Mercedes Dashboards – the sweetness of success
Amos Bronson Alcott could not have said it better -
Success is sweet and sweeter if long delayed and gotten through many struggles and defeats.
Every time we struggle for something, a goal we wanted to achieve with pain and through adversity we find ourselves looking back in retrospect. We evaluate the effort we have put in, the pain we have gone through to achieve this end goal. Then often times we look back and think to ourselves – “ Was it worth it?” If the answer to this question is “Yes” then we can say that our success was worth it.
- IC177 in Mercedes was the first to arrive in our set of licenses using the MN037 license. As outstanding as this was it was only a quarter of the battle won when it comes to dashboards. The initial support list contained the following Visteon R7F701403 dashboards:
- W177 A-Class
- W243 B-Class
- W247 B-Class
- H243 EQA- Class
- X243 EQB- Class
- C118 CLA- Class
- H247 GLA- Class
- W167 GLE/ GLS- Class
- W213 E-Class Facelift
- W238 E-Class Coupe
- X247 GLB-Class
- W257 CLS-Class
- X290 AMG GT Four Door Facelift
- R232 SL 2022+
They require a ZN085 programmer for the RH850/ V850 processor inside them and the ZN092 adapter to complete the task of transferring 5V to 3.3V in order to complete the communication between the programmer and the IC177. Upon its release this was our first video that went really viral (to our standards) gathering 3,500 views in its first 24h:
The procedure requires some soldering as it is done on bench and will require you to connect ZN092 and ZN085, in order to communicate with the cluster. There are backups saved at each step so it is absolutely safe to perform, the thing you have to be mindful of is the fact that the soldering is complex. Follow the instructions, there are 4K photographs inserted into the software itself and a test connection is available as a button just to make sure you are 100% safe.
As you may know the IC177 consists of two separate modules – one being the display, which is basically an LED screen and the control module itself which controls the dashboard and what it shows the driver. There are many locations you can find it – in some cars it is under the driver's seat, in others – under the passenger seat, in third cars you can find it above the glove compartment and in fourth case you can find the IC177 module above the pedals underneath the dashboard. This is W213 facelift. This location took the most effort to extract the dashboard for me personally as you have to lie on your back and navigate tight spaces. Thankfully I have tiny wrists which worked in my favor. Soldering – this is precise business so your run of the mil Parkside soldering iron will only work if your skillset exceeds mine (average at best).
- IC223 – this is the new bomb in our functionality. MN038 is our new license.
This license is used when working on dashboards Visteon R7F701529 BGA processor the BGA is the big change – this treats W223 dashboards, installed in W223 and W206 family cars but also adds the ability to work with IC177 dashboards based on the same technology, in particular IC177 in facelifted cars (as they are the ones equipped with BGA).
Supported Models:
IC223 (2020+) in Mercedes-Benz vehicles, equipped with Visteon R7F701529 BGA processors:
- W223 S-Class 2020+
- W206 C-Class Sedan (Saloon) 2021+
- S206 C-Class Station Wagon (T-model) 2021+
- V206 C-Class Long Wheelbase Sedan 2021+
- X206 C-Class All- Terrain 2021+
- X254 GLC 2022+
- C254 GLC Coupe 2022+
- C236 CLE Coupe 2023+
- A236 CLE Cabriolet 2023+
- Other models with the IC223, equipped with Visteon R7F701529 BGA processor
Including models after 2023 with IC177, equipped with Visteon R7F701529 BGA processor, such as:
- W177 A-Class
- W243 B-Class
- W247 B-Class
- H243 EQA- Class
- X243 EQB- Class
- C118 CLA- Class
- H247 GLA- Class
- W167 GLE/ GLS- Class
- X247 GLB-Class
- W257 CLS-Class
- X290 AMG GT Four Door Facelift
The jury is still out on W214 as I have not had the chance to work with one. There is high probability that it is W223 but I would not say that until our development team has confirmed this with me.
Procedure wise we are working in the same way as the IC177 – once again – ZN085 and ZN092 are used and once again we are working on bench. Once again the important part is the wiring – again full 4K images are available in the software. Pay close attention to them and you will be fine.
One more thing I would like to let you know - thecalibration of these IC177 and IC223s is not the only thing we are working on. Alexander would not have been called “The Great” if he stopped halfway through conquering the known world, now would he?
Until next week – try to have fun at work!
Alek
