How-to Guide For Cell Phone Upgrades, Plug-in And Bluetooth

[Skylaw]

MIK has been moving his residence and adapting to a recent expansion of his family; he will bring his web page back up soon, and still has inventory to sell. You can e-mail him at mik@mikbox.com.

He advises that the primary limitation on fitting a system in the U.S. is availability of the cradle for the phones that are 911/GPS compliant (cell service providers will only accept those phones). The cradles have not been manufactured since 2005, though they do become available on occasion. If you already have a cradle for the phone you intend to use, it would be helpful to the installation.

Canadian service providers are not requiring 911 compliance to activate a phone, so a wider variety of phones (and cradles) can be used.

A list of compatible phones can still be found at The MikBox Mercedes Handsfree Solution
__________________

[ricman]

I just purchased a 2001 cl500. It does not have a phone installed and the best I can tell is it never had one. Can someone tell me what I need to do to get a bluetooth setup that will use whats in the car allready? I really just need it to mute the radio when I get a call. I also want to add Satellite radio.

[Skylaw]

If you read through this string, which is intended to keep from having to write detailed responses to each and every person who wants to install handsfree equipment, the answers you need for Mercedes OE and Argos handsfree equipment are already there.

You may want to investigate the Dension Gateway 500 iPod adapter, which can also be purchased with a Bluetooth adapter that will do what you envision for a phone. See Dension Audio Systems. Depends on whether you want the iPod, AUX, and USB capability the Gateway 500 provides.

There have been posts on installations of 3rd party satellite radio kits - I leave you to the search tool for that. However, if you were to install a Gateway 500, it is possible to use the AUX inputs for satellite radio in addition to the iPod. However, you would not have full integration with your steering wheel controls (if you have them) or readout on your head unit - there isn't anything I am aware of to give you that, keeping your OE installation. Your steering wheel and radio controls would control volume. Music selection for audio, and dialing/answering on the phone, would have to be done on the source. The GW 500 would mute the iPod or the satellite radio for handsfree calls, however.

I don't get into installation 3rd party HUs, to provide these capabilities, but others do. There are many posts on this forum (but not in this string). Do a search for AVIC; it will bring up that and several other competing options.

[molas]

Originally Posted by Skylaw

molas,

I wish I could help, but with that mix of equipment and a '98 model, I cannot.

Dear Skylaw,

Nevermind, your post has been most helpful. I think the problem was with the cradle I was using. I could not find another original MB cradle so I went on and bought a Motorola cradle for v60 used for their aftermarket handsfree systems. Two of the pins (RXD-TXD) in the Motorola aftermarket 17-pin connector are in different positions than in the original MB cradle, so with a bit of fine soldering and wiring I was able to convert the aftermarket cradle into a homemade MB. Now the puck is working and pairing, but the head unit does not recognize the puck, although COMAND diagnostics show that "Handy" is present and in the correct configured position in the fiberoptic ring. It is possible that the COMAND is too old for an autosense PSE and puck.

It is possible that I will have to dump the whole installation and start over again. However I've learned a whole lot about phones and my car, so thanks again.

Best,



COMAND
HW VERSION 29.99
SW VERSION 40.99
PRODUCTION DATE 03.04.00
MB NUMBER 2108204889
PRODUCT NAME MANUFACTURER BOSCH
DIAGNOSE ID 0300
SERIAL NUMBER 00326801

COPRO VALID
SW VERSION 30.01
SW.DATE 25.11.97
VARIANTE 01

DSP
SW DATE 550000 250298

ITEM SERIAL SW VER D2B PROTO
HANDY 0000013148 4301 PDK 2.5
TEL NO NO NO
SBS NO NO NO
CDC 7687500 2004200 2.3
SOUND NO NO NO

INFOS
COLDSTART
BATTERY VOLTAGE 12.76 V
TEL: AUDIO IS NOT MUTED

[Yacht Master]

Thanks for all your efforts Sky Law, here is my $0.02 for your data base.
2004 E55 IPhone W/Bluetooth puck (with tail) works!
Mercedes Benz Part number # B 67 87 58 55 (puck with tail) $365 to $488 plus what ever the dealer charges to program (Star) phone present (but leave teleaid off), and it works.
I have not found any functions that do not work.
Make calls.
Receive calls.
Caller ID.
Incoming number/name appearers in command display and MFD and call timer.
Phone book downloads.
Controls on steering wheel work.
Keeps last number and recent too.
Command key pad works.
Bluetooth puck paired when door is open and will sleep when phone out of range.
I am 100% satisfied

[not2fast]

Skylaw:

Thank you so much for sharing this great wealth of information!

