Lighted Door Sill Installation

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Been meaning to post this for a few weeks, so had 15 minutes to spare so thought I would attempt to post my instructions on how to install the doors sills - with photos (fingers crossed!!)

I'm posting this link as well to a thread in Benzworld that I also referred to when I was installing the sills. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r171...oor-sills.html

If you do find this thread useful then please rate me!!!

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Anyway trying to go through it in order ... Took us 3-4 hours one afternoon.

First step was to remove the carpet in the boot to reach the fuse box. We ended up removing the boot cover, not sure if you can get away with it left in or not. But fairly easy to remove, there are four plugs holding it in place, two at the front and two at the back. Best to unhook it when it is at the back of the boot. You will see in the centre of the plugs a small disk - get your nails around it and pull on it till it pops out. You can them remove the plugs - beware they have a white grease on them that can get everywhere.

Remove the carpet cover over the spare tyre, and just above it you should see two screws or plugs (can't remember) but they pop out easily as well, and I think that there are also two more plugs/screws at the back of the boot, on the edge of the carpet. Once the four plugs/screws are removed you can then remove the base area of the boot carpet and the fuse box will appear!!!

I know the set of instructions I followed said something about removing the fusebox or unscrewing it - we didn't do anything of the sort. You can easily see where the plugs and fuses go - I think it is slot 18 going by the instructions from the BW link.

So once the boot is stripped, next step is to do the same to the car. Without a doubt starting working on the left hand side first as that is the most awkward one!!! Unclip the current door sill, see the photo below of the door step with no sill. The clips are on the inside of the door, and the sill has a small lip that fits round the door step on the outside. So to remove the sill pull it up from inside the door and then move it out from the door step.

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Also make sure at this point that you have tipped the seat as far forward as it will go, and moved it as far forward as it will go.

Next peel the carpetting away from the back of the car, around the seat belt retracter. The mushroom clips for the carpet is what the material wind deflector hooks onto - they should unscrew by hand (with a bit of persuasion)!!

When you peel it back you will see the seat belt reatracter that needs to be unscrewed. At this point be very careful you don't drop any of the screws (lost 15 mins trying to retrieve a dropped screw!!!)

When it is has been unscrewed, pull it away from the metal and you will see the wiring hole.

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

There are 6 nuts that need to be unscrewed on the seat belt retracter.

It's up to you what order you do things in, but we got all the wiring in place first before actually fitting the sills.

The next step was to get the wire from the front of the car through to the fuse box. This is where an extra set of hands and eyes helps. We did use s flexible pole to feed the wire through - it has a small metal tip on the end so can force it's way through. This is probably the worse job of the lot, as there is a lot of wiring for it to get past.

I have small hands and wrists so was able to get right into the back left hand corner of the boot to feel the pole coming through. We tried feeding the pole from both sides (boot and passenger door) and when we managed to get the pole through - we then tapped the wire onto it!!!

The photo below shows the wire after we had got it through (taped to a white pole).

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Next for us was to pass the next wire from the left hand side of the car to the right hand side. This actually turned out to be easier than I thought, cause really did think I was going to have to remove the centre console.

So again remove the sill from the right hand side, and also pull back the carpet. Thankfully there is no need to unscrew the seat belt retractor on this side.

We managed (using the flexible pole) to pass the wire down near the base of the car - and behind the centre console. Just use the pole to push your way through from one side to the other!!!

Photo belows shows a blue pole appearing at the bottom at the right hand side of the car.

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

The hard part is now done!!!!

Next step is to fit the door sill sensor plug into the door sensor. We struggled with this cause couldn't figure out how to fit the plug as there wasn't enough room. Little did we realise the the door sensor can be taken out of the door!!!

From the inside, give the top of the door sensor a push and the top should start to lean forward. You can then pull the door sensor up and away from the door. Feed the wire for the sill sensor, through the hole, and plug into the door sensor before fitting the door sensor back in place. Remember to put the bottom in first!!!

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Now getting to the good part - fitting the sill!!!

First off, make sure that the wires are all in the correct places, and when happy - TAPE THEM UP. I didn't do this and now have a rattle

(Still not sorted 1 year on!!!

Then re-fit the seat belt retractor on the left hand side of the car. This can be really fiddly as we had a struggle getting the screw holes to match up, and then actually having enough room to tighten them is a pain as well.

Once that is back in place, replace the interior carpets (inside the car - not the boot) back in place. Remembering to screw the mushrooms caps back in place.

Once the carpets and rubber edging is back in place you can fit the sills.

I found that there was more than enough wire so ended up tapping part of it to the underside of the sill. Just make sure that the wire is not in the way of any of the clips!!!

