Okay boys, anyone know a bit about these things? Mine started acting weird today for no reason. I apologize in advance if this post is long, but I want to cover the bases to get accurate answers. If you think you can help, please read on.

I have a 2004 E55 with the Command/Harman-Kardon sound system. Until today, it has been impressive for stock and also performed flawlessly.

Today I get in the car and it seems to be cutting in and out... I was driving to work and thought, "hmm radio station trouble?" as they were interviewing a newly signed athlete via telephone. I changed the station, same result. I also tried a CD in the 6 disc changer, same thing; almost as if the disc was skipping. Power cycled the head unit, same results.

During lunch break, I went outside and tried it while the car was parked, figuring the lack of vehicle motion would all but eliminate a bad cable/wiring/loose connection/vibration issue. Same results.

After work, I tried using the AUX input from the glove box to connect to my phone and use Pandora - always worked just fine before - now a high pitched squeal similar to microphone feedback.

Did some research and found out I need a service update disc (pursuant to DTB P-B-82.60/382c) part # W211 589 16 22 00....

Stopped at the dealer, who was quite cool about it, said that the part # referenced is discontinued, and even if it wasn't they can't sell me the disc. They offered to take it in via appointment and pay ~$100-200 to flash it with this update and also update the AGW (audio gateway software) which sounded nice, but if I can score a disc and do it myself and save a couple hundred bucks, why not??

OK, here's the questions:

1) should I just pay them and let them do this? My fear is that it doesn't solve the problem and we just start replacing components one after the other until it works again...(costly!)

2) since this part # is no longer available, it would seem not to be copyright infringement to have someone send me an .iso file of the disc. MBUSA would have no liquid damages for me fixing this myself. Since they don't offer it, it is archival and the only one that loses is the dealer for labor to use theirs.

3) does anyone have an original disc I can buy? Dealer net was $12....

Moving on, I have removed fuse #6 from the trunk panel as wells as the CD changer one from the dash to "reset" it - seems to have done zero, the head unit even went back to the station it was on before I pulled power.

I have checked the voltage of the Aux batter underhood, and it's 12.48 volts, seems healthy, and the dealer insists that if it was suspect a LOT of electronics would be acting silly.

What do you guys think? Fix it myself, or? I have built computers, drag cars, and engineered audio in a recording studio. Nothing about this should be beyond my scope of ability, short of having STAR diagnostics.

Thoughts??

Thanks in advance,

Chris

 

Your audio gateway is either going tango uniform or you need the software update, which can sometimes brick the audio gateway. This s a know failure mode of the AGW

I happen to have one for sale....

 

Depending on where you're located maybe you could get someone with star to scan for fault codes. That shouldn't take more than 5 minutes.
Audio cutting in and out would usually point towards an amp issue but who knows with our complicated cars with all that fiber optic stuff.

 

Thanks AMG, I will let you know if I need the AGW...where exactly is it located?

 

Drivers side of the trunk behind the closeout panel on the back side of the wheel house

 

This disk is kept by dealers, so we can update when needed. I believe even with the disk you would still need star to initiate and compete the process. My best recomwndation would be to have it diagnosed as otherwise it's like shooting in the dark and ur right that can get expensive. Where are you located?

 

@Iknow - I am in sunny Buffalo, NY....

I don't want to brick anything, and the procedure I laid hands on does in fact mention updating the AGW with star, and the disc is for the head unit....

Who would've thought a damn car stereo would be so complex?

I just don't want to pay the dealer to plug in their fancy stuff, claim that $200 later, I need "one of these, two of those..." so they can play trial and error until it works again.

Thing that bugs me, is that it was FINE. No one touched ANYTHING.

GRRR.....

 

My whole command module started acting weird a couple months ago.....switch from day to night screen on whim....hmm odd.....no big D.....then the occasional full command reset on its own with AMG logo n all.....hmm odd......okaaay? Now it won't even make it 2 minutes without a reset. I even got so annoyed with it resetting so many times on my drive to work today that I turned it off to veg on the long line of traffic ahead of me.....5 minutes later it turned itself back on!
Dealer says either software update is needed, command module is toasted, or something to do with ignition and the communication there.....basically the command thinks its being turned on/off by the ignition.
$130 diagnostic, $330 diagnostic with software update and flash......from there who knows.

Oh and mine is 06 E55 with nav, phone, Harmon Kardon......

 

**** Update ****

Thanks again guys the the responses.

