Buellwinkle

Blueice, it works perfectly with the CD changer. The only thing your can't do is scan (fast forward) music. You an skip tracks and CDs as before.


Peet, most Germans believe in wire transfers. B of A wanted $45 for an international wire transfer, not very cost effective. I found C2it.com (a division of Citibank) that is similar to PayPal and they do international wire transfers for $15. Use a credit card otherwise it takes weeks to setup the account and transfer the money. The wire transfer takes a few days. In theory you can send an international money order but by the time you pay for the money order and priority mail (which may still take a week) you are out the same amount of money and you have an angry German. There is no safe way to do business on Ebay as you pay first and hope the product comes. Make sure they package extra well as my first one broke in shipping and has been at Becker being repaired for over 2 months now.

Blueice

great thx alot for the info =)

peet

Buell thanks for the heads up. C2it will do just fine. I am paypal, ebay payments and multi CC friendly but never dealt with overseas on any transactions other than CC payments. So this is news to me.

You are correct - no matter what you're out the money and relying on faith - that's why I asked about the registration... after all it took a good long time for me to get my 42 feedbacks. And I don't deal with folks that don't have a decent amount of them under their belt.

Thanks again.
P

P.S. totally off topic... keep the 1.8L pulley discussions runnin'

C230 Sport Coup

So whats the big deal about the audio 10?
Just that it's in dash CD?
Does it play mp3's?

BTW_ Awsesome photos!

Buellwinkle

The MB Audio 10 has some features not found on the U.S. spec cassette radio, one of the key ones is sound quality, real bass and treble. The others are less important like RDS and CD player. Also it's an official MB radio so it doesn't void any part of your warranty, preserves your steering wheel controls and dash display. Also it looks like it was always meant to me. To me, aftermarket stereos try to hard to be flashy and distract from the look of the dash. I would imagine that some may consider that a downside and may detract in resale value. Also they tend to be complicated to use and have tiny buttons (even more reason not to lose the steering wheel controls).

So why it's not a choice for everyone, it suits my needs. I had an MP3 CD player and it was annoying, 150 songs on 1 CD and when you want to add a few new songs you throw the CD away and start new. I'm happy burning audio CD's from my shared music and having 7 custom made CD's (audio 10 + MB 6 disc changer) on tap is more than enough music for my 20 minute commute.

session

thanks.

has anyone used them to assist in their install yet?

whitecar2003

Amen Buell. In addition, they increase you chances of having your windows smashed and dash ripped apart. My old car was nothing flashy (90 Civic Si), but in the 12 years I've owned it I had no less than 5 aftermarket head units stolen. I finally got fed up with the broken glass every year and bought a Honda head unit on eBay for $30 and haven't had a problem for 4-years. Stereo was fine (made by Pioneer) and it plays better while still attached to to the dash!

tommy

That also has something to do with being able to jimmy it in 10 secs with a credit card as well.

My crx has been broken into too many times. I still think that a nice Blau cd/mp3 unit with a thummer on the steering wheel is a happy medium that I'm going to go with eventually, maybe next spring before it warms up, so that I'll actually be able to hear the stereo with the sunroof open.

C230 Sport Coup

I certainly will!
Print it out and save it.
Buell, yes I like the steering controls too.
It's a good saftey feature.
Which is why I haven't upgraded yet.
The absolute dumbest thing about the cassette is that you can't even put a CD adapater in it.

So how can more music per disk be bad?
It's great on long trips.
So you toss a CD or 2....big deal.
They cost 1/20 th the cost of a decent cassette tape, with less fidelity. 15 cents is pretty much the going rate, and if it gets damaged thats a lot less than losing your precious CD's at 15-20 bucks a pop.

Citron

first of all session, thank you so much, those pics look great and are easy to follow.

2nd: When I picked up my sportcoupe I asked about installing the new radio and the service tech showed me how to disassemble the dash and what not, but the important thing it to pull UP and Forward on the trim surrounding the gear selector. Remove it, them remove the asktray and this will make it much easier to reach the bottom clips of the dash trim, without risking scratching your trim on the ash tray cover.

This is a MB tech's advice ^^^, so sounds good to me.

now I'm off to finish my install.

-C

session

i'm glad you liked the pics. as far as the center console trim around the shifter, do you simply have to pull up and forward to remove it? i'd like to get under there to check something out but it seems there's more to it than simply pulling hard. aren't there tabs or something you have to disconnect?

levelr123g

nope just grap the trim peice right in front of the shifter and pull straight up. then pull it forward and it will come out. if you have the 6 spped then simply turn the bottom knob in the "STICK" counterclockwise and the knob will pull straight up. thats it.