I apologize if this is covered already in the posts, but I must have overlooked it if it is.

I am in the process of gathering the parts to install a phone in my 2002 AMG C32.

1. Will will a Voice Recognition / Control Kit # Q-6-82-0836 work properly in my car?

The person I am buying it from says he is sure it will work with 2003 & 2004 - Coupes, CLK320, CLK430, CLK500, CLK55 AMG...but is not sure about my 2002 C32...but THINKS it should.

2. Is MikBox still in business? Their web site has been down ever since I discovered your post.

Thank you very much!

Scott

[captrivers]

I searched this entire thread and are still unsure if this will work in my car. 2003 E500 does not have a cradle or NAV COMMAND head-unit. I just found out that I have an Audio 50 head unit.
Will everything work fine with a #B67875855 BT puck and tail?

Thanks,

[gmund]

Originally Posted by Skylaw

This post addresses the following cell phone upgrade issues for U.S. specification Mercedes cars: 1) How to add a compatible plug-in phone to replace StarTacs or TimePorts when a service provider will no longer register them; 2) How to convert a StarTac or TimePort system to Bluetooth, or to add a Bluetooth system from scratch, in a Model Year ’00 through ’03 Benz; 3) How to add a cell phone to an ’03-’04 E-Class or ’04 S-Class; and 4) Cell phone options for plug-in and Bluetooth for MHI equipped cars (’05 and later). It also briefly addresses 5) compatibility issues and 6) a Tele-Aid digital replacement. So that one does not have to read through useless information, each of the six matters is addressed by a subsequent, same-numbered post in this string.

I invite the administrators to make this string a sticky.

Covering such a broad set of topics and address each class and type of vehicle would result in a monstrously long post – this will be long enough as it is. Therefore I will discuss a process for determining specific needs for your vehicle, using information posted by Paul H. Dick on his superb website. I will use my personal experience with the S-Class as an example, but point out that other classes will differ in physical location of equipment and may differ in part numbers; those differences are available on Paul’s site. I will also add that Paul’s knowledge of the ML far surpasses mine, and suggest that many questions about the ML are better addressed there.

I must also ask your forbearance regarding private messages or e-mails regarding specific cell phones. If I haven’t mentioned it, I haven’t seen it, and cannot answer specific questions on how to get it to work with your system. I address how to configure your car’s equipment, and point you to sources of cell phones that it will work with. I cannot go further. I also do not address 3rd party retrofits other than the MikBox, and have no experience with them.

That said, here we go.

FIRST A WORD ABOUT PRE-WIRING:

“Pre-wired for hands free communication” (or phone) means that the connecting wire and fiber optic harnesses are in place. It does NOT mean that the electronics such as the PSE and cradle, or any other components are present. Cars from the ’00 through ’05 model years were prewired for phone systems, so that adding the required components was simple (so much so that it’s do-it-yourself, except for the version coding of the fiber optics). However, beginning in the ’06 model year MB began omitting the pre-wiring in some models; I do not have a list of which, and have seen it mentioned only for some models. If your car is not pre-wired for phone, then extensive and expensive work must be done to install the wire harnesses before other equipment can be added.

Mine is pre-wired according to window sticker. Any idea as to what I need to buy and how much should it cost to get installed?

[Skylaw]

This was addressed in the fifth permalink post on the first page of the string, above, titled "UPGRADE OF CARS WITH MULTIPLE HANDSET INTERFACE (MHI – MY ’05 and later)". Please read it and follow the links. Your '06 phone system is virtually identical to the '05. You may also wish to read the post that follows it.

The cost of equipment will depend on whether you decide on a Bluetooth phone or a plug-in. Plug-in cradles are less expensive than a Bluetooth module, but can be more limiting in the phones available. Plug-in phones tend to me more expensive than Bluetooth, but sometimes offer fewer compatibility problems.

The cost of equipment also depends on where you buy it - dealer, ebay, or another supplier. Once you have the equipment, installation is a simple DIY, but it will cost to have a dealer install it.

[casolorz]

I couldn't find the bulletin (page no longer at earthlink). Does anyone know what are all the parts I would need buy for an 05 c320 coupe if I don't see anything on the center console?