. The GPS one seems fine but the FM one gets terrible reception. I'm considering getting the DAB dongle but I got carplay with mine so I just play radio stations off my phone. The other annoying issue I have is every time I go into reverse the screen goes blank as it's trying to play a reversing camera but I don't have one connected. I've tried turning it off but can't find a setting to stop it doing that. The other issue with that is when i'm using carplay and engage reverse car play stops working properly. Annoying issues but i'm quite impressed overall.

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@willlucy5810 I see it's not perfect. But it's better than dated stock radio. I use Android phone and it's sad this unit doesn't support Android Auto. Probably it's related to licensing. Also I don't plan to install rear view camera anytime soon. Regarding antennas - I'll add it later. I'd like to reuse factory antennas.

[@acrepairnearme]

Привет из LA. Так что в итоге по этой магнитоле? Получилось поставить. Думаю над покупкой CLS, изучаю тему.

[@NoWheelDrive]

Честно, я ещё не поставил. Тут и прокрастинация, и расстановка приоритетов. Т.е. я уверен, что поставлю, но пока не до этого. Как у нас тут закончатся все эти car meets, shows, cruises, так я и займусь своими авто. Видимо, в ноябре или декабре уже. Мне нужно срочно 140й в порядок привести, т.к. регистрация заканчивается в начале ноября, а он сейчас вообще без бампера стоит в гараже... Я вроде понял, как надо поставить эту магнитолу, хотя уже наверное забыл тонкости. Ещё позже вскрылась дополнительная проблемка - я хотел бы подключить штатные мерседесовские антенны GPS и радио к этой магнитоле. А их похоже нужно будет тянуть из багажника через левый нижний коробк (под порогом). Я пока ещё не понял, где точно найти эти две антенны. Начал было искать, а потом забил. Они должны быть покачественней того, что идёт в комплекте с этой магнитолой XTRONS. В общем, пока никаким прогрессом порадовать не могу. PS: если бы я не купил свой CLS55 с тюнингом от RENNtech, я бы наверное взял не CLS55, а модель посвежее. Может 2014+ года. Или ту же E63 2014+. Свежие машинки всяко бодрее выглядят.

[@mrbowtie64]

Anyway i would be able to get a copy of those instructions from xtrons? Trying install one in my car as well

[@NoWheelDrive]

Hi, the thing is they don't provide any instructions with their product. I had to play ping pong 🏓 with them by exchanging multiple emails: I sent them my questions or concerns and they replied then I repeated etc. At this moment it's not structured or sorted. I think once I install it (hopefully soon) I'll do an instruction.

[@mrbowtie64]

@@NoWheelDrive thanks. I have same setup as you so i am going to order the harness

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@mrbowtie64 Yeah, good luck bro! Make sure to get the right one. They sent me 3 harnesses and only 1 applies to my setup.

[@mrbowtie64]

@@NoWheelDrive i finally got mine all connected & working. However sometimes when i turn on the car i have no sound, i have to turn the key off & then turn it back on & then theres sound.

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@mrbowtie64 Congrats!! I haven't even touched it since this video.. I guess I may have already forgot some knowledge I knew 2 months ago lol. Quick question - what if you don't turn on the radio when starting a car and start it after you start driving? Can you start driving and only then learn you don't have any sound?

[@robertehlers4330]

04 w211 has to becut and hardwired the iso dont plug up on mine at all. I am using aftermarket everthing amps and all

[@jackp1107]

All done and working ?

[@NoWheelDrive]

Unfortunately, no. At this moment I'm waiting for their new model which hopefully should come out around November. It's called IA series (it's already available for VW cars) and it has bigger screen and slightly better internals, but no CDROM.

[@the__real__world]

Which is the code of that power adapter, or where I can find it?

[@yolo-cars]

Hey I suggest you contact Xtrons. They usually reply within a few days. If you can make a screen copy and circle or highlight that part you are looking and email them that picture, they hopefully can suggest you the right part.

[@d5547]

Hello, I am considering getting an android head unit for my w219, is it worth getting it in your opinion or should I just stick to my stock head unit which already has bluetooth?

[@NoWheelDrive]

Good question. I guess you have newer W219, right? My W219 doesn't have bluetooth. Also OEM low res screen sux and I'd definitely want to have more features than my old stock COMAND. Should you upgrade to Android unit? Depends on what you need. If you are OK with stock screen and just want to listen to some music then maybe you shouldn't change anything. But if you want better device then you may try to upgrade. Unfortunately, there is no way to setup analog clock using Android unit. Also Android units may have bugs and other issues. Like software glitches, overheating etc. Some even say I need to open my Xtrons PBX70M211 unit and upgrade its cooling because its chip (should be PX5) may easily overheat. So it's not that easy. Ideally I need a new 2018+ Mercedes with modern tech.

[@d5547]

@@NoWheelDrive you can actually set up the analog clock from the car computer, just deselect the option to sync with headunit. And I actually have the 06 w219 but I bought a bluetooth adapter that let's me use steering controls and displays song info on screen. Cost me about 150.

[@d5547]

@@NoWheelDrive the only reason why I would want the android stereo is so I could change the equalizer settings. Idk if it has to do with the factory amp or head unit.

[@NoWheelDrive]

@@d5547 Yeah with Android you can play with equalizer settings. I'm not sure if it really works. I haven't even installed my Xtrons unit yet. Yeah, I changed clock settings via factory COMAND unit. I wish I could change it via Mercedes STAR. I assume once you install Android unit it won't give you an option to change time on the analog clock. So if it's true than changing time via SDS / STAR would be the only option. I know some ppl disconnect car's battery at 12am midnight and then reconnect it but I think it's pretty weird way to reset the clock...

[@d5547]

@@NoWheelDrive you don't need the star unit, I meant in the gauge cluster, you can change it deep in the settings.

[@Bulldozzerdoser]

Highly advise not buying Xtron radios. No directions come with the unit. There is a 14 ga yellow and black wire in a harness that needs to be cut and spiced into a constant 12 volt. Yellow is 12 volt and black to ground. That is if this harness doesn’t plug into your car. Tie in the yellow from the FOBB along with the yellow constant 12 volt and black to ground. Next take the red from the FOBB and connect to the red acc from the stereo. Do not take the acc to a switch source like the cigarette lighter. The red from the stereo will have 12 volts and turns on the FOBB when the radio comes on. Use the long green and green black to connect to the CAN L and CAN H under the glove box. You’ll see a terminal strip with about 5 ports used and a few open ports. Plug into any open port. If you can’t control stereo from the steering wheel, reverse the connection. Plug your cars fiber optic cable into the FOBB. The FOBB has red and white RCA connectors. Pug them into aux out front L and R.

[@robertehlers4330]

Third xtron unitthey sent me upgraded version only difference is has android 13 and different canbus box lol the unit gets so hot you can smell burning they tryingto say because I soldered and heat shrink those wired ypu have too I don't know what to do now why did it not have a fan on back I paid 375 isn't that enough lol

[@robertehlers4330]

Cig lighter

[@robertehlers4330]

My unit is boiling hot smells like its smoking