Microphone for Parrot Bluetooth Kit
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Microphone for Parrot Bluetooth Kit
Is it feasible to use the microphone that is already in my C230 in place of the Parrot kit microphone? I know there's a 6 pin connector in the headliner for a mic but does anyone know what to connect to?
If that won't work, what's a good place for the mic? Can the MB mic be pried out and the Parrot mic be put in it's place.
My plan is to have a Parrot BT kit with the steering wheel controls. Should run about $250 for the entire kit or about 1/3rd the cost of the Argos kit. I have the Parrot working now, just waiting for the steering wheel module, should get here in a couple of days.
If that won't work, what's a good place for the mic? Can the MB mic be pried out and the Parrot mic be put in it's place.
My plan is to have a Parrot BT kit with the steering wheel controls. Should run about $250 for the entire kit or about 1/3rd the cost of the Argos kit. I have the Parrot working now, just waiting for the steering wheel module, should get here in a couple of days.
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From: Bay Area, CA
'04 Mars Red C230K Sport Coupe (not Coup-EH)
I don't know what the Parrot mic looks like, but for my Pioneer mic, I placed it on the A pillar, like so:
The wire runs behind the strip of charcoal material that hides the seam of the A-pillar, though you could optionally pull off the A-pillar cover, though there is no need if the wire is thin enough.
I also pulled off the cover that give you access to the driver's side fusebox (which has the fuse map on it), which let me run the wire right out of the A-pillar run under the steering column and behind the stereo (which was where I needed it).
I'd have liked to use the built-in microphone as well for a cleaner look, but no one ever seems to notice the mic mounted there, and I've yet to knock it out of place or anything like that in about a year or so of having it, so it should work out alright for you, Buell.
The wire runs behind the strip of charcoal material that hides the seam of the A-pillar, though you could optionally pull off the A-pillar cover, though there is no need if the wire is thin enough.
I also pulled off the cover that give you access to the driver's side fusebox (which has the fuse map on it), which let me run the wire right out of the A-pillar run under the steering column and behind the stereo (which was where I needed it).
I'd have liked to use the built-in microphone as well for a cleaner look, but no one ever seems to notice the mic mounted there, and I've yet to knock it out of place or anything like that in about a year or so of having it, so it should work out alright for you, Buell.
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
The people at Parrot told me not to put it there because if you crack the window open it will get all the wind noise and they won't be able to hear you. They see people do that all the time. They recomended the center front edge of the headliner.
To hook up the Parrot CK3000 is really pretty easy, the harness that fits the MB radio is included but you need to do a quick nip and tuck to make it work. Here's pics below. I learned this from the Smart Forum, same change.
Once you modify the included harness, just plug it all in. You can't really mess up, the connectors look the same but are keyed differently. The steering wheel module should be easy. It has can bus hi and low that are on C connector, I'll take pics of that too.
For the record, the Parrot CK3000 can work alone without the steering wheel kit but it makes it nicer not having an external buttons. The Parrot kit is $85 on ebay and $10 shipping. The steering wheel control is $158 + 10 shipping (and tax in my case).
To hook up the Parrot CK3000 is really pretty easy, the harness that fits the MB radio is included but you need to do a quick nip and tuck to make it work. Here's pics below. I learned this from the Smart Forum, same change.
Once you modify the included harness, just plug it all in. You can't really mess up, the connectors look the same but are keyed differently. The steering wheel module should be easy. It has can bus hi and low that are on C connector, I'll take pics of that too.
For the record, the Parrot CK3000 can work alone without the steering wheel kit but it makes it nicer not having an external buttons. The Parrot kit is $85 on ebay and $10 shipping. The steering wheel control is $158 + 10 shipping (and tax in my case).
Last edited by Buellwinkle; Aug 26, 2008 at 08:18 PM.
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Why would you assume that? It has nothing to do with the fiber loop at all. It will not work with any MB that has an amp like Bose or HK. So if your 2005 doesn't have the fancy upgraded stereo then it will work.
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If your car has the cell phone prewiring, then look in your trunk, you already have a mic wired from your mirror to the trunk, you can probably splice into it or even order a factory connecter and make a connection that way.
