Please excuse my apparent lack of MB knowledge, but I just purchased my first 2000 Silver E320 with just 45,000 one owner miles. Sweet! Having discovered the CD Changer in the driver side trunk section, I installed 6 CD's, replaced the cartridge and slid the cover closed. I turned the ignition key and pressed the CD button on radio display and immediately got he message "No CD Changer". How do I troubleshoot this problem? Thanks

I'm having the same problem. My CD Changer was working fine yesterday. Now I press CD button on my radio and it reads "No CD Changer" I can still get the cartridge out so I know the CD Changer is getting power. Any advice?

I had a 2001 CLK with 6-CD player in trunk that occasionally would not work, although it was getting power so cartridge could be ejected. Only answer I found was to (a) take cartridge out (key out of ignition) and replace and try again or (b) sometimes taking key out of ignition -- essentially rebooting the whole system -- and trying over would fix it. I'm sure you've tried that. Another idea is to have the dealer re-boot the car's computer system after telling them what the problem is. My CLK and maybe your E class used fiber-optic cables which can get a kink and thus block the signal. Good luck.

OK so I didn't have much to do yesterday, decided to give it a go and if all else failed get a new HU. Took apart the dash, took the radio out and to my surprise one of the fiber optics cable was not plugged in to the radio, put the cable in the connector and that was that. It took me a longer time to take apart the dash than to fix the cable. Thanks for your help any way, greatly appreciated.

I had this problem with my c32.
Disconnect the battery overnight and reconnect in the morning and it will reset and all will work.
Good luck

So what is the fix for the same message on a G500?

I have the same problem but slightly different, the head unit says "no cd 1 - 6" even tho' there are cd's in there. I had a 1997 W210 with a different audio whereby I could reset it by holding down the on/off button for a while. Is there a reset for this unit apart form disconnecting the battery? And do I need the unit's code if the battery is disconnected?

HOW DO U RESTART THE COMMAND SYSTEM ?
DO I NEED SOME SPECIAL CODES ?
AND HOW DO I GET THESE CODES ?

i have a 2003 S500 4matic

I've read about several "fixes" for this ailment, however, all miss the true culprit. It is a rather common issue, not just with Mercedes, but with other makes, too. The problem lies in the ribbon wire that connects the main CD changer chassis with the optic control board mounted on the rear of the unit. Fortunately, the repair is quite simple. Remove the Cd changer, remove the two screws holding the rear mounted optic control board box. Release the ribbon cable from the optic board connector by sliding the two locking pins down away from the connector (toward the ribbon cable), then gently pull the ribbon cable free from the connector. Clean the ribbon cable end by lightly abrading with 600 grit emery cloth and wiping with alcohol. Reinsert cable in to connector, making sure it is fully seated, then firmly slide locking pins down(toward optic board). Reattach optic control board box to rear of changer and reinstall changer. In rare occaisons, the ribbon cable needs to be replaced and is available on eBay for about twenty bucks. This repair fixes a multitude of error messages... no magazine; no cd; no Cd changer; etc. I've performed this procedure on dozens of units, from Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Infiniti, etc with great success. Good luck!

I found that the number3 cd was still loaded, and if I opened the sliding
Cover on the changer the cd cartridge would not eject.
Looking on the right hand side of the cartridge I could see the #3 cd was
loaded. Looking in with a flashlight I was able to wiggle the #3 holder while
pushing the cartridge eject button several times and the cartridge popped
out.
No more problem, works great now.

GOOD LUCK !

I have tried disconnecting the battery overnight , removed the CD player & tried to clean the ribbon , only done the end that goes to the optic control board , may have screwed up here as I had a lot of trouble getting it reinserted . Going to take it out again and get my brother in law to check both ends of the ribbon tape as he works at electronics and should be able to do a better job than I can . Will post results after it'd done . Appreciate any and all suggestions for repairing this problem .

I definitely screwed up on reinserting the ribbon tape . I had power that would let the eject button work before taking it apart , I have none now , so definitely have to take it to a younger fixer without shaky hands & bad eye sight . LOL

OK Guy's , I got brave and took my CD changer apart again today , followed instructions re ribbon tape , lo & behold , I'm back to square one , player will eject the disk's now , but radio unit will still not pick up the cd player . Starting to believe the fiber optics wires must be the problem as I believe the CD change is ok .
Open to any suggestions as I an totally stupid when it comes to fiber optics & there doesn't seem to be any teck people in my area that is any smarter than I am in this area .Please help. I want to restore this car back to original . Someone out there must have the experience or knowledge to help me out . Please

On another thought , can any of you tell me how to follow the wires , without taking the car completely apart to follow the the wires (fiber optic) back to the radio so I can see if they are broken along the way ???????

Does anyone know the routing of the fiber optic cables from the radio to the cd changer in trunk . I have changer the cd player, so am convinced the trouble is more than likely a break or kink in the fiber optic wires from radio to changer . I don't want to rip whole car apart just to follow the cables back to the trunk . If I knew where they are running and only have to take this part of car apart , it would make things a lot easier . Thanks

Sorry to say NO , I haven't been able to find the problem . I've tried everything mentioned in this thread even to change the CD player itself . Firmly believe the trouble is in the fiber ops running from the radio but cannot find anyone in my area that work's on fiber ops . Haven't been able to find out the routing of this cable and don't want to tear whole car apart to find the routing to find problem area . Hoping someone will be able to tell me how this cable runs from radio to passenger side of my trunk where the CD changer is located . Still hoping !

Get a new cable and try it out. Just run it openly, and if it works, then it will be worth the trouble of taking up the seats and carpet and routing it to the trunk.

Very good suggestion , will do and thank you

Just updating my problem with radio showing no-CD player . Trouble was located to the radio unit itself . I changed the unit
after I got a code for the replacement unit and all is working just fine now . Thanks for all the suggestions made by members .



Genius - thank you. Could not figure out until your instructions re: ribbon cable connection from interface module to changer. Even replaced changer with another used unit from ebay but still ‘No CD Changer’. Started to think amp was blown. Didn’t have sand paper handy but used a pencil eraser to clean ribbon cable leads. Thank you - thank you

cleaned/repaired ribbon cable leads as best I can but it looks as if the metal surface might be too worn to make solid contact. What term should I use to search eBay for a replacement?
thnx

Took me all of 30 minutes and my CD changer works, plays, changes CDs, ejects and all.
Great help, thank you
PS, be careful releasing the ribbon locking tabs, they're the 2 white saquarish little tabs on either side of the white connector, use a metal pick