Tonight driving home, I noticed the "SOS" button in the overhead console lighting up, and then dimming... there seems to be a correlation to this weirdness and the radio cutting in and out... I opened the center console and also noticed the wrench and the "i" buttons for roadside assistance going red from the amber they usually are... and back. Again, a correlation to the radio having it's episodes...

I of course pressed all of these buttons in an effort to cancel whatever it was doing, to no avail. The car does NOT have a telephone installed factory, but upon pressing these buttons I noticed the head unit trying to "dial" .. - I hit "end" to make it stop - but it seems to still be randomly lighting these 3 buttons up I described earlier....

Does this lend any further direction to what's going on?

Lastly, it DOES have logic-7 with the rear deck speakers.

Thanks in advance!

 

Mine is cutting in and out as well. I guess they have a lot if problems. I'm just thinking about going with an aftermarket unit that is just like our units. They have built in bluetooth, navi, dvd, touch screen and more. What do you guys think about those units? Anyone have experience with one? They run around $800 bucks

 

ttt

Anyone else?

 

What is ttt?

 

Means "to the top"...

 

Yes, "ttt" is "to the top" in an effort to get others to take a peek at the tread, so it isn't buried a few pages in.

I guess I have one course of action left - try the battery cable off-reset option, if not deal with the dealer...

I did get an .iso image of one of the service disks from a fellow board member, but I'm a little gun shy about trying it, as the procedure I have found also requires some updates only provided by the STAR diagnostics system, and I can't find an indy shop or a board member in the are with access to one....

sigh.

 

It did it when I first got the car. I learned about the battery reset and after that, the problem went away. Now the reset is not working for it. I'm at my wits end. Thats why I just wanna get rid of it. Let us know what happens after you try to reset the battery. I hope it works for you

 

I spoke to a tech and he said it could be a speaker that is putting out negative ohms or something. He said try to disconnect each speaker to see if one of then is causing the problem. If it is, replace that speaker. I will try this and keep you guys posted.

 

TTT

Didn't see this thread before I started mine. Ive also got alot of these problems and now my radio is really acting up. Chris did you ever find a solution?

 

Undid the negative battery cable in the trunk for 10 mins, (alarm wigged out) and re-connected it... and all is right with the world.

 

I installed the aftermarket unit on my E55 that fits just like factory. I love it! Most importantly, it doesn't cut out any more and the sos does not beep. If any one is interested in these units, I can get them a lot cheaper than Amazon and Ebay. Private message me. I will post pics later

 

I have issues when its high 90's and I'm driving around for 2 hours+. I've tried pulling fuse 6 and it seemed to help the first time, but not the second time it happened. Seems once the car cooled down everything was fine the second time. Unless its high 90's and I'm driving for a couple hours it's been good to me. Only had this happen twice.

I hear Mercedes added a fan to I think the audio gateway due to a known problem with something over heating. Anyone know what is overheating and where this fan is? I have an earlier 03 and wanna see if I have the fan or not.

For the cost of repairs (heard like $2 Grand for an audio gateway from dealer?) I'd be looking at that aftermarket $800 unit. Does it run through the factory system or does it run independently like a regular aftermarket head unit though? Has it's own wires for speakers? How many channels?

 

Parts.com has new audio gateways for $700

Click here

Or get one from a junk yard, it's stupid simple to replace

 

Good to know. Hopefully mine keeps behaving and I won't have to worry about this. I thought the "audio gateway" was all the wiring throughout the car not just an amp. I'll have to poke around behind that panel and see what's actually going on back there.

Why can't they just call it an amp like normal people? Crazy Germans... lol

 

I removed the original amp and installed the upgraded mercedes amp with the fan built in. It did not help my problem, so I replace my command unit with the aftermarket unit I spoke about earlier. It eliminated the new amp, so I removed it. I'm willing to sell it, if you or anyone else is interested, just pm me. It sounds like this will solve your problem.

For the new command unit, I ran the wiring straight back and it hooked to the existing wire harness that was attached to the amp with just a snap. It even hooked to the fiber optic. I hooked up an aftermarket amp dedicated for the existing sub. It sounds great!

 

Update I opened up the connector from the wire coming from the roof mounted antenna. The connection point in the trunk gets corrosion so simply opening it up cleaning and spinning them around was all it took and all my command issues and SOS error is gone!! Nav works everything works! Took about 5 minutes......When it rains heavy SOS error comes back but then goes away when rain stops so I suppose I could do more to keep connection moisture free.

 

Our car had the same problem twice. Audio gateway replaced both times and it fixed the problem