As seen here (ignore the arrows):
As seen here (ignore the arrows):
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Stage 2 C7 A6, QX60
guess that won't work on my car, I have 02 and with Bose.
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bone stock E55 AMG
unless the specs of factory mic is same as parrot mic, i don't think it'll work... even if it does, quality could be worse...
at least that was the case with mObridge mic...
at least that was the case with mObridge mic...
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Yes, the Argos would work for you because it taps into the factory phone circuit where the Parrot goes in between the head unit and the speaker and powers the speakers through the amp on the Parrot, the reason it won't work with Bose is because the speakers are wired to the Bose amp, not to the HU. It comes down to if you can make the Parrot and steering wheel module work for you, it's 1/3rd the price of the Argos, if not because you have Bose, then Argos is the next least expensive solution for you. Still a lot cheaper than a factory phone system with BT, that's like 2-3 times the price of the Argos kit.
I think trying to use the factory mic may be a bust if the impedance is different. Also, all these years, nobody has done it that I know and there's a connector in the trunk and by the headliner but it's 6 wires and from what I understand there's multiple mics.
I know taking the A piller panel off is easy, just snaps out. To get the wire from the A piller to the center headliner, can I just tuck it in or is it easy to take the front part of headliner off?
Lastly, I got the steering wheel control module and it's not too bad to hook it up but by afternoon my garage was way too hot to work in so I'll do it in the AM. It's pretty small so it should be easy to tuck in somewhere. Basically there's 4 wires to hookup as follow -
pink wire on module goes to brown/red wire on C connector (can bus hi)
green wire on module goes to brown wire on C connector (can bus lo)
yellow wire on module goes to connector A pin 3 (mute)
yellow/black wire goes to yellow mute wire on Parrot harness
I think trying to use the factory mic may be a bust if the impedance is different. Also, all these years, nobody has done it that I know and there's a connector in the trunk and by the headliner but it's 6 wires and from what I understand there's multiple mics.
I know taking the A piller panel off is easy, just snaps out. To get the wire from the A piller to the center headliner, can I just tuck it in or is it easy to take the front part of headliner off?
Lastly, I got the steering wheel control module and it's not too bad to hook it up but by afternoon my garage was way too hot to work in so I'll do it in the AM. It's pretty small so it should be easy to tuck in somewhere. Basically there's 4 wires to hookup as follow -
pink wire on module goes to brown/red wire on C connector (can bus hi)
green wire on module goes to brown wire on C connector (can bus lo)
yellow wire on module goes to connector A pin 3 (mute)
yellow/black wire goes to yellow mute wire on Parrot harness
Last edited by Buellwinkle; Aug 28, 2008 at 01:53 AM.
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I was seriously considering the parrot solution for ~$200 but I have the HK system so not possible without serious splicing..
Not sure if it makes sense to spend 600+ on the argos BT solution.
I tried my friend's BlueAnt Supertooth 3 visor speakerphone. Surprised how good it was. imported my iphone contacts, text to speech -- announces caller by name, speech to answer call and the battery life on 2-3 weeks. Also, it has a cool vibration detector so that it auto connects to your phone when you close your door. Not a bad alternative for $90..
The voice quality is obviously not as good. Anyone else try this?
Not sure if it makes sense to spend 600+ on the argos BT solution.
I tried my friend's BlueAnt Supertooth 3 visor speakerphone. Surprised how good it was. imported my iphone contacts, text to speech -- announces caller by name, speech to answer call and the battery life on 2-3 weeks. Also, it has a cool vibration detector so that it auto connects to your phone when you close your door. Not a bad alternative for $90..
The voice quality is obviously not as good. Anyone else try this?
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From: Diamond Bar, CA
W206 PHEV AMG
my sony ericsson bluetooth works just as well for $20 which it should've been for $70.
or you can get a portable GPS that also supports the bluetooth. I have a Sony Nav-U U83T that has the bluetooth, but I only use it in the w204 which already has the bluetooth. lol
or you can get a portable GPS that also supports the bluetooth. I have a Sony Nav-U U83T that has the bluetooth, but I only use it in the w204 which already has the bluetooth. lol
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From: Laguna Niguel, CA
Believe me, I tried everything, researched on howardforums.com, bought dozens of BT headsets. I have what's perceived as the best portable BT gadgets you can get, for example the BlueAnt Supertooth, the Aliph's Jawbone, the Samsung tiny one and it comes down to batteries and losing it.
