A dummies guide to D2B please before changing head unit 2003 R230?

[gramey]

So the only thing I hate about my SL350 is the antiquated Comand head unit and the Parrot add ons cluttering up the dash area. My previous Audi S4 and SL320 didn't have fibre optics so were straight forward to swap the head unit son for modern ones with the supplied adaptor harnesses.

It appears it's not so straight forward with my 2003 R230 all I've managed to do is read pages and pages about cars fitted with the Bose system but my car doesn't have that, it doesn't even have a CD changer. So could someone please firstly explain to me whether or not I have an amplifier in my car that needs this D2B system, I know there's a fibre optic plug on the back of the head unit but not where it goes. What else would be on this fibre optic loop, am I better off trying to source an analog to D2B converter to overcome any issues or if I have an amplifier simply disconnect the fibre optic lead and power it from the head unit?

Are there any members on here who have replaced their head unit with an after market one in a car with D2B if so how did you do it?

Sorry if I've missed this in my search but my brain is scrambled after reading page after page and not finding answers for a non Bose set up so any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[gramey]

No takers on this one?

 

[jjcodex]

Hey fella

Whilst I cannot directly help answer the specific question, I thought I would share my solution on my Old r230 prior to changing it.

As you no doubt know, there is a 3.5mm Jack in the glove box. I paired this with a cheap aftermarket bluetooth receiver which took 12v power from either the cig lighter or a dedicated supply, and then connect it to the radio via the Jack (I think mine was a Belkin but cannot remember).

This was invisible as all cables could be kept in the glove box (assuming that you direct power accordingly.

Then simply pair your phone with the dongle and hey presto! You have added bluetooth ,music to your system!

Clearly this doesn't address the nav, but I found it worked well for me!

Assuming you find the Jack ok the radio aux is found under the system folder on the head unit (god knows why)

Appreciate I didn' answer the question but HTH!

J

 

[gramey]

Hey fella

Whilst I cannot directly help answer the specific question, I thought I would share my solution on my Old r230 prior to changing it.

As you no doubt know, there is a 3.5mm Jack in the glove box. I paired this with a cheap aftermarket bluetooth receiver which took 12v power from either the cig lighter or a dedicated supply, and then connect it to the radio via the Jack (I think mine was a Belkin but cannot remember).

This was invisible as all cables could be kept in the glove box (assuming that you direct power accordingly.

Then simply pair your phone with the dongle and hey presto! You have added bluetooth ,music to your system!

Clearly this doesn't address the nav, but I found it worked well for me!

Assuming you find the Jack ok the radio aux is found under the system folder on the head unit (god knows why)

Appreciate I didn' answer the question but HTH!

J

Thanks, I have the 3.5 mm jack in the glove box but a previous owner had fitted a Parrot MKi9200 which gives me bluetooth, a 3.5 mm male jack, USB and iphone plus 32Gb SD card slot for music. Technically I have all I need but the Comand screen is small and the system outdated and I would like to go for a larger screen and strip out the remote, 2.5 inch screen and dash mounted microphone for the Parrot to tidy everything up and have everything in a unit with a 7 inch touch screen.

 

[jjcodex]

I cannot say I blame you - I had the same unit and it was not good

The later version is better but alas loses the Jack socket annoyingly.

I did look briefly at upgrading the unit back when I had it but eventually concluded it was probably not worth it - that said I cannot remember why!

This thread discusses it some time ago...

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r230-sl-class/1975377-2003-sl500-radio.html

 

[Gotglasses]

Hi Grammy - I am in the USA with an 04 R230 SL500. Back in 2011 we put a new 7" Eclipse Double DIN head unit to get more modern features. This necessitated pulling out the command unit, CD changer and amplifier. I used a 6 channel 850 watt JL Audio Marine
amplifier mounted very impressively in the trunk. The speakers all went out and are Focal and JL Audio. You will need an optical D2B connector from Mercedes or eBay to close the D2B loop after you pull the Command. Sounds like a lot but it was cheaper than a command unit repair and mod. The steering wheel controls work fine with an Axxess ASWC-1. I use an ipod adapter still but removed the bulky XM satellite adapter which made room for the Axxess and a wifi mirror box for Google Maps and Waze etc. The biggest improvement over the years has been the Bluetooth Audio. I normally run the iGo GPS map with voice guidance from my phone which also provides my satellite radio and internet. The DVd has divX so there is a lot of entertainment on a single disc - holiday movies for the passenger etc.

I have never attempted the rear view camera wiring with the flip top. The mirror box does allow me to use my phone as a rear view/ whatever camera leaned against the rear glass. The Wifi box is a pain to sign in to, but it is a cute gadget.

A real advantage of this swap was the ability to upgrade as new tech comes in. I'll probably put in an 8 or 9 inch android Double Din to get better internet integration on my dash. Unfortunately - then the cupholders have to go!