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help! Problems with my Becker CD system 1991 CE

2K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  floridabenzboi 
#1 ·
The Becker 1432 stereo system in my 1991 300CE has several interesting problems that I need to figure out:

First and foremost, sound only plays from the rear speakers and constantly fades in and out. Second, the CD changer does not recognize ANY CDs, burned or non-burned. When loaded, the magazine seems to recognize a disk is in there and seems like it is going to play it, but then it says the magazine is empty. The last piece of this puzzle is that the stereo only has sound when the engine is running, even though it should work fine with the key in position 1 as well.

I took my 1991 300CE to best buy yesterday to get a new Sony in dash CD player installed to fix this problem. I thought this would be a piece of cake fix, but according to best buy, in order to make this CD player work in my car I would have to get the whole car rewired at a cost of $160.00. On top of that, they said my existing speakers might not even play. Needless to say, I returned the Sony player.

I don't want to have to replace the wiring and speakers in my car if it is not necessary. Does anybody know if I could simply replace the head unit with one from a newer benz that would play burned CDs and keep the rest of the factory system? Or was best buy lying to me when they said that I needed to replace my factory wiring?

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated!!!
 
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#2 ·
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but based on some pretty significant re-searching on the issue, most if not all that the shop told you is true. A rather odd two-piece system installed over the course of a few years with the real "guts" in the trunk, and the cabin portion more or less a cassette player and wired remote control for the goods in the trunk.

I too wanted to play my CDs by installing a multi-disk in the trunk (no longer available or even serviced by Becker) or better yet stick in a CD head unit, and reached a dead end. Even adapter cables from Crutchfield and such are no longer available for this setup.

When your CD is functioning (you can try with the radio for now), you might just try using the power button on your head unit to power up the radio independent of the key position. I've done this with the key in the off position, when I'm sitting in the car.

Cheers......Scotz
 
#3 ·
Does this model have the fader in the console? If so, that is the most likely cause of the rear speaker only sound; you might try spraying some electronic component cleaner into the fader and operating it, front to rear, several times.
I did replace my Becker with a Panasonic. Plays well, sounds great since I "cleaned" the fader control.
 
#4 ·
You should be able to just pop in something newer and it will work. I have done this multiple times because the original head unit that came with my car was failing adn not working... the cassette player with CD changer controls and such. Ended up getting a blaupunkt unit (which fits the factory wiring perfectly, no harness or anything needed).

Also, I have been looking up and down for a harness for my stereo, went to whatever shop you can name, both franchise and independent. All they say is they don't make a harness for your car anymore. Check ebay. That's where I got mine from. Otherwise you'll have to get some re-wire job that's not needed. Crutchfield, Tweeter, BBuy, CCity, all of them. They don't have anything you need for your mercedes in terms of a harness.
 
#5 ·
scoopcoupe said:
You should be able to just pop in something newer and it will work. I have done this multiple times because the original head unit that came with my car was failing adn not working... the cassette player with CD changer controls and such. Ended up getting a blaupunkt unit (which fits the factory wiring perfectly, no harness or anything needed).
Sorry, that does not apply to his car.

The Becker that you have in your car was on a handful of model years, not sure the exact years but I know that 1991 and 1992 were included.

The head unit is nothing more than a remote control. There is a tuner module that I believe is under the rear seat. Also a crossover and an amp, I believe the amp is under the rear deck. Add in some awful Bose speakers and what you're looking at is a borderline-state-of-the-art-for-1990 audio system.

It is terrible. "Boomy" bass and little to no highs. The "no highs, no lows, must be Bose!!" phrase definitely applies here. To my knowledge there is no way to add anything other than the original CD changer, but good luck finding one of those in working order.

Mine is 100% stock at the moment. When I get around to it, I'll rip the whole thing out, re-wire, and start over. That's really the only course of action - either 100% stock or 100% re-done. $160 to re-wire the vehicle so that you can put a modern CD deck in there as well as some decent speakers is a good price and I would go ahead and do that.
 
#6 ·
yea, i was quoted $150.00 to rewire the entire car, or $120.00 to "intigrate" the stereo at Best Buy. in essense, cut off the stock stereo connector plug and attach a new one.

the salesman at Best Buy told me that the good thing is that if i choose the "re-wire" over the "intigration", i get to choose all new equipment. Gee pal, if i had an extra $1500.00 lying around i would consider it.
 
