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Bluetooth Puck Not Working - Need an Expert or another CLS550 Owner

4K views 17 replies 4 participants last post by  Skylaw 
#1 ·
I recently purchased a 2007 CLS550. The car has the adapter/plug in the armrest so I figured all I need was the Bluetooth Puck. I bought the silver one (Part: B6 787 5878) and I know that the puck works because I tried it in another car.

In my car, the puck shows no signs of life. The Blue LED Lights will not come on...it seems dead.

My car has the Voice Control Module in the trunk and all of the fuses are OK. The Adapter Plug in the arm rest shows voltages when the car is turned on but I don't know the correct voltages.

Questions:

1. Does anyone have a full wiring diagram from the Voice Control Module to the Armrest connectors? I have a copy of a wiring diagram but none of the wire colors match what is in my car. The Armrest Connector Pinout for my car has 10 wires arranged like this:

Connector Wire Connector Wire
Pin # Color Pin # Color


1 Blue 6 Pink Wire and Purple Wire
2 LtBlue/White 7 LtBlue
3 Orange/White 8 Orange
4 Green/White 9 Green
5 Brown/Whit 10 Brown

According to my wiring diagram, even though the colors do not match, I verified that pins/wires 2/7, 4/9 and 5/10 go to the correct pins at the Voice Control Module and the wiring is in tact for them.

I could not verify pins 3/8 because a continuity check of the wiring shows that both of these wires have continuity for pin 25 at the voice control module. The strange part is that the continuity only appears when the ohm meter black and red wires are placed in one direction but not the reverse direction. According to my schematic, there are no electronic circuits in between the VCM and the arm rest connector so I'm confused why it behaves this way. Pins 3/8 should be the receive +/- signal wires so they certainly shouldn't be tied together. Also, according to the wiring diagram, VCM Pin 25 should go to Armrest pin 3 and VCM Pin 20 should go to Armrest pin 8. But, VCM Pin 20 appears to NOT go to the armrest connector at all. VERY STRANGE?

My VCM Part Number is: A230 820 70 26.

Question 2: Does anyone else have an 07 CLS550 (US Model) with Bluetooth? Any chance you can take some pictures of your wire colors in the armrest or do you have the part number of your VCM? Also, when you have your headlights on, does the wrench or info button in your armrest light up? Mine stay dark.

Question 3: Any experts out there I should be talking to? My car has no faults showing other than the standard teleaid warning and my audio system boots up fine. Of course if I press the telephone button it tells me to "Insert my Phone"
 
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#2 ·
The question really is what options were on the car when it was new (then you'll know what you need to buy). For example there is a bunch of parts that need to be installed to make BT phone work (e.g. MHI module, VCS module, antenna swith, linear compensator). A few years ago I bought a kit on eBay for my '06 E350 which I installed in the trunk (so you could try search eBay for your MB model).

If you find a kit I would check to see if you already have the listed parts installed.

BTW I had no luck getting any of this info from the dealer.
 
#3 ·
The car came with the premium package which included the phone plate in the arm rest, harness wiring and the Voice Control Module in the trunk. I'm not sure about a "compensator" and I don't believe that would be necessary for the bluetooth puck. I think the compensator is only for a cell phone's antenna so that the signal is sufficient. Anyhow, I may not have the compensator you mention. According to the manual, the compensator would be mounted above the VCM and that spot is empty (in the trunk).

Does anyone know if the Voice Control Module I have is the correct one to work with the bluetooth puck?

What provides power to the bluetooth puck and what pins on the 10 pin armrest connector for the phone adapter should show the power? I'm assuming I should be seeing at least 5 volts somewhere on that connector but I don't.
 
#4 ·
Update on my car's configuration. Here is a picture of the modules in the trunk with part numbers. The names of these modules are different everywhere I look so what I thought was the "Voice Control Module" is called a different name in the wiring diagrams.

My basic problem remains the same, the Bluetooth Puck does not light up (yes it's clicked in place and I've pressed and held down the button). COMAND still tells me to "Insert Phone".

