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W203 - C240 Wagon Amplifier dead (swap with Sedan Amp???)
Hello,
I have a 2004 C240 wagon and my radio stopped working (no sound, but it turns on) and my amplifier makes a clicking sound and I see a tiny red light flashing on it as it clicks. When I pull out the #26 fuse (front driver fuse box inside door) the clicking stops and the radio still turns on so I am assuming the issue is the amplifier is dead and I need to swap that out ?????
My amplifier is a Bose that shows MB part number #203-827-51-42 and it has the pinkish colored plastic connectors which is apparently the updated P/N for the original 203-820-15-89 amplifier part number. https://www.mercedesbenzpartscenter....ier-2038275142 (says discontinued)
I checked ebay and see only very few of these "pink" connector amplifiers for sale referencing either of these part numbers, but there are numerous Bose / MB OEM amplifiers for sale that have blue connectors (different part numbers) and were used in the W203 sedans..... does anyone know if those blue connector amplifiers from the w203 sedans can be used to replace the pink connector amplifier in my w203 wagon?
Seems odd that the amplifier from the W203 sedan to the wagon would be different part numbers and not interchangeable but apparently they are. thanks for any help you can offer as I am planning to buy one of these and swap out my dead amplifier and since there are many more of the "blue" connector amplifiers for the sedan I was going to buy that one but wanted to confirm it will work or if I have to find the "pink" connector version with same P/N as mine.
I am not an expert on Bose, but my general understanding is that Bose uses proprietary technology to create an audio environment in your car. Here's what Bose says about its systems.
The acoustic environment in a wagon/estate is obviously much different than in a sedan/saloon. The amplifier may have circuitry that controls factors such as the delay between when the various speakers receive a signal and the power levels.
Using a sedan amp in a wagon may have only a minor effect on your sound quality or it might not work at all. Do you happen to know whether the sedan and wagon have the same number and size speakers with the same impedance? For example, if the sub-woofer in the wagon is larger or draws more power it may over-tax the amp from a sedan.
if the sedan amps on eBay aren't too expensive it seems like it would be worth a try as long as the connectors are compatible.
Kevin - Super helpful thank you for your comments here. I need to look into those questions you asked about the differences in the two audio systems. I may just buy one from eBay that can be returned and see if it works. It’s crazy the amp with the exact part number that I have can be bought from the dealer for $2000 which is crazy.
from what I can tell only from photos of the two units it looks like the pin layout is the same between a sedan version with the blue housing in the wagon version with the pink housing.
01-04 Mercedes C-class BOSE amp 2038201589 For wagon models
If the connectors are compatible, it seems likely the sedan amp will work. I doubt you will damage anything by using the sedan amp in a wagon.
The sound quality might be slightly better with the amp designed for a wagon. I expect you would be willing to live with a slight degradation in sound quality after considering the difference between the cost of a new station wagon amp and a used sedan amp. I know I would.
If the connectors are compatible, it seems likely the sedan amp will work. I doubt you will damage anything by using the sedan amp in a wagon.
The sound quality might be slightly better with the amp designed for a wagon. I expect you would be willing to live with a slight degradation in sound quality after considering the difference between the cost of a new station wagon amp and a used sedan amp. I know I would.
Kevin - thanks for your feedback and I wanted to report back that the BLUE amp from the C32/C240 sedan (non-wagon) does work perfectly and my radio & CD player is functioning again!
NOTE - the Amp for the sedan (blue connector) vs the wagon (pink/purple connector) are nearly identical but until I received the blue amp today I didnt realize that the connector has 1 small plactic piece in the connector that doesnt allow it to fit without minor modification to the blue amp connector and/or the connector housing attached to the car.
My photos are attached here to explain - as you see both amps are NEARLY identical but the pink/purple connector from the wagon amp has a open slot and the blue connector from the sedan amp for some reason as a blue separator in the slot which is why it wont fit into the wagon amp connector housing unless you grind down that blue separator and/or grind down the black tab on the amp connector housing wired to the wagon.
Net net - the blue amp was $80 bucks and all sound system is working again so dont waste money buying the harder to find pink connector amp for the wagon which sell for $200-300 on ebay.
sorry to not provide better photos or details but PM me if you have a S203 wagon and need help with this. note the pink amp has an open slot while the blue amp as a divider in the slot which is what you have to grind down/remove to make the blue amp (sedan) work in the WAGON i ground down the clip that slides into the groove in the pink amp open slot (wagon) which the blue amp slot (sedan) has a divider in and it wont fit i ultimately decided to just remove/grind down that blue plastic divider in the sedan amp which allowed it to fit in wagon connector with the tab that was supposted to plug into the slot with no divider in the wagon pink amp
Good job.
The difference in the two connectors (color and blocked slot) are probably there to "mistake proof" the assembly process. MB didn't want the workers to install the wrong version of amp in the car.
If you had a working version of both types of amplifiers, you could compare the sound quality from each and see which you prefer. An audiophile could probably identify a difference between the two or at least say that he could.
Even if you could tell one amp sounded better than the other, I think the difference in cost clearly justifies your decision.
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