From the picture in the brochure, the CLK CD changer looks identical to the 6-disc Alpine unit in my BMW. Is this the case? If so, I can get the changer with cable and installation at Al and Ed's Autosound for about $425 total. Will Mercedes object in some meaningful way to my doing this? Is there any other potential problem in saving a few bucks this way? Thanks.

 

You need to get a MB fiberoptic compatible unit. MB CD changer control protocols have bee proprietary since at least 1996 (before fiberoptics). A standard Alpine unit will not work. You can get them at a number of places on the net.

Here are a set of CLK installastion instructions etc. that I wrote a while ago for the fiber optic setup.

Step-by-Step instructions:
1. Where to order? The best price I found was at www.autoclass.net (305) 668 8666. The unit cost $495 including the mounting bracket and shipping. I got my unit exactly one week after ordering it. The packaging was good quality and shows that this is the “official” Mercedes Benz unit. I think it is manufactured by Alpine.

2. There are no instructions in the box, they are not needed!

3. Locate the connections. The power and control (optical) connections were located in the forward section of the CD well behind the trunk liner on the right hand side of the trunk. I was able to pull them out without removing any part of the trunk liner and they were not taped in. The optical connection consists of two relatively stiff optical fibers. The connections are covered with a green cover. The power connection is a smaller three-wire harness.

4. Unpack the CD unit and remove the three transit screws on the CD unit itself (they are labeled).

5. Mount the CD player to the bracket using the 4 small machine screws supplied with the unit. You should mount the bracket so that the Mercedes Benz label on the CD player will be towards the front of the car.

6. Put the CD player in the trunk and connect it up (remove the cover from the optical connections on the CD player and the wiring harness first). The connections are keyed and will only go in one way. At this point I tested the unit out by loading up a CD since I did not want to unscrew it if it did not work.

7. Move the bottom trunk liner slightly to the left and carefully place the mounting bracket over the holes in the chassis.

8. Screw the CD player in place using the supplied self-tapping screws.

9. Enjoy!

It took about 15 minutes. The Window Sticker on my car said CD ready so I did not expect any problems (e.g., enabling the radio for CD operation) and I did not run into any, all the controls work properly.

These instructions might seem a little basic for some, but it is such an easy way to save between $200 and $400 that I thought I would explain in detail in case anyone is nervous about doing this.

About three weeks after the install I had to visit my dealer (to pick up the plates for the car) I showed him the unit and he confirmed that it was exactly the same as the unit they would install at about ½ the price (no sales nor luxury tax).

 

Thanks for the great tip, Martin. I've just ordered a 2002 clk430 and the dealer wants $995 to install the changer. One question: I checked out the site you linked for the changers, and it doesn't have compatibility specs for 2002. Do you know off hand which changer I need or if the installation would be different for a '02 model. Thanks again.

 

Sorry I don't know about the 2002. But, from what I read there are minimal changes so I am 99% certain it will work

 

My CD changer from a 2001 SL 500 was moved to a 2002 CLK 55 AMG without a glitch.

However, new bracket for $80.- was required, according to MB subcontractor's tech.

 

I just followed the instructions in this thread to install a used fiber optic CD Changer in my 2000 clk. I found the fiber optic cable and power cable behind the trunk liner and brought them out to the changer well. Once I connected the cables and hit the eject button, the button lit up, but the cartridge would not eject. I then went into the car and turned it on and hit the CD button on the radio, but it still said NO CD CHANGER.

Does anyone know if there these are coded? Is there something I need to enter into the radio? Is there something obvious that I did wrong? I'm gonna try calling a few dealers to see if they are any help. Maybe I just bought a broken changer?

Thanks for any advice.

