ethune

I have searched this forum and haven't seen the answer to my question. I know that bluetooth is not available with the command system (which is a real bummer). I just picked up a 2004 e320 sport with nav. I'm wondering if anyone has successfully put a bluetooth kit in their e320 such as the parrot or sony erricsson? Please post your experiences here and thanks!

Eric

DaveBk

Not yet, but I intend to. I have a 2004 E320CDI and a Parrot CK3000 that I am planning to install soon. I'm also building a CANBUS interface to the steering wheel controls so I can dial/hang up the Parrot kit from the factory fit steering wheel buttons.

Will post details when I've finished.

ethune

Dave,

Thats great news, I would be very interested in the interface you are building. What does CDI mean? Will this not work with a US e320? Is it just a cable or is there more involved? Any way to interface this into the command system?

Thanks,
Eric

kaiju

diesel engine.

DaveBk

Unfortunately it's more than just a cable. The new E makes extensive use of a form of network known as a CAN. In some respects this is similar to an office or home LAN in that it allows data to be transferred from one device to another. In the LAN example it could be a PC to a printer, but in a automotive CAN its likely to be commands from one control unit to another. The steering wheel controls are connected to a local control unit, which sends a message on the CAN whenever a button is pressed. I'm having to build a new device that will listen on the CAN for these messages and then close relays to replace the standard switches on the Parrot hands-free. It's complex and requires an understanding of electronics - there's no guarantee it will work either...

Mortenstein

Great news. I was thinking of something like this, too - right after my current project (USB-interface for battery charger) is finished.

Do you use a specific CAN controller or kind of PIC / ATMEL processor? Do you have literature about the CAN protocoll and its comands/messages?

Thanks
Michael

DaveBk

I'm using a PIC16F84 as the cpu, this drives a MCP2510 CAN controller and a TJA1054 CAN driver. I've not been able to find any details on the message formats for MB cars, so as a initial step I'm having to build a CAN to RS232 converter and writing a diagnostics program for my Palm T3. The hardware for this is complete and I'm currently working on the PIC & Palm code. Hopefully then I can isolate the steering wheel messages so I can build the final unit.

The datasheets for all the devices I am using are on the web (Phillips & Microchip) there are also useful application notes about the CAN protocol. There's some limited info on MB CAN implementations in http://www.mercedestechstore.com/ look in the 507 Systems 1, and the W211 technician sections.

Once I've got this working, I'll post some more details...

ethune

Dave,

Any update on your progress?

Thanks,
Eric

DaveBk

I've built the CAN Monitoring circuit and written the software for the Palm. I'm doing some final testing before I hook it up to the car and see if I can work out the messages that relate to the steering wheel control. Hopefully I'll find time to do this over the weekend. If it all works as I expect I should then be able to build the actual interface unit to the CK3000. I'll post some more info next week.

ethune

Dave,

Sorry to be such a pain in the *ss but as you can tell I am really looking to find a solution. Any luck so far?

Eric

DaveBk

I'm making progress, but it's slow as I have so little time available to concentrate on it. The story so far is: I've sucessfully connected the CAN monitor to the car, but my software is not fast enough to keep up with the volume of messages on the CAN, I sucessfullly read about 1 in every 3 messages. I therefore need to optimise what I have written - This will only take a day or so, but I'm not likely to be able to fit this in for at east another week - It's frustrating for me to! Once this is working I can isolate the messages that come from the steering wheel, and re-program my monitor to only look for these messages. I can then start to build the final device that will actually interface to the Parrot Handsfree kit. All the CAN interfacing is 'icing on the cake' as you could still install the Parrot without it, but you would not be able to use the steering controls, instead would have a separate button stuck somewhere.

abhansali

DaveBk,

Got a great product idea for you for those of us that plunked down $2K for the phone kit but only can use the stupid MB V60 phone. If you know the pinout/interface of the car kit, you could develop a "dummy" phone that would have bluetooth in it. Then the bluetooth phone in my pocket establishes a connection with the "dummy" phone that is in the console and then translates the commands to the interface the car understands.

I would buy one from you, because then I have one "dummy" phone that I always keep in the car, and I can switch phones anytime as long as it is bluetooth, no more only V60 for the 7 yrs that I keep my car.