BradH

I was having a problem with my CD changer in my wifes 99 e320. It stopped working and would give me an error message that there was no changer present.

I checked all the wilres and everything looked like it was fine. So I read a few threads here and one of the suggestions was to pull the fuse to the radio and that might reset it.

Well I pulled the fuse (under hood and under seat) and now nothing works. the radio is asking for a code. How do I find the code that it wants?

My wife is going to be really irrated with me for "Fixing" her car and making it worse. Any help you guys could provide would be greatly appriciated!

RichardM98

The OEM radio code is a security feature to discourage theft. Look in the owners manual or radio manual for a small card with a 5 digit number. Or look to see if a previous owner wrote it down somewhere. Finally, if you can't find it, go to the dealer show them proof of ownership and they will look it up.

Assuming you get a second chance to 'fix' the car go here for info of CD changer issues - http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210...air-guide.html

BradH

Thanks for the reply.

I did not have the code so I contacted the dealer. They were very nice and gave me the code.

I entered it when prompted then the radio displayed "Wait"

The problem I have now is that it still says wait and i entered the code yesterday. I left it on and waited for about 45 minutes and then gave up.

Am I missing something, do I need to do anything else? Any help would be greatly appriciated.

RichardM98

First, be sure that you have the correct procedure for your radio. Some (most?) just require entering the digits and after the last one the radio comes on. A few require pressing a key sort of like the 'enter' key on your computer. Most MB's have a separate radio manual for the car with the procedure discribed.

Second, are you sure that the radio is the radio that came with the car when new. I don't mean model but serial number wise. Did the dealer confirm the serial number with what was in their system? It's possible that the radio was changed during the life of the car. If it was done at a dealership then the replacement radio code should have been added to the system. If it was done by anyone else then you don't have the right code yet. If it is a Becker radio you can you can pull the radio, get the serial number off the back and fax a form to them to get the code. I think Alpine has a similar system for MB radios but I don't know for sure. You should have a Becker 3302 which requires that you press the OK key after entering the code.

http://www.beckerautosound.com/3302-...ose%20amp.html

There are links on this page to the manual, code entry, and touble-shooting.

BradH

I have the radio manual and went through the proceeduere in the manual. So the proceedure should be fine.

I bought the car from the MB dealer that gave me the code. It was a certified pre owned from Merc. I think they put a new battery in it so I am assuming the the code they have is correct.

I do not know how to pull the radio, do i need special tools?

I just tried to reset it again. now even if i pull the fuses it is stuck at "Wait" when it is powered on. It appears to be locked. Does anyone know how to unlock the radio when it is displaying wait?

Thanks for all the help so far

RichardM98

To remove the radio (and CCU) you need a set of 'radio keys'. You can get generic ones online or at local auto parts stores. You can get the good ones at the dealer or thru Becker North America. Pretty simple - just insert the keys (marked left and right) to release the spring loaded catches and pull the radio forward. You might have to 'wiggle it' a little if it hasn't been removed in a while.

There is setting stored in the PROM which is only cleared by the correct code so removing fuses, etc. doesn't help. There may be a 'back door' code used by technicians but if so it would be a pretty closely held secret.

I posted a picture of the factory radio key here - https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...head-unit.html