Bill109

Greetings folks,
Ill be honest and say i don't know much about these cars in the mb world so hopefully someone here can help me out!

The car is a 1999 C230 Kompressor (so w202?)
-What i'm trying to accomplish here is hook up an ipod to the car via an ipod connection/USB or an auxiliary input addition.
Im not even sure where to start looking for info so i've come here, to get some ideas and research into them.
any help or threads you can point me to would be greatly apprecaited!
Thanks for your time
-bill

aquinob

I'd swap the radio out for something new. Lots of better technology for sound systems since 1999. Some folks prefer the original radio but I'm not one of them.

vinceC

Becker Auto Sound does this modification for $50, IIRC.

http://www.beckerautosound.com/3302-...nput_3302.html

The jack for the iPod/iPhone connection can be mounted where you prefer it. I remove the storage cubby below the radio, cut a rectangular hole in the upper left corner for the small box the jack is mounted in and duct tape the box in place. When done you can hardly notice the installation.

You will need the radio removal keys to get the radio out. Make sure you have the radio security code. Turnaround is about a week.

Bill109

thank you for the replies thus far.
An upgrade in the head unit.. not an option. This is actually for my mothers car. I dont own a mb, but a bmw. However in the older cars (bmw) there are options for a ipod dock that fits in the ash tray and mounts which is absolutely amazing.


Im located in MA so NJ is sort of a drive to get this done. Im pretty capable of DIY's so ripping apart the interior doesn't scare me. So if taking the radio out and going from the back of the radio for an aux cable is an option ill do this. However a kit and a diy would be helpful.

any more thoughts or ideas on this?
thanks for your time!
-BIll

vinceC

This is about the most simple DIY imaginable. You don't need to drive to NJ. That is what UPS is for. I've never driven there.

Just to make sure you understand what Becker does - they modify the radio. The only other possible option I know of with that radio is to use a tape adaptor (a dummy tape with a cord attached that you can hook the iPod/iPhone to). I know they were available for the earlier Becker. I don't know if they are for the later units.

Anyway:

Step 1) Pull the radio. Slide the radio keys in, slide the radio out, disconnect the connectors. Simple enough?

Step 2) Send the radio to Becker, wait one week or so, receive radio when returned from Becker.

Step 3) Decide where to put the jack box. You can attach it anywhere you have easy access or do as I have. Whatever location suits you is the right way for yourself.

If you want to do it the way I do:

Step 4) Put the shifter in one of the drive modes, use a credit card to lift the rectangular plastic surround around the shift lever, pull up the wood around the shifter and slide it aft a bit, pull up the rubber tray in front of the shifter, remove 2 screws on left and right that secure the bottom of the ashtray assembly. Remove the ashtray assembly.

Step 5) Remove 2 screws that secure the top lip of the cubby to the bottom edge of the wood trim. Wiggle the cubby out. Using a utility or Exacto knife cut a suitable rectangular hole to slip the jack box through. I put it in the forward, driver's side top. Reinstall the cubby. With the radio in your lap lead the cord through the radio cutout, slide the jack box through the hole and duct tape it down (the cord is long, also there are flanges on the box to keep it from dropping through the hole).

Step 6) Connect the radio connectors, remove the radio keys and slide the radio in.

Step 7) Put everything else back together.

Reset the radio with the security code. The iPod/iPhone plays through the Tape mode. When you plug into the jack the tape is disconnected and the iPod/iPhone is the active input.

I doesn't take much longer than it took me to write this. These cars are pretty easy to work on; much simpler than the BMW's I've worked on.

PTVC230K

I much prefer the look of the stock radio so I found a way to do it.

I bought one of those tape converters that looks like a tape, but is really a 3.5 mm jack running out of it.
Took the radio out, took the top of the radio off, ran the wire out the back of the radio down the console, along the console and into the center console.
Also added a 12V outlet under the driver kick panel.
Ran an adapter that I found on ebay that is a USB on one end, the other end has a 3.5 mm jack and a 30 pin ipod adapter.

Plugged the tape converter into the 3.5 off the ipod adapter and soud comes into the audio system via this adapter.
I either plug in my phone/ipod directly into the 30 pin or I use a bluetooth adapter that plugs into the 30 pin and it plays via bluetooth from my phone to the converter into the tape deck.

Been very happy with this set up for a few years now.

I despise wires being visible, so this has worked very well for me.

If you don't mind charging things periodically, I have seen a tape that is a bluetooth receiver, would make it very easy to use, especially on a temporary basis with a vehicle that is not yours.