 

Did you buy the changer new or used? I have heard stories of used changers mis aligning and messing up in various ways. Were there retention pins in the bottom of the changer to hold everything together during shipping? Did you remove them? Also, the changer is all fiber optic, and the cable is only about 2-3 mm thick, so a few flakes of dust will mess it up. Try getting a can of air (at a computer or office store) and cleaning the cable in the car and the connector on the changer. Don't hold the can upside down, no good will come of that.
Also, the optic cable in the back of the radio does come loose sometimes (heard of it once in a E-class), you would want the dealer to reconnect it.
MT

 

The radios are programmed to recognize a cd changer. If the car didn't come with it, you might need to have it programmed at the dealer.

I think the same goes if your car came with a changer, and you unplug the changer, the radio may not function properly.

 

I had a water spill in the car and water got into the changer.

First, there was garbled CD music, followed by "no CDs in changer", then followed by "no changer".

Cartidge would not eject. I used a paperclip to get it out while holding the eject botton. Then I soaked up the water with towels, followed by a thorough blowdrying.

After this special treatment, COMAND detected the changer. I then inserted a cartridge and ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE:


IT WORKDED AGAIN!!

Maybe a paperclip & blowdryer will work for you.

Try it.

 

I bought my changer from a guy on e-bay last summer. He was some sort of Mfg rep. It was the correct MB changer with all parts and instructions. Took 1/2 hour to install and it has been perfect.

 

From a guy who's never changed his own tire or oil, I successfully installed my own cd changer. In fact, I've never actually opened the front hood in my car.

But when MB asked for $1000 for a cd changer, I asked them if it came with a girl who would put the cd's in for me. So off to Ebay, bought a new A203 changer, changer cartridge, with brackets, carpet cover, and shipping included for $390. The seller had great feedback on this item, and I decided to take the plunge.

The information on this site helped me out quite a bit, and I thought I would add my experience to help out others who are car-install-useless like me.

I was first afraid to peel back the carpet lining, as I probably wouldn't be able to put it back in. So after lifting the cardboard thingie that sits over the spare tire, and being amazed that MB put in a thing to hold it up, I searched for what I thought would look like an optical wire and a power wire. I first found some orange wires that were labeled something like SBS IN/OUT and PHONE IN/OUT, and figured that wasn't it. I was afraid to pull on anything, in fear of disconnecting anything. I first found a black wire, which I recognized as the power source. I decided to hold my breath, pull on it a bit, and it came loose, and low and behold, it was the power source cable. Now I dug a little deeper and found another orange cable. Tried to pull on it, but it was stuck. But I did trace the outline of the cable to the very right side of the car. So I attempted to remove the carpet covering from the right panel, and was only successful to move the bottom two sections slightly. (i was afraid to do anymore) I took a flashlight to peer inside, and saw that there was an orange cable, taped to the side of the car. I looked at the cable, and recognized it as the optical connector.

Pretty much after that, it was pretty easy to re-arrange everything and install the changer. My final challenge, was to try and screw in the bracket with only two hands, as the bracket doesn't really sit up on the bar thing without support. So with one hand, I held the bracket/changer and tried to screw in with the other hand. Then the stupid screw dropped behind the frickin' battery. I was so pissed. But for some reason, God was rewarding me (or something) for trying to install my own changer that when I reached behind the battery to see if I had the luck, I found the stupid screw within my grasp. After tryin' to pick up the stupid thing for about 3 minutes (man, that's a small space to put manly fingers) I finally got it and put the finishing touches on my new changer.

I hope this information helps some people out there. I actually thought of taking my digicam and creating an installation diary, but I was kinda lazy.

Post back if you have any questions.

Actually, I have one last question. In my kit, with the screws, there was this black thingie, that would fit in where the optical cable fits in....does anyone know what this thing is for?

Lee.

 

The black thingie is a dust cover used for storing the cd changer. In an optical system such as this, a few pieces of dust between the transmitter in the changer and the wire can kill a system. The dust cover is used if you ever remove the changer to keep it clean.
MT

 

Congrats on the successful install. I hear you about the $1000 Dealer installed changer. I asked if dinner at Morton's and a room at the Ritz with the sexy "Jessica Alba Look-a-like" receptionist was included!
Considering it probably costs MBZ $65 for a changer (considering the volume they do), WTF!!