jschade

My dealer faxed me the memo below that they received from MB. I'v been waiting for the MB version V710 (Verizon) since early August. By the way, I have the V60s (suggested in the memo as the soultion to the V710 delay) installed right now in my '05 E320, and it doesn't work. My dealer tells me that MB told them it won't work in an '05 so I must wait for the V710. I'm not sure my dealer is 100% accurate that it won't work, but I don't mind waiting for the V710. V60 seems to be at the tail end of its existence.

scorchie

They must save time writing those memos by using the same memo every month since July, and not putting a date on it saves the time from having to cross out the date and write a new one in.

If you have the V60s with the coily cord wired cradle, it won't work. You need a V60s with the MHI cradle and an MHI clip. That should work fine in a 2005.

-s-

wingless

My posts in this topic also have that information.

jschade

I have the MHI cradle and clip for the V60 and they can't get the microphone to work - everything else is fine. The dealership told me that MB says it won't work, and they won't do anything else until the V710 comes in.

Good news is I have a trunk full of phone parts (PSE, compensator, etc), a V 60s phone and a cradle that I haven't paid for. They told me when the V710 and parts come in, they will let me keep everything for the V60 at no charge...Anybody going to want this stuff?

wingless

The note in your post says the V60 is the current solution while MB is completing all their timely advance preparations for the introduction of the MB V710 phone for the MY '05 vehicles.

jschade

Exactly.

That's why I indicated in my original post that I don't believe my dealer is 100% accurate.

scorchie

Oh yeah, we talked about this before.

1) you have voice control as I recall... need to swap that out

2) the microphone can be wired to two places... the microphone module/vcs module, or direct to the phone PSE. You need to know where your microphones are going and make sure it's to something that is there (maybe the wires aren't even plugged in to either the PSE nor the VCM)

3) if the above is not true, they should replace your rear view mirror. This isn't that uncommon of a problem. Like I mentioned to you before, we have a spare microphone module on the shelf to use for diagnosing such problems, because they aren't that unusual, and non-operational rear view mirrors aren't uncommon either

If you want to send me the stuff, I will tell you if it works or not and suggest how you can get it to work in your car. I suspect that I could make your car work just fine with the setup you have, and all you would need in the future would be the V710 phone and the cradle, and it would only take you 10 seconds to swap it. That's the whole idea of the system...

-s-

jschade

Scorchie-

I'd be glad to send you the stuff. Before I do, can you describe for me what the microphone harness looks like in the trunk (wire colors or type). I will look tonight to see if and/or what they are plugged into. BTW, Teleaid works, but different microphone I presume.

Thanks-
Jeff

ps - I offered your previous advice on this to my dealer (swapping out the VCM or bypassing it) and they gave me the standard answer, "our tech support at MB says it won't work and we have to wait for the new hardware."

Skylaw

If you'd like to be free of Mercedes-branded phones altogether, see my recent post in this forum for how to do this. https://mbworld.org/forums/audio-electronics/90833-v710-installation-mik-box-2000-s500.html

It shows how nicely the Mik-Box installation of a non-Mercedes V710 went (in under an hour) in my 2000 S-500; and the Mik-Box will allow for use of newer non-Mercedes phones when they come out. The interface provided full integration with my COMAND 2.5 unit, allowing use of steering wheel buttons, voice control, audio muting, and COMAND and instrument cluster displays.

I replaced the oldest of the Mercedes phones, a StarTac; I then upgraded my StarTac PSE to a TimePort, to get even more features (like caller ID on the COMAND and instrument panel displays). The Mik-Box works with both; MIK has a V60 version as well, and he is working to integrate Nokia and Ericsson phones.

A Mik-Box won't solve a microphone problem for you, but it is likely to be less expensive that any Mercedes-branded phone, even when you include the cost of a phone from your service provider.

jschade

Thanks Skylaw-

I checked into the Mik-Box recently and discovered that while it is compatible with most MB models, it is not compatible (yet) with the 2005 E-Class models, among a few others. Believe me, if it was I'd have had one by now. Glad it is working for you, and thanks for the thread and detailed pics of its setup.

I'll continue to check the Mik-Box site with the hopes that my model and year are added.