Command issuses
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Newbie
Joined: Jul 2016
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2003 CLK55
Command issuses
Need some help with my command system.
1. connection to ipod stopped working a few months ago. this was already fitted to the car and I could use steering wheel controls to change the songs. also ipod would charge while in use. selected this via CD on the command. command appears not to pic the ipod up but also it does not charge.
2. intermittently the command will not recognise the CD changer. worked fine on the weekend but now again not working. also the cartridge is stuck (this happened after I removed the command unit yesterday). it does get power though.
3. lastly the one that baffles me most. I removed the command to try and reach the wire to a noise actuator motor (unsuccessfully). then put everything back together. now the radio and nav works fine but have the issue with the cd changer above. the issue that I cant figure out is that the command wont turn on or off when I start or shut off the car. I now have to switch it on and off manually... very frustrating indeed!
any help on these 3 issues much appreciated. 99.9% sure all the wiring went back ok. I also removed fuse 64 for 10 minutes to do a soft reset.
thanks
1. connection to ipod stopped working a few months ago. this was already fitted to the car and I could use steering wheel controls to change the songs. also ipod would charge while in use. selected this via CD on the command. command appears not to pic the ipod up but also it does not charge.
2. intermittently the command will not recognise the CD changer. worked fine on the weekend but now again not working. also the cartridge is stuck (this happened after I removed the command unit yesterday). it does get power though.
3. lastly the one that baffles me most. I removed the command to try and reach the wire to a noise actuator motor (unsuccessfully). then put everything back together. now the radio and nav works fine but have the issue with the cd changer above. the issue that I cant figure out is that the command wont turn on or off when I start or shut off the car. I now have to switch it on and off manually... very frustrating indeed!
any help on these 3 issues much appreciated. 99.9% sure all the wiring went back ok. I also removed fuse 64 for 10 minutes to do a soft reset.
thanks
MBworld Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
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First of all, I suspect the iPod issue may just be a bad cable. I'd replace that. It is a special cable with the 30-pin on one end and an RJ45 on the other. Here's one on eBay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Mercedes...FXgR0~&vxp=mtr
YOu say you selected this via CD - are you sure you don't mean AUX? The factory iPod interface simply plugs itself into COMAND in place of the AUX input. COMAND has no idea it's an iPod - it sees it as an analog audio input. The controls are via the steering wheel and instrument cluster MFD, which talk to the iPod controller via the CAN bus. The iPod controller gets its power and CAN signals from the wiring harness on the back of the COMAND unit. Basically, it plugs in between the car's wiring harness and COMAND, and thus intercedes the normal analog AUX input.
When COMAND fails to recognize the CD changer, does the audio still function? If not, then you likely have a problem with the MOST fiber circuit. If the audio still works, then it's either a bad CDC, or the wiring harness that supplies power to it is disconnected or loose.
Finally, if COMAND is not displaying on the MFD, and it does not turn on and off with the ignition, then it is not getting its CAN signals. These come in via the wiring harness on the back. I suspect when you removed things to access the ACC servo, you may have disconnected or pinched/cut a wire. With the extra wiring harness of the iPod interface, things are a bit tight behind the COMAND. The CAN wires are brown with colored tracers.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Mercedes...FXgR0~&vxp=mtr
YOu say you selected this via CD - are you sure you don't mean AUX? The factory iPod interface simply plugs itself into COMAND in place of the AUX input. COMAND has no idea it's an iPod - it sees it as an analog audio input. The controls are via the steering wheel and instrument cluster MFD, which talk to the iPod controller via the CAN bus. The iPod controller gets its power and CAN signals from the wiring harness on the back of the COMAND unit. Basically, it plugs in between the car's wiring harness and COMAND, and thus intercedes the normal analog AUX input.
When COMAND fails to recognize the CD changer, does the audio still function? If not, then you likely have a problem with the MOST fiber circuit. If the audio still works, then it's either a bad CDC, or the wiring harness that supplies power to it is disconnected or loose.
Finally, if COMAND is not displaying on the MFD, and it does not turn on and off with the ignition, then it is not getting its CAN signals. These come in via the wiring harness on the back. I suspect when you removed things to access the ACC servo, you may have disconnected or pinched/cut a wire. With the extra wiring harness of the iPod interface, things are a bit tight behind the COMAND. The CAN wires are brown with colored tracers.
