The S600 just acquired has an Ipod, among other cables connected to the back of the COMAND protruding to the console. The issue is that I own a Creative ZEN Vision: M 60, that is, 60 gigs of fabulous classical music, instead of an IPod…..
Darn it.
I know not what the other cables connected to the COMAND are for, that’s a battle for another day.

Does anyone know of a useable connector/converter from Ipod to Zen so I can utilize the Creative Zen instead?. Although both plugs in the cable for the Ipod and Zen look identical, the cable installed in the car now does not play the Zen.

Rather than broken, I wish to think that the previous owner did not want to deal with CDs in the trunk of the car, so, he/she disconnected the changer, and there is no power to it now. Only single CDs can be played from the console right now, obviously, he/she preferred the Ipod’s convenience.

Open for suggestions….. Short of having to dish out $350 for an Ipod, anything else comes to mind?? Not very media savvy here so, please, spoon feed me.

 

You needn't spend $350 on an iPod. Get a classic, should be like $170 or so. Obivously cheaper second hand or on fleabay.

 

Yes, but the $170 Ipod does not have a 60 Gigs hard drive....

Hey, guys, wake up..... 159 people and no suggestions ????????

 

Hey! That is no way to win friends! (or answers)

No idea, but have you looked at all of the solutions in the above stickys for Audio changes? I'll bet a good electronics store mentioned in some of those posts would know what you have. Or take some pics and post them.

Sorry that I am no help.

 

does your COMAND have a cassete tape player?

For $2 you can get a cassette tape headphone adapter and people have said they work very well in the w220

 

TUSABES... gracias..

NO, regrettably, it does not have a cassette.

 

TEXAS933....
Comments noted. Thanks

 

Check again for the cassette player the LCD panel slides down to expose it. I bet it's there. If you have problems as to which buttons to push check your owners manual.

 

If you buy the right one, they have from 80 to 160 GB. The Gen 5.5 is available in an 80 GB version - I bought one (used) two months ago for my second car, under $150. The Classic (Gen 6) comes with up to 160 GB. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_iPod_models for iPod types; stick to those that use USB, not Firewire, as their connection to the computer; and although the Wikipedia article labels many older iPods as Classic, the only one that Apple calls the Classic (that is its name) is the Gen 6. See also http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1353

I don't know of any simple "converter" for an iPod to Zune connection.

You didn't tell us what kind of iPod integration the car has (or even the car's model year). It makes a difference as to what may have been added. Because the CDC is disabled I suspect something other than the Dension Gateway 500 - that unit (whether for D2B or MOST fiber optic busses) did not require that the CDC be disconnected, and it also provided for RCA and USB inputs in addition to the iPod input. A Zune could be connected to a Gateway 500 via a double ended 3.5mm stereo plug, but the steering wheel and COMAND button control would not be available.

Depending on the iPod adapter installed in the S600, you may or may not have iPod control using the steering wheel and COMAND buttons.

And no, you will often not get an answer in just 3 hours. It may take much longer for the person with the right answer to see your post - and providing as much information as you can will get you the best answer possible. None of us is going to invest the time to write a book to cover all the possibilities opened by an incomplete question.

 

Sky.... True to form, and as always, you are a source of information personified, and to boot, you offer it amply.... Thanks a lot.

My car is the Mercedes Benz S600 2005, not sure, but the CD multi (magazine) may be disabled in Comand. When I press CD multi in the Comand, the error is no Ipod installed or something along those lines. Am I correct?

 

Ok, your S600 uses a MOST fiber optics bus. The units that are most likely installed are the Dension Gateway 500, a mObridge unit, or a Cartronics unit. There are others, but these will be most common. The Gateway 500 does not force you to give up your CDC; it simply replaces it on the bus, but it can be switched back in.

The mObridge and CarTronics units require giving up the CDC.

Below there is a photo of the Gateway 500 installation in my S500; click it to enlarge. Yours can be entirely different, because the installer (me, in my case) determines where to locate various inputs. But in particular, look for the module with the red & white RCA jacks. If you have that (and it may be in the glove compartment or elsewhere), that's where you could connect your Zune. And, if you have it, you can download the operating instructions from the Dension website - http://www.dension.com/index.php?pageID=170 - the Mercedes COMAND quick start guide and the Gateway User Guide are the ones you would want.

Disregard the annotation in red in the photo. The broken connector was fixed long ago.

In addition, on the same unit with the RCA jacks, there is a switch. It would be currently in the Gateway 500 position. If you place it in the opposite position, shut down the car, wait about 1 minute, and restart, you will have the CDC back; the iPod adapter will be switched out of the fiber optic loop (bus).

If you don't have that box with the switch and the RCA jacks, you likely have one of the other units.

The Gateway 500 will give you song title and artist on the COMAND screen (it only gives track number on the instrument cluster display); lets you sort by playlist, artist, or album on COMAND, and of particular interest to you, it (as well as the other two brands) provides fiber optic input to your audio system from the main connector instead of the earphone jack - resulting in much better audio quality. Unfortunately, your Zune would be limited to audio output through its earphone jack.

And as mentioned before - any of the units addressed here provide iPod control via the steering wheel or the COMAND buttons. That control is not possible for something connected to the RCA jacks.

Personally - I think your best bet is to buy an iPod. Port you music in high quality files into iTunes (available for both Mac and PC). You will be happy. I have very few mp3s - I bring music in wherever possible as AIFF files -and yes, half of mine is classical.

 

Sky.
Your patience and genuine desire to help others is exceptional, as for myself and the rest of the forum, at the risk of being redundant, allow me to thank you one more time.

If it adds any info, in this link is the exact copy of the unit in my car. Not sure what brand, mObridge? After determining the maker it will be easier for me to follow instructions without confusion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8UkK...eature=related

 

I don't know what device is being used in that link, to display the iPod video. Sorry.

The COMAND unit is the COMAND 2.0. Although it is DVD based, stock U.S. units cannot play video.

 

Sky... I meant to say that my unit looks exactly the same... I did not refer to its capabilities or functions.

 

Sky… An update….
After your explanation I contacted mObridge, they emailed the way to make the Creative Zen Vision to work in the car..

Press Audio/CD Mag/
Press #6 and press Seek+ for 4 to 5 seconds while Comand finds the Zen in
Aux input

Draw backs…. Creative must be charged on wall outside of the car, (so far I have not gotten around the way to charge it inside the car), control of Zen player is from the Zen proper, not the Comand Unit.

Tomorrow I will try to play my Archos 20 FM recorder as well, hehehehe

But what the heck, it can play music for 15 hours with one charge, not bad.

Thanks for the help…………

 

So, you found an AUX input on the car?

Perhaps the S600 differs, but among other W220s, only the '03 had an AUX input from the factory. It is on the left side of the glove compartment, sometimes covered by a plastic cap.

 

Sky... The Aux Input is one of those cables coming from the back of the Comand unit. All I had to do was plug it into the female of my Zen unit.

But it is activated by mObridge in the unit itself

 

Great - thanks for the follow up.