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 Integrated Cell Phone Installation Information
The facts, plain and simple ....
I have had many forum members contact me about installing Mercedes cell phones in their vehicles after writing the ML phone install publication. There is a lot of misinformation out there on what can and can not be retrofitted to your vehicles so I hope to clear some of that up with this pub. Please use this pub for reference only. I am giving you my best guess after a bit of investigation and reading on my own. I may not be right in all cases …
First and foremost, you [b]must[/b] use the Mercedes Benz version of the phone you wish to install. A current model V60 or V60i Motorola cell phone purchased from your service provider will not integrate with your Mercedes Telematics system. You must buy the phone from Mercedes at a list price of about [b]$600.[/b] If this does not turn you off completely then please continue reading, otherwise stop after the next paragraph. I have a website at [url]http://home.earthlink.net/~phdwebsite/[/url] which was set up for support info on the pubs I had written for the V60 and VES installs on my ML. Under the phone column there is a link to the “MB Technical Telephone Manual V4.5” that you should download and read. It gives a lot of great information on the phone system and shows schematics, etc. It is for MY’s 2000-2002 and is fairly accurate for MY 2003 except for some part number changes on the latest PSE.
For those of you that want to integrate your non-Mercedes V60/V60i to your vehicle without buying the Mercedes phone there is a still a way. Motorola sells a “V60 Professional Hands-Free Car Kit” # S9703 that can be integrated at least partially to your vehicle. It comes with a similar sized “Portable Support Electronics” (PSE) module that can be installed to mute the sound system during incoming calls and even allow the phone’s internal voice dial feature to work (the Mercedes version doesn’t do that!!). I suspect if you know what you are doing you can even have a call play through the vehicles sound system but that is beyond my knowledge today. You can find this on the Motorola website and it sells for $175. Frank has also written a great pub for installing a Nokia phone using similar Nokia hardware as well.
For those of you that aren’t scared away buy the cost of the Mercedes phone, the remaining hardware that is required to install a phone is about another $800-$1200 (list) depending upon your model and model year Mercedes. If you are upgrading from a current (StarTac or Timeport) Mercedes phone it will be much cheaper. The “Voice Recognition Module” (VRM) is another $400 or so and won’t work with some 2000 and 2001 models. If you are still not scared away then the rest should be fun.
As far as I know today, any model Mercedes from 2000 on up can have an integrated Mercedes phone installed into it. Mercedes no longer sells the StarTac and Timeport phones for new installs although rebuilt phones and most other parts are still available if you currently have one needing replacement. The V60i is the only phone Mercedes sell for new installs today for up to MY 2003. If you go to a dealership and ask about installing a V60i into your 2000 or 2001 (and some 2002’s) Mercedes, they will probably tell you it can’t be done for one reason or another. Or if you ask about upgrading your current system to a V60i they will tell you it can’t be done or is very expensive. This is misinformation that comes from who-knows-where. Mercedes actually has V60/Timeprot retrofit instructions on the Star Tekinfo website for several MY 2000 (StarTac) vehicles. All 2001 + vehicles have install instructions for the V60, even though they aren’t supposed to work for 2001’s. [b]And I have all of the MB phone install bulletins for all US models from 2000-2003 and some 2004 vehicles!![/b]
Some facts to remember, you may be tested later!
1. The Mercedes V60 phone will work in all 2000-2003 Mercedes
2. You must buy the V60 from Mercedes (or E-bay if you are lucky)
3. Only TDMA and CDMA phones are available from Mercedes, no GSM’s
4. There are six different V60 Mercedes part numbers for four different cell phone service providers
5. The six are, AT&T, Alltel, Cingular “A” and “B” side(?), Verizon Bell Atlantic, & Verizon Airtouch
6. You can probably get one of the CDMA phones to work with Sprint
7. The vehicle needs to have the D2B configuration set using a Mercedes SDS computer although the phone will work without doing so
8. It is a fairly simple DIY project assuming you are capable of using a screwdriver and drill without sticking holes in any of your useful body parts
On to more cool info …
All new phone installs require some common Mercedes parts. You need the standard hardware kit, a PSE, a linear compensator, a harness, mounting bracket(s), phone cradle/holder, and a phone. Depending upon your model and model year you may need an antenna switch, antenna, and on MY 2000’s you will need an antenna or new one if you are installing a V60 or Timeport phone.
If you already have a Timeport installed in your Mercedes, installing a V60i will only require replacing the phone cradle/holder and the phone. Nothing else!! Although the dealer may tell you else wise.
Since 2001 the PSE has been an “Auto Sense” version. There have been two versions of it that I know of. The latest version will work with any of the vehicles. It will run CDMA and TDMA in either analog or digital mode. If you currently have a StarTac phone installed in your vehicle, the PSE only supports analog mode and won’t work with the new phones.
If you are upgrading from a StarTac you will need a new PSE, linear compensator, antenna switch, antenna, cradle/holder, and phone. Basically a new install without having to change the mounting bracket(s), harness, or VRM (if installed). Rat’s, that old analog StarTac ain’t so bad after all.
The Mercedes phone install bulletins give you enough detailed information to do the job yourself. If you want the install bulletin for you’re MY/model Mercedes you can contact me by E-mail and I will send it to you. Make sure you give me a “reply” address that can handle up to a 4mb file. If it’s for an ML it is already on my Website. At the back of each bulletin is a parts list. For 2001+ you can just order the parts as listed on the bulletin. If you are doing a MY 2000 new install or upgrade from a StarTac you will need a 2000 bulletin and 2001 bulletin to compare new parts versus old. I can help you with this if you can’t determine the correct parts on your own.
Lastly, there was a new phone integration system released in Europe this summer (’03) for some of the Mercedes models. It is called the Universal Handy Interface (UHI) and allows you to use various GSM phones from Siemens, Motorola, and Nokia. I do not know if it will be made available in the US. I suspect not. There is another Europe only integration system that has been available for awhile now, not sold by Mercedes, that also supports GSM phones only. I have heard that some 2004 MY US models will have a Bluetooth enabled phone integration system as an option. I suspect this will not be retrofittable to earlier models, but who knows, maybe ….
I hope this helps!!!
Paul
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