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2003 CLK55
Hi Rodney, the ipod interface is a Denison gateway 500 (D2B Mercedes). It has an ipod connection, usb connection and aux (2 phono plugs). There is a small unit with a on / off switch in the glove compartment. if switched on the command will ignore the cd (you select cd to listen to the ipad) and when you switch it off if will pick up the CD again. it somehow bypasses the cd changer. will check this afternoon if the cables go into the back of the cd changer
audio works fine when the cd changer is not picked up. the cd changer definitely gets power is I can see this on the eject button as well as hear it trying to eject the cd cartridge.
the last issue is the one I feel I need to fix first as I forget to turn the command off, so only a matter of time before I get a battery drain. is there any easy way to find or test these wires - I recall two orange wires on the side but did not look like they connected to anything, then tow larger plugs with a number of wires, the click in so connection should be good. the one I suspect is a smaller plug going in the middle of the command (next to one of one of the larger plugs) I recall seeing a few brown wires in there but don't recall the colored tracers....
so not in the mood to rip it all out again!!!
thanks for you help
audio works fine when the cd changer is not picked up. the cd changer definitely gets power is I can see this on the eject button as well as hear it trying to eject the cd cartridge.
the last issue is the one I feel I need to fix first as I forget to turn the command off, so only a matter of time before I get a battery drain. is there any easy way to find or test these wires - I recall two orange wires on the side but did not look like they connected to anything, then tow larger plugs with a number of wires, the click in so connection should be good. the one I suspect is a smaller plug going in the middle of the command (next to one of one of the larger plugs) I recall seeing a few brown wires in there but don't recall the colored tracers....
so not in the mood to rip it all out again!!!
thanks for you help
MBworld Guru
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 10,782
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NO LONGER ACTIVE
Oh, I see - the Dension is different. I also see you have a MY2003, so when I said "MOST fiber", it should be "D2B fiber", but for what we're discussing, there's no difference.
Here is a pinout for your radio's wiring harness:
http://benzbits.com/Audio10PinOuts.pdf
CAN bus is C1 and C2.
Here is a pinout for your radio's wiring harness:
http://benzbits.com/Audio10PinOuts.pdf
CAN bus is C1 and C2.
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CLK55 W209, CL63 W216
I've had similar symptoms before, where the unit wasn't turning off by itself anymore and it was a disconnected cable on the back of the radio. So, the bad/disconnected cable hypothesis is very possible.
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2003 CLK55
Rodney, got the CD Player working. Just unplugged it at the back - plugged it back in and got power back... so removed the magazine for now.
When I remove the command, I can see the 3 cables coming from the glove compartment, but they appear to go underneath the command bracket... I somehow cant see these cables connected to the command unit - do you know how the Denison is connected?
lastly, when the command is plugged in and I wiggle it around I do get the odd display on the information section on the speedometer. So I think you are right that I have a bad wire. I tried wiggling them one by one but not successful. The diagram you send is for the w203. My wiring looks different on the back of the command. do you perhaps have the wiring for this as well so I can isolate the CAN bus wires?
is it maybe easier to replace the wiring harness just for the plug that contains the CAN bus wires or will this mean more panel removal to get to the other end of the harness?
When I remove the command, I can see the 3 cables coming from the glove compartment, but they appear to go underneath the command bracket... I somehow cant see these cables connected to the command unit - do you know how the Denison is connected?
lastly, when the command is plugged in and I wiggle it around I do get the odd display on the information section on the speedometer. So I think you are right that I have a bad wire. I tried wiggling them one by one but not successful. The diagram you send is for the w203. My wiring looks different on the back of the command. do you perhaps have the wiring for this as well so I can isolate the CAN bus wires?
is it maybe easier to replace the wiring harness just for the plug that contains the CAN bus wires or will this mean more panel removal to get to the other end of the harness?
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Thread Starter
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2003 CLK55
Reviving this again as I have been tied up with other commitments
There are various CAN BUS wires so which one (s) will send power from ignition to the command unit? Can it maybe be the Ignition wire on connector A pin 7?
There are various CAN BUS wires so which one (s) will send power from ignition to the command unit? Can it maybe be the Ignition wire on connector A pin 7?
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The CAN bus doesn't "send power". The CAN bus is like a computer network - it transmits digital data. The head unit as constant 12v power. When the ignitions is switched on, it sends a digital signal across the CAN bus so any devices that need to know that can react. The radio should see that signal on turn itself on.
