anybody ever installed a crutchfield purchased cd player in a 300e (1990)? wondering how it went....I bought my 1990 300TE last year with no stereo but stock wiring. Been driving around for over a year with no stereo (if you can imagine!)..anyway went to circuitcity today to buy a cheapo CD player with free installation and the installer told me that this model car has a common/single chassis ground for the sound system and the car must be re-wired to the tune of $90. As I didn't have the 90 beans on me at the time I left and calledthe local MB repair shop. They confirmed this, all the speakers ground at a common terminal as opposed to each channel and then the head unit grounds the whole thing...something about the original security system and the fader switch all running through the original Becker unit. Anyway, it seemed somewhat foolish to spend$90 for wiring for a $120 unit so I calledCrutchfield. They said that they have an adaptor wiring harness that is free with any stereoat least $129.95 that just plugs into the original wiring plus shipping is free and there is no sales tax as well as a detailed step by step instuction sheet. This sounds like my cup of tea but before plunging I was wonderingif any members have actually done anything like this before from Crutchfield....It seems like I could upgrade the stereo unit and still save a fair amount of cash but you know how that sometimes works out. Thanks Cliff

 

I saw your post and was particularly interested in your Crutchfield experience. I just bought a 1990 300E and would like to replace the entire stereo system. Interestly, however, the Crutchfield database appears to identify only two speakers—the door speakers. I wonder if that's because of the common ground issue that you were mentioning. Any insight would certainly be appreciated.