APS DIY installation

[bacoms]

First of all, hi all. This is my first post as a new member having taken the plunge yesterday and bought my first Mercedes (used).

I'm now trying to decide whether to attempt fitting the APS that the previous owner had bought but never got around to fitting.

The questions I'm asking myself are:

a) Just what is it I’ve got?
• The owner’s manual just says it’s an ‘Auto Pilot System’. No reference to a model.
• The Tele Atlas CD is for Great Britain & Belfast 2002
• The control unit is labelled as
- A208 820 05 89
- APS BT-2/Control unit
- Bosch 7612 001 150 – Model BO 1150 X
• The CD unit is labelled as A210 820 09 97 (made by Blaupunkt)

b) Is it worth the bother of fitting myself?
• Is it something someone with average DIY skills could do? (Initially when I saw the wiring loom that came with it, I thought ‘this looks complicated’ but, once I’d unravelled it, it didn’t look too bad provided the car’s wiring loom was pre-wired for it.)
• Will it enhance the saleability of the car when I come round to selling it? (The car is 6 years old). If not, and I really want sat nav, a TomTom might make more sense.

c) Do fitting instructions exist and where do I get them from? Searching the net has thrown up nothing.

Looking forward to your replies.

Bryan B

 

[Alfie]

First of all, hi all. This is my first post as a new member having taken the plunge yesterday and bought my first Mercedes (used).

I'm now trying to decide whether to attempt fitting the APS that the previous owner had bought but never got around to fitting.

The questions I'm asking myself are:

a) Just what is it I’ve got?
• The owner’s manual just says it’s an ‘Auto Pilot System’. No reference to a model.
• The Tele Atlas CD is for Great Britain & Belfast 2002
• The control unit is labelled as
- A208 820 05 89
- APS BT-2/Control unit
- Bosch 7612 001 150 – Model BO 1150 X
• The CD unit is labelled as A210 820 09 97 (made by Blaupunkt)

b) Is it worth the bother of fitting myself?
• Is it something someone with average DIY skills could do? (Initially when I saw the wiring loom that came with it, I thought ‘this looks complicated’ but, once I’d unravelled it, it didn’t look too bad provided the car’s wiring loom was pre-wired for it.)
• Will it enhance the saleability of the car when I come round to selling it? (The car is 6 years old). If not, and I really want sat nav, a TomTom might make more sense.

c) Do fitting instructions exist and where do I get them from? Searching the net has thrown up nothing.

Looking forward to your replies.

Bryan B

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

The unit you have has come from a W208 CLK. Fitting should be fairly easy as it sounds like you have the wiring. Besides most of the wiring on the existing audio 10 (I presume thats what you have) should fit straight into it.
You should get a newer Teleatlas CD though. You will need an antennae also.

As for resale value, it will improve it but not as much as fitting COMAND will I would steer clear of Tom Tom personally as these seem to attract thieves like wasps to jam and are not as accurate either.

Try looking at http://www.mercupgrades.com for instructions. Comand installs are detailed there which will be pretty similar.

 

[jberks]

If you already have all the kit, then why not install it.
I am fond of tomtom and would highly recommend it, but it does depend on how often you use it. For occasional use, and if you keep a cloth to wipe off the windscreen circle and hide it in the boot then its fine, but if you use it every day, this can be a bind as like Alfie says, they are a pain from a theft viewpoint. It is true that the fitted units with speed signal are more accurage,but to be fair, Tomtom is fine, not as good perhaps, but perfectly adequate.

 

[bacoms]

Thanks for the quick replies.

I did some more research, this time on Bosch BO 1150. From this I gather that the control unit is an Audio 30 APS.

If I'm reading your reply corrrectly, Alfie, this unit should be interchangeable with the Audio 10 unit currently fitted even though the unit is coded A208.... rather than A210....

I'm showing my complete ignorance here regarding the other unit labelled Auto Pilot System (A210 820 09 97). This really is a black box to me. It simple has on the front panel a slit for the CD with a left/right slider underneath. It's about the same width and depth as the Audio 30 unit but about an inch taller. Could it be a multi CD player???? It seems too big for just a single CD player.

Seems like I need to get hold of a workshop manual that covers all of this. I feel another post coming on asking for recommendations on manuals that would cover the retro installation of such a unit.

Thanks again.

Bryan B

 

[ba9rn]

I am fond of tomtom and would highly recommend it, but it does depend on how often you use it. For occasional use, and if you keep a cloth to wipe off the windscreen circle and hide it in the boot then its fine, but if you use it every day, this can be a bind as like Alfie says, they are a pain from a theft viewpoint.

I use a Brodit mount - it's low down (attached to centre console), so is less likely to attract light fingered individuals. I still take the TomTom out of the car though.

Brodit mounts are not cheap for what they are, but are very good. You need to order two things:

• 'Proclip' (vehicle model specific)
• Mount holder (GPS or PDA specific)

The TomTom one just replaces the suction piece - you need to reassemble the mount to the Brodit part. Very easy!

Easiest model search is via the manufacturer site: http://www.brodit.com/
Make a note of the part number for both bits you need, then order by item number online from their UK stockist: http://www.dsldevelopments.com/

No more tell-tale rings on the windscreen.

 

[Nhoney]

First of all, hi all. This is my first post as a new member having taken the plunge yesterday and bought my first Mercedes (used).

I'm now trying to decide whether to attempt fitting the APS that the previous owner had bought but never got around to fitting.

The questions I'm asking myself are:

a) Just what is it I’ve got?
• The owner’s manual just says it’s an ‘Auto Pilot System’. No reference to a model.
• The Tele Atlas CD is for Great Britain & Belfast 2002
• The control unit is labelled as
- A208 820 05 89
- APS BT-2/Control unit
- Bosch 7612 001 150 – Model BO 1150 X
• The CD unit is labelled as A210 820 09 97 (made by Blaupunkt)

b) Is it worth the bother of fitting myself?
• Is it something someone with average DIY skills could do? (Initially when I saw the wiring loom that came with it, I thought ‘this looks complicated’ but, once I’d unravelled it, it didn’t look too bad provided the car’s wiring loom was pre-wired for it.)
• Will it enhance the saleability of the car when I come round to selling it? (The car is 6 years old). If not, and I really want sat nav, a TomTom might make more sense.

c) Do fitting instructions exist and where do I get them from? Searching the net has thrown up nothing.

Looking forward to your replies.

Bryan B

HI - do you still have map cd for the system - i have fitted a system to c250 td and am just missing the map cd

thanks for any help

nick