Many times I would forget to charge them, making them useless, then I would bring them into charge and forget to take them with me. Then they are small and portable and I would set them down and forget where I put them. I would leave it in a car that my wife would take and then I did'n't have it. Then I would have it but forget to turn it on until the phone rings or worse, leave the car and foget to turn it off.
In addition the Jawbone on a 1-2 hour drive really starts digging in on your ear. Some cars worked better than other with the Supertooth because of sunvisor placement. The Samsung would just fall out of my ear during a conversation, why, because as you talk, your ear canal changes shapes and eventually comes out. I tried using Jabra gels as some suggest, no good.
I still use these when I travel, but at home, I'm working on car #3, the C230 for setting up the Parrot. It's always there, always charged, can't lose it, don't have to remember to turn it on or turn it off. Wife has no excuses for not using it (the trips to short, nobody calls me, don't remember how to use it, I lost the charger, blah, blah, blah). Once you have a wired in BT, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
Many times I would forget to charge them, making them useless, then I would bring them into charge and forget to take them with me. Then they are small and portable and I would set them down and forget where I put them. I would leave it in a car that my wife would take and then I did'n't have it. Then I would have it but forget to turn it on until the phone rings or worse, leave the car and foget to turn it off.
In addition the Jawbone on a 1-2 hour drive really starts digging in on your ear. Some cars worked better than other with the Supertooth because of sunvisor placement. The Samsung would just fall out of my ear during a conversation, why, because as you talk, your ear canal changes shapes and eventually comes out. I tried using Jabra gels as some suggest, no good.
I still use these when I travel, but at home, I'm working on car #3, the C230 for setting up the Parrot. It's always there, always charged, can't lose it, don't have to remember to turn it on or turn it off. Wife has no excuses for not using it (the trips to short, nobody calls me, don't remember how to use it, I lost the charger, blah, blah, blah). Once you have a wired in BT, you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.
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Stage 2 C7 A6, QX60
i have sony ericsson as well, what model do you have
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OK, got it all working, works great. Here's some more detail -
The steering wheel adapter runs $158.95, it's called the SW101 and I got it from Howard at Quickconnect products (you can't order it online) howard@quickconnectproducts.com and he's a forum member.
The can bus wires on the C connector are a twisted pair, wire as shown a above for the pink and green wire going to the brown/red and brown wire. The yellow wire can be spliced into the harness modified above, it's splied into the blue wire. The yellow/black just plugged into the yellow wire from the Parrot.
The steering wheel adapter runs $158.95, it's called the SW101 and I got it from Howard at Quickconnect products (you can't order it online) howard@quickconnectproducts.com and he's a forum member.
The can bus wires on the C connector are a twisted pair, wire as shown a above for the pink and green wire going to the brown/red and brown wire. The yellow wire can be spliced into the harness modified above, it's splied into the blue wire. The yellow/black just plugged into the yellow wire from the Parrot.
Last edited by Buellwinkle; Aug 28, 2008 at 04:12 PM.
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From: Diamond Bar, CA
W206 PHEV AMG
OK, got it all working, works great. Here's some more detail -
The steering wheel adapter runs $158.95, it's called the SW101 and I got it from Howard at Quickconnect products (you can't order it online) howard@quickconnectproducts.com and he's a forum member.
The can bus wires on the C connector are a twisted pair, wire as shown a above for the pink and green wire going to the brown/red and brown wire. The yellow wire can be spliced into the harness modified above, it's splied into the blue wire. The yellow/black just plugged into the yellow wire from the Parrot.
The steering wheel adapter runs $158.95, it's called the SW101 and I got it from Howard at Quickconnect products (you can't order it online) howard@quickconnectproducts.com and he's a forum member.
The can bus wires on the C connector are a twisted pair, wire as shown a above for the pink and green wire going to the brown/red and brown wire. The yellow wire can be spliced into the harness modified above, it's splied into the blue wire. The yellow/black just plugged into the yellow wire from the Parrot.
