alantlo

I just bought a brand new Mercedes CD changer by mail order and installed it in my E430. CD#1 and #2 play with no problems, but when I try to manually switch to #3, #4 or#5, the display on the radio will say "NO MAGAZINE". The same message displays when #2 finishes playing and the changer tries to change to #3. When the message displays I can no longer switch back to #1 or #2; I'll have to turn off the radio, eject/reinsert the cartridge, and play #1 again.

Does anybody else have the same problem? Do I have a bad changer or magazine? The changer is supposed to have a one year warranty. Will I be able to obtain warranty repair or replacement from a Mercedes Benz dealer?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

HGT

alantlo,

Sorry I can't help... Just wondering where you bought your CD changer? Dealer or online store? Which one?

Thanks.

Regards,
HGT

alantlo

Hi HGT:

I bought it on-line from www.autoclass.net . The price was great, but they didn't respond to my emails after I placed my order.

Al

HGT

Hi Al,

I am in the same boat as you. I need a CD changer and the ones online are posted at substantial savings. I am just weary of the possibility that they are sub-par in some way they are not telling us. Have you noticed anything like this in the one they sold you? Which country is the unit made in?

Thanks.

Regards,
HGT

alantlo

Hi HGT:

I didn't notice any anomalies. The unit is made in Hungary if I remember correctly.

I'll go to a MBZ dealer to see if they'll take care of this.

Regards,

Al

New E

alantlo,

I think the units may just be prone to problems. I've taken mine in three times in a little more than a month, and it's just been easier for the dealer to replace it three times rather than try to diagnose it. Like you, the most recent problem involved receiving the "no magazine" message. Strangely enough it was initially fine with #1 and #2, then once it hit #3 the error message appeared (and would not go away).

I wish I had a better explanation, but again even the dealer thought it was just easier to replace it.

alantlo

Hi New E:

Thanks for writing.

I just called up www.autoclass.net , where I bought the changer. The guy said there should be a switch on the side of the changer to select vertical or horizontal installation; if the switch was not set to match the orientation of the changer, the CD's wouldn't play properly. I'll check it out when I go home. The guy said if it's indeed defective he would send me another one, so I'm not too worried.

Alan

New E

Hi Alan,

Hopefully a flip of the switch will be all it takes! The installer cautioned me about two other things I might experience with the unit. Apparently it may not read CD-R's all that well, and if you have low profile tires it may cause it to skip. Those were the problems I initially had, but the current unit seems to be working well. Enjoy!!

Stacey

alantlo

Hi New E:

I took out the CD changer Friday night and checked. Sure enough, the 2 pins, one on each side of the changer, were factory-set at "H" (horizontal). I should have checked this before I installed the changer the first time. Anyway, I moved the pins to the "V" position and the changer worked fine when the car was inside the garage. It rained last weekend so I didn't take the car out to see if the changer worked OK with the car moving, but I'm pretty sure it will be fine.

Al

Dema

Does your changer have fiber/optic connection? I'd like to buy a changer also, but I can't locate any connector in trunk. So, I'm in doubt that it can be installed easily. Do you have pictures of the installed changer?

alantlo

Hi Dema:

Mine has the fiber optic connection. There are two cables: one power supply cable and one fiber optic cable, lying underneath the trunk liner on the driver's side of the trunk just behind the wheel well. All you have to do is carefully pull up the liner a bit and reach in to pull the cables out and then insert the connectors into the changer. The rest is easy. In my case, the CD changer mounting bracket came with 4 #20 torx screws for attaching the changer to the bracket, and 2 #25 torx screws for attaching the bracket to the floor of the trunk. Pilot holes were factory pre-drilled in the trunk floor to accept the bracket. So the whole thing took me less than 15 minutes after finding the cables. I could take a photo of the installed changer, but I'm not sure I know how to post it.

Al

Dema

alantlo, thank you. I will try to locate the connectors. You post is very helpful. For posting picture you need just press button Browse at the bottom of a posting screen and select an image file. An image file should be less than 204800 bytes.

alantlo

Hi Dema:

You are welcome. Here is the first photo showing the cables. I'll post the second one later (how do I post more than one photo at the same time?)

Al

alantlo

Here's the second photo showing the changer installed. Hope the photos help.

Dema

Thank you, I have located connectors using your pictures. So, I have to do a small step to order a changer.

PS I think only one uploaded picture allowed per post. However, you can specify more than one images loaded from other sites using button IMG.

rkwjr

I have also been thinking about installing the CD changer.

Some of the older posts in the Audio Forum indicate a reprogramming by the dealer is required whenever you introduce a new component into the fiber-optic ring. They indicate that, if you hook up the CD changer and it's not programmed in by the dealer it will work initially but will throw error codes every time you use it. Once the error codes reach a threshold the CD changer will stop working with a message saying something to the effect that the CD cartridge is bad. This usually happens in 2-4 months, or sooner depending on how many times you listen to the CD changer.

Does anyone know if this is accurate?

alantlo

Hi rkwjr:

I cannot comment on that, because I haven't had my changer long enough. So far it's been working fine after I changed the pin setting as I described in a previous post. When I talked to Gaston Rey of www.autoclass.com about the changer's initial problem, he immediately told me what I had to do to make it work properly. He made no mention of the programming requirement. I tend to believe he knows his stuff, and if there was a requirement to program the system he would have told me. I'll see what happens and will be happy to give you an update in a few months. But you could also give Gaston a call to find out for sure. His phone number is on his website. I think he has the best price on the changer. I'll be interested to know what you find out.

Al

HGT

rkwjr,

I thought the E-class was pre-wired and pre-configured for a CD changer. But maybe you know more than I do... I guess we'll find out soon. 2-4 months, eh?

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know of a deal I found. www.performanceproducts.com has OEM CD Changers for sale this month at 10% off. I just picked up mine.

Regards,
HGT

Dema

It looks like a mistake. The changer priced as low as $75 in comparision to autoclass.com asking $400. Can somebody confirm that the changer is real?

rkwjr

I do not know if the reprogramming is necessary. However, when I searched the forums to find out about installing a changer, I found some posts indicating it was necessary. I was just hoping to get a definitive answer.

Thanks for the tips on where to buy the changers. I have not bought one yet, because I am thinking about satellite radio as an alternative.

Also, I see a price of $419 at PerformanceProducts not $75.

alantlo

Hi Dema:

If you go to that website (www.performanceproducts.com) and do a search for "CD changer" for a 2001 MBZ E320, for example, it'll list a $419 CD changer and a $85 bracket.

Dema

Thanks, it looks like search for E430 gives only bracket. In this case autotoys have the best price for a changer.

Randy B

I've installed a couple of these in friends and families vehicles. All E-classes 99, and 00. NO problems at all with any reprogramming needed. Also bought all of them from Autoclass. Nice outfit to deal with. I heard the new C-class cars from 02 and up are the ones that need the prgramming done. And as far as the orientation switch goes, it is explained in the directions with the changer when you get take it out of the box, but hey, we are men!!!! Who needs instructions??!!!!! Good luck!

Dema

I'm considering buying a changer from autotoys since them have much cheaper brackets. I have noticed a remark for the changer that Random function not working for it. Does it work for a changer from autoclass? Thanks.

rkwjr

I saw a bracket on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=1863719015

It will not work for me because I have the wagon.