BiigJiim

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Hi,

I have just been offered a new luxury climate control unit for my 2005 SLK350 at a reasonable price. The part number is quoted as A 171 830 0685 (see pic). At the moment I have the standard air-con.

Can anyone tell me if this is easy (or even possible?) to fit?

Many thanks,
Jim

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mtiede

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I believe this has been done. You will probably find threads about this topic either here or on one of the other benz forums.

Bottom line, I believe, is that to make it totally functional is a lot of work and money. To make it mostly functional, it isn't too much work.

Others will probably chime in with specifics.

Zut

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I have that particular control in my SLK. It was standard here in 2006 for the 350 and the 55, and optional for the 280. I sure hope you can install it. This is the best heating system I have ever had in any of my cars so far. Where I live, the climate is very extreme. Temperatures can go from -50ºC/-58ºF (with the chill factor) in the winter to near 40ºC/104ºF in the summer. This digital thermostatic control is so precise I barely ever have to change the settings. I am no expert, but I believe the proper location of the many sensors has something to do with the great efficiency of the whole system. Maybe someone here can show you the exact sensor routing for the 350. Good luck!

DansSlk

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You won't have full functionality but all the functions you can activate via the buttons on the unit will work OK.

The automatic things like the pollution sensor obviously wont function and a retrofit of them is not really possible.

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alroumi

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I like how it looks and complete's that high tech look especially with cars equipped with the command system, Basically it flows with the controls and dashboard design.

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dsb

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I've done the change out on my car. It cost me $300 from MBenzl on the other forum. The installation is quick and easy. Total time about 15-20 minutes. It just plugs in. All the buttons and functions work from what I can tell. I know I don't have/ didn't install things like the Charcoal filter but everything else seems to work fine and it does look a lot better than the 4 dials.

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ellimb

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AAAAHHH!
My A200 has this climate control but not my 350slk which cost double the A 200. I supose the climate control is newer technology.

Baron7700

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I keep my climate control on about 72 or 74F all the time, and i rarely touch it besides the heated seats. It works great, and imo, it looks way better than the knobs. Theyre right they really give it a techy look to the car.

If its not a big deal that the auto doesnt work, go for it.

BiigJiim

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Guys, thanks for all the feedback. I have taken the plunge and bought it.

Dan, can you tell me what the automatic functions are that don't work? To be honest, I wasn't aware of any other functions apart from the buttons on the unit.

Also, are all the temperature sensors located in the unit itsself or do these need to be installed separately? Just wondering now if there is anything else I need to know when fitting it (or indeed how on earth I do fit it!!)

Cheers,
Jim

DansSlk

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The sun tracker that modifies the airflow to take into account the angle of the sun wont function.

Nor will the anti-misting system that helps prevent the interior of the car misting up (this does not work very well anyways) and the automatic switch to recirc when the pollution levels exceed certain values wont function

The auto push button function works as normal and thats the biggie, most of the temp sensors are already installed for the other system this unit has another built in and a few more that would be installed around the car but they can't be retrofitted.

You don't need them for the unit to function the same as your old one.

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dsb

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^^^^^^^^^
Thanks for the info Dan. Even though I had mine retrofitted, I was unaware of the non-functional features. However, like you said, the biggie is that the Auto function works. I never knew there even was a 'sun tracker' or 'anti-misting' feature. I would have liked the auto recirculate feature but that too is no big deal IMO.

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Zeiser50

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Dan,
The sun sensor is not installed for the basic climate control.
Can it be installed afterwards ? If yes, is the sun tracker function will be available with the auto climate control ?

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DansSlk

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Like you say the sun sensor for the tracking function is not installed on the basic climate control, i will need to check if it can be fitted without huge hassle afterward.

When i said its not possible to retrofit that was not totally exact what i should have said is the cost to retrofit would be unjustifiably massive.

As far as i know so long as the sensor can be installed the function will work be it the sun tracker or the anti-mist.

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DansSlk

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OK since its early and I'm in work wishing i was at home in bed i decided to check the diagrams now to keep the boredom away.

To install the sun sensor you need to connect 3 wires -

1 to the Z6/8 ground connector sleeve
2 to the C-AAC operating unit, pins 11 and 12 on plug 1.

That will give you the sun sensor and the tracking function.

You need to replace some trim on the dash to make it fit, to install the multifunction sensor is more difficult.

The multifunction sensor is the cool bit of kit if you have the time and patience to install it, its located in the battery compartment and monitors the -

Ambient Temperature
Humidity
Concentration of CO and NOx in the AC intake

The values sent to the C-AAC are used to control the AC compressor and the recirculated air system.

The sun sensor is cheap and the install is quick the multifunction sensor is the opposite.

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BiigJiim

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Crikey, I didn't even realise all those other bits were there! For me, the most important thing (apart from that the unit makes the whole console look alot better) is that you can set a temperature, say 22C and the climate control keeps the car at that temperature.

To be honest I always thought it is a bit cheeky of Mercedes to put the temperature numbers around the dial on the manual system as the gradient markers. As I understand it, it makes people think they have climate control, when really they just have standard standard air-con. (Almost every car ad I see for a used SLK says 'climate control')

Dan, I am amazed, thrilled and highly appreciative of your help on here. I have read some other threads as well, and your contribution to this site is simply fantastic. A big THANK YOU.

Cheers,
Jim

richard_leeds

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Back in the old days.... "Air Conditioning" meant a blast of cold air regulated by a dial with 1, 2, 4, 5 written in blue and a blast of hot air when the dial pointed at 1, 2, 4, 5 in red.

The term "Climate Control" was introduced when the manufacturers put in a thermostat controlled by a dial marked with a temperature. The thermostat then clicked the air con on when needing to cool, or off when needing to heat. To get rid of misting, some cars have air-con all the time to dry the air, and then reheat the air to warm it. The result is dry warm air, no misting and a huge fuel bill.

The "Luxury Climate Control" came in when cars started having sensors for humidity, suntrack, pollution, etc. It is only then that you get true climate control.

Yes it is confusing. A useful lesson could be learnt from the commercial building sector. They have "Naturally Ventilated" (heating, no air-con), "Comfort Cooled" (heating and cooling) and then "Air Conditioned" for when there is true conditioning of humidity and air quality.