#7 ·
moner said:
yea, i was quoted $150.00 to rewire the entire car, or $120.00 to "intigrate" the stereo at Best Buy. in essense, cut off the stock stereo connector plug and attach a new one.

the salesman at Best Buy told me that the good thing is that if i choose the "re-wire" over the "intigration", i get to choose all new equipment. Gee pal, if i had an extra $1500.00 lying around i would consider it.
Just to be clear - if they just cut off the stock harness for the Becker deck and wire in a new head unit it will NOT WORK. I would ask to talk to an installer and see what they meant by that just to be SURE that they know what the h#ll they are doing.

If you want anything other than the 100% bone-stock setup, the thing must be re-wired. It is not hard - you can do it in a day even as a novice if you go slowly and carefully - avoid breaking any interior trim pieces as they are expensive to replace.

But what is your time worth? I would not spend a whole day re-wiring my car audio to save $150. If they will do it for $150, have 'em do it.
 
#8 ·
Well,
I've done some more research and found a high-end car audio place here in Winston-Salem, NC who says they have installed new decks and made them work with the existing Becker/MB system, as long as the deck has dual preamp inputs. He wants $40 for installation - sounds reasonable to me so I bought a new Alpine unit and scheduled an appointment for monday. I'll be sure to let everyone know if this works!
 
#9 ·
kirkericson said:
Well,
I've done some more research and found a high-end car audio place here in Winston-Salem, NC who says they have installed new decks and made them work with the existing Becker/MB system, as long as the deck has dual preamp inputs. He wants $40 for installation - sounds reasonable to me so I bought a new Alpine unit and scheduled an appointment for monday. I'll be sure to let everyone know if this works!

Wow. YES PLEASE let us know if it works. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

If it does, then that's a great deal. I can't understand what MB was thinking with these Becker systems. They are just awful, even by 1991 standards. :( :(
 
#11 ·
mrhills0146 said:
Just to be clear - if they just cut off the stock harness for the Becker deck and wire in a new head unit it will NOT WORK. I would ask to talk to an installer and see what they meant by that just to be SURE that they know what the h#ll they are doing.
Wrong!
I had to change the stock headunit on my car and ended up with an alpine headunit. In the future I'll probably swap it for an alpine audio 10 CD (made by alpine but branded by mercedes).
All you need is a multimeter, about an hour of spare time and a soldering iron, some insulating tape etc.
First find out which 8 wires are for the speakers. Find pairs and start cutting them one by one. After you've cut a pair (or one of a pair) just switch the radio on and check which speaker isn't working any more... this way you'll be able to label the speaker wires correctly.
Then find the eart and constant positive, positive on ignition and aerial.
All you need is an ISO lead that you solder into your wiring harness. Job done - it took me about 45min up to an hour.
Good luck and make sure you solder, never ever use scotch locks or any other cr*p - you may end up with serious problems.
And remember, it's a guidance only - don't blame me if you scr8w something up ;-)
 
#12 ·
Two glowing testimonials later, I have to ask: DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE SOME MORE DETAIL ON HOW TO DO AS DESCRIBED by w124uk????

Not doubting you w124uk, but it sounds as though you may have a different setup. Mine is as follows becker two piece system has no such speaker wires at the head unit as the amp, tuner etc are in the trunk - and all those leads described by w124uk are in the trunk of my car. For anyone who can crack this nut, check this site out:

Page Title

Many on various Benz forums would be made happy if this can be done with reasonable ease. Scotz


Ma
 
#14 ·
Perhaps I should have been more clear.

On a US-spec 1991-92 W124, (there may be other years but I'm sure of these two) you can NOT simply remove the head unit and plug in an aftermarket unit.

I don't know how many other ways to say this.

Though I wish you could, you can't. The wiring is different. The unit in the dash is essentially a remote control. There is a separate tuner module that is either in one of the rear doors or under the rear seat (I don't remember.) There is at least one external amplifier.

It's not a huge project to rectify the situation. Remove the stock setup and re-wire, then install the head unit, amp (if you need one), and speakers of your choice. The only tricky thing is getting aftermarket speakers to fit.

This project should take about a full day if you work slowly and carefully so as not to break any interior trim pieces. If you break any you will be sorry as they are very expensive to replace. I have not done this on my car as I haven't had a full day available to devote to the project. Plus it's not really worth my time as all I listen to in the car is jazz, classical, and news.

I do have one blown rear deck speaker. If anyone has one laying around, PM me.
 
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