eddieo45

I'm getting occasional "static" out of my COMAND audio, and at first I thought it was just real static, that the radio station wasn't coming in well, but it affects CDs, iPod, etc. Luckily, it seems to go away if I restart the car, but does anyone know what it might be?

Rudeney

Mine does this about once a year. Honestly, I think it is a failure of the head unit. Everything outside of it is digital, so that's about all it could be.

iyeoh

My opinion as an audio enthusiast (not an auto expert) is that the power amplifier is distorting and that it either a fuse issue, a speaker impedence issue, or the transistors in the power amplifier. The head unit contains the pre-amplifier and low level signals. Distortion mostly comes from the amp. Anyway, it goes away when the car is restarted. Don't fix what ain't broke. Just an opinion. I could be totally wrong.

Rudeney

What I've experienced is not distortion like a bad speaker or amplifier circuit, but just white noise along with the normal audio. The volume is adjustable, just with this annoying white noise. I have heard of others having this problem and having the head unit replaced to fix it.

Blazedale

I'm glad 'someone' else is having this problem. I was thinking the same, possibly replacing the OEM head unit. Reading other posts here, I guess its possible other items 'may' be the issue.

I'm looking to replace the head unit anyway. Can anyone suggest what are some good-to-great units for '05 CLK-320, that: 1) fit in the dash without issues; 2) don't cost arm & leg; 3) have iPhone type connections (optional though). Appreciate the info

Rudeney

I actually had some light static yesterday using the OEM iPod interface as the audio source. As soon as I shutdown the engine and restarted, it went away. I've had it on the iPod and Sirius sources (about the only two sources I ever listen to).

As for replacing the head unit, any double-DIN will fit. I don't have a favorite to recommend because they seem to change so often, but there are many great choices from Pioneer, Alpine, Kenwood, etc. Since you have the "facelift" interior, you need to find a CLK-specific faceplate - don't use the one sold generically for both the W203 and W209 as it will be slightly too wide to fit.

Even with a plug-and-play wiring harness, you will need to tap into the light and 12v at the cigarette lighter to get illumination and switched 12v power. Also, your Harmon-Kardon system will not have any analog audio wiring in the dash - it's fiber optic to the amp in the trunk, then analog from there to the speakers. This isn't terribly complicated - you just need to run some analog wiring from the dash to the trunk, then tie into the speakers there in place of the factory amp. There is plenty of room for wiring in the channels under the door sills.

billyhead1

Are there any aftermarket head units that are truly plug-and-play if you have the Bose or HK systems?

Rudeney

None that I am aware of. Dynavin makes units that at least look like a factory fit, but I do not know if they interface with the Bose or HK amps.

04CLK5.4

Rudeney

I am fairly certain it's a problem in the radio itself. When mine did this, I found that rapidly turning the volume knob from 0 to full would make it "wake up" and stop the static.

mbsibSL

At start up when the car is cold I wil have no control over the head unit and all it will do is produce ear piercing static. If you hold the power button down (PWR) until the unit reboots, then the static will stop and the head unit will work again.

Eric79

Thank you for this information!! I started my SL today and I had nothing but loud static. This fixed my issue.

remaker

This worked! Thank you so much!

618Syndicate

Also worked on my 04 S class. Thank you.

ejeffrjr

Just joined the forum. Found this thread because all I got was ear splitting static.. I had no idea about rebooting the Command system. It fixed the issue! Thank you for saving me hours and hours of time and hundreds of dollars! 2007 SL55 AMG