Is there an interchange list for Comand/MCS II radios?
04-03-2013, 10:18 AM
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2005 CLK 500 Cabriolet
Is there an interchange list for Comand/MCS II radios?
Help! I am totally lost, I have a 2005 CLK 500 (W209) and want to retrofit an MCS II Comand Navigation system into it. I have found a part # of A209 820 69 89 and a A209 900 00 00 that are supposedly correct.
Will an A203 870 11 89 fit?
I have also seen an A463 870 00 89 and a A164 820 03 79 that look similar.
Is there an interchange list anywhere that will give me the part numbers of the radios that will both fit and work in my car?
Will an A203 870 11 89 fit?
I have also seen an A463 870 00 89 and a A164 820 03 79 that look similar.
Is there an interchange list anywhere that will give me the part numbers of the radios that will both fit and work in my car?
Last edited by rbr115; 04-03-2013 at 10:57 AM. Reason: Add info
06-15-2014, 06:57 PM
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W209, W124
Hi, I realize that this thread is old and OP has likely solved issue/moved on but I recently figured some things out about Comand in W209 and am posting the info here and there to help out community.
I am only knowledgeable on 2005-2007 cars as that is what I have. When I got my 2005 it came with Audio 20 and HK system. I purchased a Comand for W209 on Ebay and installed it. Sound was good but as I didn't have Star I was unable to code dashboard. I thought that this was cause of my inability to set time on the Comand. It was always off by 1 hour and didn't care what the dashboard clock was set to.
Was a minor irritant but bugged me.
Recently I got a STAR system set up on a Dell 630 and finally coded dashboard to "Comand=Present" I was surprised to discover that instead of 1 clock wrong and 1 clock correct, I ended up with BOTH clocks off by an hour. "Timeset" was an option on Comand but only lit up when car off. If you pushed it it would tell you to turn on ignition. If you turn on ignition, then it would grey out the "Timeset".
I was confused by people's posts about time zone setting. I eventually found numerous posts from other people with MCS2 units having similar problem. I have now come to realize that there were 2 different MCS2 systems for W209. There are a variety of part numbers but the important and easy to spot difference is the early ones have a "SERV" button that leads to a soft key "SYSTEM" while the newer ones have a "SYS" key where "SERV" was.
Using newer (2008-9) in a 2005-7 car leads to the inability to set time. So for perfect function in a 2005-7 car, you should use a MCS2 with "SERV" key. I was also unable to find a way to get into "Engineering Mode' in the "SYS" one while "OK", "7", and "MUTE" works on SERV model.
I can verify that the above is true in that I sourced an earlier "SERV" model and installed it in place of the later one. I am now able to set timezone and have perfect function. A mild loss is that the later model shows time on screen, nice for passengers as the older one only shows current time on the Speedo clock area.
As a consequence, I have the later model for sale. I will post the official sale in the classifieds section and add a link here later. I don't know what happens if you use the early model in a later car.
In the bad news section, when I first installed the proper one, there was no sound output. Apparently the original owner had different set up on MOST bus. All I had to do was reset MOST bus and all was fine. But this means it is possible that anytime someone buys a used one from Ebay they may get one that doesn't match their MOST config and they will need STAR to reset. A drag really.
https://mbworld.org/forums/6074322-post1.html
I am only knowledgeable on 2005-2007 cars as that is what I have. When I got my 2005 it came with Audio 20 and HK system. I purchased a Comand for W209 on Ebay and installed it. Sound was good but as I didn't have Star I was unable to code dashboard. I thought that this was cause of my inability to set time on the Comand. It was always off by 1 hour and didn't care what the dashboard clock was set to.
Was a minor irritant but bugged me.
Recently I got a STAR system set up on a Dell 630 and finally coded dashboard to "Comand=Present" I was surprised to discover that instead of 1 clock wrong and 1 clock correct, I ended up with BOTH clocks off by an hour. "Timeset" was an option on Comand but only lit up when car off. If you pushed it it would tell you to turn on ignition. If you turn on ignition, then it would grey out the "Timeset".
I was confused by people's posts about time zone setting. I eventually found numerous posts from other people with MCS2 units having similar problem. I have now come to realize that there were 2 different MCS2 systems for W209. There are a variety of part numbers but the important and easy to spot difference is the early ones have a "SERV" button that leads to a soft key "SYSTEM" while the newer ones have a "SYS" key where "SERV" was.
Using newer (2008-9) in a 2005-7 car leads to the inability to set time. So for perfect function in a 2005-7 car, you should use a MCS2 with "SERV" key. I was also unable to find a way to get into "Engineering Mode' in the "SYS" one while "OK", "7", and "MUTE" works on SERV model.
I can verify that the above is true in that I sourced an earlier "SERV" model and installed it in place of the later one. I am now able to set timezone and have perfect function. A mild loss is that the later model shows time on screen, nice for passengers as the older one only shows current time on the Speedo clock area.
As a consequence, I have the later model for sale. I will post the official sale in the classifieds section and add a link here later. I don't know what happens if you use the early model in a later car.
In the bad news section, when I first installed the proper one, there was no sound output. Apparently the original owner had different set up on MOST bus. All I had to do was reset MOST bus and all was fine. But this means it is possible that anytime someone buys a used one from Ebay they may get one that doesn't match their MOST config and they will need STAR to reset. A drag really.
https://mbworld.org/forums/6074322-post1.html
Last edited by MacVidMB-V8; 06-15-2014 at 07:15 PM.
06-22-2014, 09:29 PM
#3
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toss in the attic, replace with aftermarket, welcome to modern technology 
why toss an antique in to replace another antique? don't be afraid of spending the cash for the aftermarket, they work very well if you chose a quality unit. And if you think that the resale will suffer without the factory, toss it from your attic to the trunk when you part ways with the vehicle. why put up without dated technology? almost everyone that I replaced a comand with an aftermarket always stated that they waited way too long.
with new MHL, and siri control, the aftermarkets are forging ahead, and the new alpine 8 and 9" (9 in about a month 1/2) you cant go wrong
why toss an antique in to replace another antique? don't be afraid of spending the cash for the aftermarket, they work very well if you chose a quality unit. And if you think that the resale will suffer without the factory, toss it from your attic to the trunk when you part ways with the vehicle. why put up without dated technology? almost everyone that I replaced a comand with an aftermarket always stated that they waited way too long. with new MHL, and siri control, the aftermarkets are forging ahead, and the new alpine 8 and 9" (9 in about a month 1/2) you cant go wrong