Also, here are 3 options configured in my car when it was purchased that seem to apply:

359 TELEAID USA
389 MOBILE PRE.-INSTALLATION (MTUS) USA/CANADA COMPL.
494 VCS Voice Control System U.S. VERSION

Is there anyone out there that can tell me if my Bluetooth Puck should work with this configuration?
 

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#7 · (Edited)
First, let me compliment you for the thoroughness of your question. It is beautifully presented - and really motivates me to answer it (I usually remain silent when all I can do is guess). Unfortunately, I cannot answer with any certainty. The Bluetooth puck that your car would originally have been equipped with would have been B6 787 6131, but as far as I know, electronically it is identical to the 5878 model you have. Only the appearance differs. If your VCM is original, the puck you have should work.

I am as puzzled as you are over the wiring configuration you described. However, the MHI contact plate harness should connect to the MHI control unit, not the voice control unit.

Unfortunately I do not have a parts listing for your car; perhaps one of our members with access to the EPC can help here (they would need your VIN). According to information I have, an '07 should not require a VCM at all for phone operation; I do not know what the effect a malfunction in the VCM would have in cars that do not require one at all.

You are correct that for a Bluetooth installation you do not need the linear compensator. It services only the external antennas, and the BT installation uses the phone's antenna.

The MHI contact plate in your armrest should look something like the photo in post 5 HERE (though it may be in a different location from what is pictured; photo is from a W220). Do all of the MHI contact plate pins look like they're in good shape? Same for the puck?

I'm sorry my response doesn't get you closer to a solution. One thing you might try is to post a summary of the question in the W219 forum, linking that post to this one for response (that will keep your answers from getting split up, and lets all see what others have suggested). It also keeps you from having to re-post all your work so far.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for your response Warren and yes my contact plate is the same. The terminology of the modules in the trunk all vary which is why my module may be called a VCM, MHI or the long name I put in the picture. It all depends on the source of the info. Crazy.

I am a little disappointed in this forum. I've owned many, many cars and I've always worked on my own car. It seems that there aren't many "hands on" mercedes owners. Many of the answers in the forums lead to "take it to the dealer".

What happened to our American spirit? :)

THANKS FOR REPLYING THOUGH!!!!
 
#9 · (Edited)
One of the biggest problems in answering your question is that most of the materials I have personally only go through MY '06. COMAND and audio systems, including phone setups, changed a great deal in 2007.

However, a voice control module is a voice control module; it is never an MHI controller, and vice-versa.

If I had any decent wiring diagrams for your car, I could perhaps help more; but I don't, and I am concerned that you don't either; the wiring colors should match up, if your diagram is indeed for your car (and a prior owner has not modified it).

In addition, it is entirely possible that many owners of CLS550s don't spend much time in this particular sub-forum; but one who spends time in the W219 forum might see the question if you cross-referenced it there. Those folks probably have more hands-on experience with your particular model.

My hands-on experience is in the R107, W220 and W221, and I can tell you, we have wonderfully knowledgeable people participating in those forums. Take a look at the R/C107 forum's EGV107 encyclopedia, and the W220 S-Class encyclopedia in the respective forums to get a bit of the flavor - and we're building toward one for the W221, but have far less because the W221 is much newer. When you get down to it, there is only so much you can do over the internet, when one is unable to actually see what is going on at the wiring/connection level. That is when STAR diagnosis will be recommended.

I do hope someone can help you, but without better documentation of your car's wiring, I am out of ideas. Beyond that, and absent help from someone familiar with your car's setup, it will be STAR diagnostics. And I hate providing that advice after all the effort you went to to describe the problem.
 
#10 ·
The wiring diagram I have from the Mercedes Service Manual and from Alldata both say "for Pre-wired Phone...Option 389. My datacard states I have "Pre-wired Phone ... COMPL" Option 387. Because I couldn't find the correct wires in the service manual I signed up for Alldata service. Both are the same and both do not match my car.