Fit the sill by pushing it over the lip on the door step on the outside of the door, and then pushing it down into place - making sure you connect with all the clips!!!

Your interior should now look like it has never been touched!!!

Finally go back to the boot (and ensuring the engine is off!!) fit the door sill connector and fuse into the fuse box. My sills didn't come with the correct fuse but underneath the spare tyre you will find spares of all the fuses so just used their's - still need to replace it though ...

Once the fuse is fitted, check that the sills work (obviously this can be done earlier!!!)

You can then replace the carpet back in the boot - screwing it back in place, with the 2 or 4 screws. Replace the carpet over the spare tyre, and finally re-fit the boot cover. Again second pair of hands helps here, as one can hold the cover whilst the other lines it up with the struts and then pushes the pins back in. Push the pin in, and then push the centre part of the pin back in place.

Hopefully your car is now back as it was, you have no nuts or bolts left over, and you have working sills!!!

And would you believe it, I actually don't have any photos of my sills!!!!!

So can't even show you the finished item!!!

Hopefully that should give everyone a better idea on what to do - let me know if anyone needs anymore info, and hope it all goes smoothly!!!

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

So hope that is off use to people

And remember rate me - if you think this post is any good

mtiede · 10-04-2006

Good write-up.

**beverage** · 10-04-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtiede

Good write-up.

Thanks

**DansSlk** · 10-04-2006

Good work

Well Done

thanosSLK · 01-24-2008

I just saw your "manual", as I'm thinking of installing the "SLK" door sills.

REALLY good work!

**alroumi** · 01-24-2008

thank you for the tutorial, appreciate your time for posting this very detailed guidelines.

10-04-2006	#1 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Lighted Door Sill Installation Been meaning to post this for a few weeks, so had 15 minutes to spare so thought I would attempt to post my instructions on how to install the doors sills - with photos (fingers crossed!!) I'm posting this link as well to a thread in Benzworld that I also referred to when I was installing the sills. http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r171...oor-sills.html If you do find this thread useful then please rate me!!! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	http://www.slkworld.com/

10-04-2006	#2 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Anyway trying to go through it in order ... Took us 3-4 hours one afternoon. First step was to remove the carpet in the boot to reach the fuse box. We ended up removing the boot cover, not sure if you can get away with it left in or not. But fairly easy to remove, there are four plugs holding it in place, two at the front and two at the back. Best to unhook it when it is at the back of the boot. You will see in the centre of the plugs a small disk - get your nails around it and pull on it till it pops out. You can them remove the plugs - beware they have a white grease on them that can get everywhere. Remove the carpet cover over the spare tyre, and just above it you should see two screws or plugs (can't remember) but they pop out easily as well, and I think that there are also two more plugs/screws at the back of the boot, on the edge of the carpet. Once the four plugs/screws are removed you can then remove the base area of the boot carpet and the fuse box will appear!!! I know the set of instructions I followed said something about removing the fusebox or unscrewing it - we didn't do anything of the sort. You can easily see where the plugs and fuses go - I think it is slot 18 going by the instructions from the BW link. So once the boot is stripped, next step is to do the same to the car. Without a doubt starting working on the left hand side first as that is the most awkward one!!! Unclip the current door sill, see the photo below of the door step with no sill. The clips are on the inside of the door, and the sill has a small lip that fits round the door step on the outside. So to remove the sill pull it up from inside the door and then move it out from the door step. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. Last edited by beverage; 10-04-2006 at 04:57 PM.

