Please help me figure out what is either wrong, or what I can possibly do to fix this

phone issue.

This is taking place in a 2001 C320, with the installed car kit, mobile comm system and

the Motorolla Timeport TDMA phone.

When we purchased the car, there was not a phone handset in the cradle between the

seats. The previous owner had said she was going to keep it, it had all her numbers in

it. So, i purchased a replacement phone off ebay, indeed a mercedes-bezn Timeport TDMA

phone for ATT usage.

Later, I found a manual for the car, which included the Timeport manual, but this was

for a CDMA and Sprint version of the phone. So, I called the Mercedes Benz in San

Francisco, and asked them what I needed. They said, that "any phone" would fit in the

cradle, as long as it was the same model Timeport, so it was independant of protocal,

CDMA, TDMA, etc. Their price was 500.00$

So, I of course was going to use the phone that I got off of ebay for somewhat less

than that amount.

What happens is the following. When we call out from the phone, we can hear the other

party fine and clear. Like a landline phone almost.

But, BUT, the other party often reports that calls made from within the car sound like

they are from a tin can off the coast of Antarctica. Very tinny, and so full of

digital dropouts that even listening is pairfull and tiring.

I know this for a fact, that when I call my Girlfriend in her car, usually from my cell

phone or something, I can honestly barely hear her. There is NO way that this can be

used as a viable solution for in car mobile communications.

When one however, picks up the handset from the cradle, in a sense disconnecting it

from the car kit, the sound goes through the roof!! Honestly, it sounds as if the

person is RIGHT there with you. When my Girlfriend calls me from the car, I almost

always ask her to pickup the handset, which makes talking with her in the car just

fine.

So, we have taken the car into the dealer. They have actually replaced the handset

once, or even twice now I believe. But, they report back that they can hear no

problems either calling from, or to the car. Sounds great and within the Mercedes-Benz

guidelines (I have not yet told our local dealership that I was a five year veteran

and Senior Management within the Daimler-Benz Corporation and later DaimlerChrysler and

have driven practically every car, owning an E500, CLK430, S600, CL500 and beta tested

this version of the C-Class to boot and NEVER had such problems with the sound on the

car phone - Granted, that was all in Europe and under the GSM protocol)

So, that is a card I have not yet played, but I really would like to know, what is

going on with the damb thing? And, can I get it fixed?

What is the best solution going forward? Can I replace the PSE and put in a bluetooth

phone? What is the expense for that? Does this sound like anything anyone has had

happen with their devices? What was the cause, was it a wrong protocol phone, or a bad

microphone or something?

What do you propose as a good resolution for resolving it? Should I write my friends

who run MBNA now and let them in on what poor service I seem to be getting from my

local SF dealership?

Thanks for any an all input, and thanks for letting me vent. The funny thing is,

working in operations and corporate strategy, this is EXACTLY the type of thing that we

would work SO hard to keep from happening, or try to learn from from the customer

perspective in order to keep it from happening again, or at all. Obviously, it has

changed a bit for the worse. :-(

Best
BenzBoy

 

In the system there is some sort of a black box adapter between the phone cradle and the dash unit/amplifier/antenna. This could be bad. I had one fail on my ML500 and it failed in such a way that it produced wierd and intermittent symptoms. As soon as this adapter was replaced it worked just fine. As for your being an ex employee, I don't think that will have any bearing on this or any other Benz situation. Remember they only care about what you have done for them today. The fact that you resigned or were dismissed is not to your benefit.

 

I'll see if I can try that out, do you know what the part number was? Or what it was called?

Yeah, I resigned to start my own company, but since I did work for a member of the board of management, and knew all of them personally, it often carries a bit of weight.

I'll keep that in the back pocket since I have no of recourse.

 

Sorry, can't recall what they called it and do not have the part number. I do recall that my SA said it was a part made by Motorola and that they can no longer get new ones, only remanufactured ones. The work order is on file at my office and if I remember I will try to find it. However it may be a different number as my problem was in my 02 ML500.

 

Thanks for checking on the part number if you can, I still have these wicked problems, and before heading back for a third time would like to compile as much information as I can about whta COULD be wrong. THinking maybe antennae, microphone, or this item you mentioned.