The wire colors in the armrest connector definitely do not match the diagram. The phone adapter connector is a Mercedes original connector and I have no reason to believe the wires have been changed ... it all appears OEM in the armrest and in the trunk.

I'm very disappointed that Mercedes doesn't have better control of their OEM configurations and documentation. I expected better.

So, I will probably just put the Bluetooth Puck up for sale and move on.
 
#11 ·
There is one more option to check; while i have been told that the programming of the 6131 puck is the same as the 5878 puck you have, and have seen entries by many owners that both work in their cars, before giving up I would try to borrow a 6131 and see if it works. I cannot guarantee that every one of the physical contacts are the same (but I cannot see why they would be different - especially wth so many of our members being able to use them both in their MHI systems, at least through 2006).

It is something to try.
 
#12 ·
Some confusion on the descriptions. The 494 code is not for voice control but refers to US options generally. I could neither follow the pin-to-pin connectivity as measured from connector X39/47 to N123/1.

I believe this attached diagram is the one for your car, covering the wiring from the centre armrest connector to the N123/1 Universal Portable CTEL Interface control unit.

If still interested, you could recheck the wiring between X39/47 and N123/1. Now I'm not sure if the wiring to the UHI-connector (that you have retrofitted?) is correct if you follow the wiring to X39/5, I would check it from other diagrams.

Colours seem to match your description although some colours are not MB standard at all and even have not been printed on the wiring diagram (the drawing colours seem to match in any case).
 

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#14 ·
Thanks very much for your detailed reply ... here are my responses ...

Some confusion on the descriptions. The 494 code is not for voice control but refers to US options generally. I could neither follow the pin-to-pin connectivity as measured from connector X39/47 to N123/1.
According to the data sheet for my car, code 494 is for "VCS Voice Control System U.S. Version". I'm guessing that this really doesn't matter either way.

I have successfully done the pin to pin check from the N123/1 Universal Portable CTEL Interface control unit to the phone connector (X39/47) in the armrest. Pins 2&7, 3&8, 4&9 and 5&10 all seem to check and your diagram shows the correct wire colors (my service manual shows the incorrect colors for some reason).

I did not have any success testing Pins 1&5 to N123/1 pins 18&17 though; I will have to re-check these two.



I believe this attached diagram is the one for your car, covering the wiring from the centre armrest connector to the N123/1 Universal Portable CTEL Interface control unit.
The diagram appears correct, very similar to the one I have, but with the correct wire colors. I'm wondering why my manual is wrong.

If still interested, you could recheck the wiring between X39/47 and N123/1. Now I'm not sure if the wiring to the UHI-connector (that you have retrofitted?) is correct if you follow the wiring to X39/5, I would check it from other diagrams.
I am still interested but I only need to re-check pins 1 and 5 to pins 18 and 17. I know the other pins check out. I would love to know if anyone has power to these two pins when the bluetooth puck is NOT installed. Both pins read 0 volts at the armrest but have some voltage once the puck is inserted. If I have a wiring problem, my guess is that it is one of these two wires/pins.

I didn't retrofit anything, the car came pre-configured for phone.

Thanks Again and if you have any further advice, let me know. I will post an update once I re-check pins 1&5 at the armrest.
 
#16 ·
I had a chance to check the wiring between the phone module in the trunk and the connector in the armrest. I re-checked pins 1&6 in the armrest connector to pins 17&18 at the module in the trunk. There is no connectivity on these two wires...none. The other 8 wires are OK.

Now I'm wondering if the connection at X39/48 is disconnected. I have to find the location of this connector. It is the "Breakdown Assistance/Info button plug distributor".
 
#17 ·
Bluetooth problem solved. Connector X39/48 was the culprit. This connector is at the very bottom of the armrest storage and the female side was not pulled through into the storage area. I suspect it was never connected at the factory when the car was assembled.

Bluetooth lit up and works great with my Motorola G4 Play phone. All of my contacts loaded instantly and I can make and receive calls. Also, my two emergency buttons in the armrest now light up red when the car is started (not that teleaid is of any use).

Thanks for all the help.
 
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