10-04-2006	#3 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Also make sure at this point that you have tipped the seat as far forward as it will go, and moved it as far forward as it will go. Next peel the carpetting away from the back of the car, around the seat belt retracter. The mushroom clips for the carpet is what the material wind deflector hooks onto - they should unscrew by hand (with a bit of persuasion)!! When you peel it back you will see the seat belt reatracter that needs to be unscrewed. At this point be very careful you don't drop any of the screws (lost 15 mins trying to retrieve a dropped screw!!!) When it is has been unscrewed, pull it away from the metal and you will see the wiring hole. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#4 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	There are 6 nuts that need to be unscrewed on the seat belt retracter. It's up to you what order you do things in, but we got all the wiring in place first before actually fitting the sills. The next step was to get the wire from the front of the car through to the fuse box. This is where an extra set of hands and eyes helps. We did use s flexible pole to feed the wire through - it has a small metal tip on the end so can force it's way through. This is probably the worse job of the lot, as there is a lot of wiring for it to get past. I have small hands and wrists so was able to get right into the back left hand corner of the boot to feel the pole coming through. We tried feeding the pole from both sides (boot and passenger door) and when we managed to get the pole through - we then tapped the wire onto it!!! The photo below shows the wire after we had got it through (taped to a white pole). __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#5 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Next for us was to pass the next wire from the left hand side of the car to the right hand side. This actually turned out to be easier than I thought, cause really did think I was going to have to remove the centre console. So again remove the sill from the right hand side, and also pull back the carpet. Thankfully there is no need to unscrew the seat belt retractor on this side. We managed (using the flexible pole) to pass the wire down near the base of the car - and behind the centre console. Just use the pole to push your way through from one side to the other!!! Photo belows shows a blue pole appearing at the bottom at the right hand side of the car. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#6 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	The hard part is now done!!!! Next step is to fit the door sill sensor plug into the door sensor. We struggled with this cause couldn't figure out how to fit the plug as there wasn't enough room. Little did we realise the the door sensor can be taken out of the door!!! From the inside, give the top of the door sensor a push and the top should start to lean forward. You can then pull the door sensor up and away from the door. Feed the wire for the sill sensor, through the hole, and plug into the door sensor before fitting the door sensor back in place. Remember to put the bottom in first!!! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#7 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	Now getting to the good part - fitting the sill!!! First off, make sure that the wires are all in the correct places, and when happy - TAPE THEM UP. I didn't do this and now have a rattle (Still not sorted 1 year on!!! Then re-fit the seat belt retractor on the left hand side of the car. This can be really fiddly as we had a struggle getting the screw holes to match up, and then actually having enough room to tighten them is a pain as well. Once that is back in place, replace the interior carpets (inside the car - not the boot) back in place. Remembering to screw the mushrooms caps back in place. Once the carpets and rubber edging is back in place you can fit the sills. I found that there was more than enough wire so ended up tapping part of it to the underside of the sill. Just make sure that the wire is not in the way of any of the clips!!! Fit the sill by pushing it over the lip on the door step on the outside of the door, and then pushing it down into place - making sure you connect with all the clips!!! Your interior should now look like it has never been touched!!! Finally go back to the boot (and ensuring the engine is off!!) fit the door sill connector and fuse into the fuse box. My sills didn't come with the correct fuse but underneath the spare tyre you will find spares of all the fuses so just used their's - still need to replace it though ... Once the fuse is fitted, check that the sills work (obviously this can be done earlier!!!) You can then replace the carpet back in the boot - screwing it back in place, with the 2 or 4 screws. Replace the carpet over the spare tyre, and finally re-fit the boot cover. Again second pair of hands helps here, as one can hold the cover whilst the other lines it up with the struts and then pushes the pins back in. Push the pin in, and then push the centre part of the pin back in place. Hopefully your car is now back as it was, you have no nuts or bolts left over, and you have working sills!!! And would you believe it, I actually don't have any photos of my sills!!!!! So can't even show you the finished item!!! Hopefully that should give everyone a better idea on what to do - let me know if anyone needs anymore info, and hope it all goes smoothly!!! __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#8 (permalink)
beverage Founding Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Cumbria, UK Vehicle: R171 2005 SLK200 Kompressor Other Toys: Cars & Computers Posts: 103 Country: Thanks: 9 Thanked 4 Times in 1 Post	So hope that is off use to people And remember rate me - if you think this post is any good __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 5 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-04-2006	#9 (permalink)
mtiede Founding Member #7 Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Western New York Vehicle: 2006 SLK 350 Posts: 1,380 Thanks: 60 Thanked 31 Times in 24 Posts	Good write-up.

10-04-2006	#11 (permalink)
DansSlk Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Vehicle: 05 B55S (Brabus 6.1 S) Posts: 6,456 Country: Thanks: 84 Thanked 136 Times in 106 Posts	Good work Well Done __________________ One thing you will learn with German cars - If it's simple it ain't happening.

01-24-2008	#12 (permalink)
thanosSLK SLK World Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Athens, Greece Vehicle: '06 SLK 200 K, '06 C 200 Sports Coupe Posts: 26 Country: Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I just saw your "manual", as I'm thinking of installing the "SLK" door sills. REALLY good work!

01-24-2008	#13 (permalink)
alroumi Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Kuwait City, Kuwait Vehicle: 2006 Kleemann Designo Mocha Black SLK55 AMG Other Toys: 2007 Ebony Jaguar XKR Coupe' and 06 Black Cayenne S Posts: 6,021 Country: Thanks: 229 Thanked 157 Times in 95 Posts	thank you for the tutorial, appreciate your time for posting this very detailed guidelines. __________________ 06 Kleemann Designo Mocha Black SLK55 AMG 06 Porsche Cayenne S 07 Jaguar XKR Coupe' I use the Torque and keep the HP for my Steak Sauce!

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