TXTiger

Session,
Thanks for the instructions on how to install the Audio 10 CD - they came in very handy when I installed it this afternoon. It sounds much better than the stock headunit (plus in-dash CD!!!). Unfortunately, now I have an ESP error message and my sunroof is acting up.... Anyone have any ideas if these are a result of my install? Think the dealer will fix these under warranty with the Audio 10? Thanks.

Matt230K

Did you disconnect the battery for the install? If you did, you can fix these problems yourself. To turn off the ESP code, turn the wheel all the way one way and then back all the way the other way and back to center. It should go away. It's not a problem, it just comes up when you disconnect battery.

For sunroof, read the manual. You have the re-synchronize it and you probably have to do this to the windows too. So read up on that, it will help in the future.

TXTiger

I did disconnect the battery. Thanks for the help - I was able resynchronize the sunroof and clear the ESP error.

C230K

Thanks for the install, it also works great when you install the climatronic A/C unit to replace the stock one.

wysocki

I went to autoclass.net to buy an Audio 10 but there was a note on it saying that the AM band doesn't work. Is this true for ALL Audio 10's? If not, where can I get one that works? I'd like to have the AM band to check the LA traffic reports once in a while.

breastroker

I listen to 980 and 870 on the Audio 10 in LA the traffic reports come it fine.

MrSharp128

Hi, great guide for removing the radio. I didnt do it to replace the radio, but to run a switch to the lower dash. My Problem is that after i got everything unpluggeed, did the install, and hooked it all back up, my head unit (Stock, not bose) wont recognize the cd changer (Says NO CHANGER on the display) Everyting else works fine...this is just a very important thing for me. any ideas? is there a factory reset that occurs and I have to have it told that there is a CD changer there??? help me im lost.

JAM

Mrsharp128... Out of curiosity, what switch did you need to install? Was it an Mb switch? Nothing better than filling up all the blanks....

MrSharp128

No, that is the next step but for now i just located a radio shack switch inside the ash try...the switch blanks also look like they might be complicated since I think that they all register on a PCB and so are not individuably connectable without some pretty decent soldering. Still waiting for help with my changer...grrr. BTW I dont think it is the fiber cable since my steering wheel controls still work fine.

James L.

Whoa, this is just damn great information all in one place, thank you Session for starting this thread and those intructions are easy enough to follow.

Now that I know how to take apart the center console and take out the head unit, can you ultimately show me what are all the wires are for? E.g ground cable, power cable, signal cable, +5v and etc etc? This is because not everyone is going to op for the Audio 10. I spent $600 extra for the Bose unit with speaker and the stupid subwoofer which does not sound like a Bose of my home theathre at all! It doesn't make sense to me to go back to Audio 10 and get limited to all kinds of other wonderful installation.

Therefore I am going to go all the way and plan on installing Soundstreams (have you guys heard of those? I love them) 4 sets of components with crossovers using high pass on a 4 chan amplifier, 2 15' subs on a low pass on a 120x2 subwoofer (maybe rockford 240.2 power punch model). As for HU, I will most probably go with the single din Panasonics or the double din Japanese brands which looks AWESOME at night.

So can anyone tell me, would I face any problem with this kind of intallation? Woud I have a problem installing double din size HU? And what kind of wires is in the behind of the original Bose socket? And sure I'll need to cut them and reconnect to my aftermarket HU, there won't be by any chance the power sockets are universal for all audio HU right?

I have no worries for panel gap difference, I have a fibreglass friend who does all kinds of custom modelling, so I can get any head unit even with weird sizes as long as it fits and get a custom trim and slot it in, paint it silverish black to make it cool heh. I might also install a 1 farad capacitor to the battery, would it post any problem for a merc battery?

Also last question, where the hell is the Bose amplifier located? And can anyone show me the wiring route from the headunit to the amplifier and to the other speakers? I think the amp is in the right rear just behind the suspension but I wasn't certain about it. I saw a lot of heat sinks should be an amp?

All in all i am just afraid I might get an electrical connection errors like a checklight if I do all these mods, you know afterall, its a german car. Very very fusssssy...

Buellwinkle

Check Metra for a wiring harness and dash bezel. I haven't seen a double din one, it still has the pocket under the radio.

James L.

Where or what is a Metra Bluell? Sorry I am from Malaysia so never heard of what or where that was?

Buellwinkle

Just search the web for Metra dash kits, they have them for the W203. Also check your local stereo shop, they can probably get them. While the company is based in the US, chances are the parts are made in your neck of the woods. At our local stereo shops, BB and CC, they both charge $17 US for the bezzle.