Cannot set the time - W211

[smillion]

I seem to have lost the "Set date/time" menu option on the dash computer. Any thoughts? I still have Dynamic Seats; Convenience; Vehicle; Lighting ; etc but no Date/Time

Any thoughts? I need to change the time on the clock now that BST has started.

Thanks

Marc

 

[Diesel Benz]

And the car does not have Comand? I guess not as it should change time automatically then.

 

[ManJ]

You should be able to do it from the steering controls and see the changes in the circle in the middle of the speedo... Think its under Convenience.

 

[evdok]

And the car does not have Comand? I guess not as it should change time automatically then.

Mine never has, i have to do it manually.

 

[Chattonmill]

Go to the service button on comand the into the menu on the right and you will see time....hey presto!

 

[shorty]

Mine never has, i have to do it manually.

Was Comand retro-fitted to your car ? the time should only be adjustable from the Comand unit on cars with this fitted . Its very easy to change the coding with STAR , in the IC menu change set time from manual to auto .

 

[evdok]

Was Comand retro-fitted to your car ? the time should only be adjustable from the Comand unit on cars with this fitted . Its very easy to change the coding with STAR , in the IC menu change set time from manual to auto .

Comand came with the car from factory, i have to change the time from Comand every time, are you saying i can change it to Auto from the cluster?

 

[Diesel Benz]

Mine never has, i have to do it manually.

I guess not all cars are the same, at least my W221 changes time automatically and I thought a W211 would do it too.

Did you say your Comand does not change time or did you mean Comand does but not the cluster clock? There should be an option to set the cluster to sync time from Comand (if the car has Comand, or I believe Audio 50 APS).

 

[evdok]

Clock only changes once i do it on the Comand.

 

[whitenemesis]

I had COMAND retro-fitted and have to adjust the time manually in the SERV menu.

The cluster has not changed automatically and I can't remember what I did last year....

 

[smillion]

My Comand is from factory but has not updated the clock. I will try to do manually using Chattonmill's method.

As I say in OP, the cluster menue does not have the option (it used to on my E270), but that did not have Comand.

Marc

 

[Dryce]

I thought a W211 would do it too.

Mine does it automatically.

And I don't have COMAND.

 

[smillion]

Thank you to Chattonmill - that solved it

 

[Rory]

I had COMAND retro-fitted and have to adjust the time manually in the SERV menu.

The cluster has not changed automatically and I can't remember what I did last year....

Mine was factory fitted and i have to change it manually in the same place too.

Considering it is presumeably sync'd to GPS time (as the time is always spot on to the pips) I find the need to manually change it astonishing.

I wouldn't mind so much, but both my daughter's cars, a Mitsubishi Colt and a SEAT Ibiza, automatically change (using RDS time).

 

[Diesel Benz]

Mine does it automatically.

And I don't have COMAND.

Do you then have an Audio 50 APS head unit or a basic radio? Could your car then read the time from RDS? My W211 did not (with Audio 20 CD) but I'm not sure if our FM stations broadcast the time signal (or do all RDS stations do it?).

 

[Diesel Benz]

Mine was factory fitted and i have to change it manually in the same place too.

Considering it is presumeably sync'd to GPS time (as the time is always spot on to the pips) I find the need to manually change it astonishing.

I wouldn't mind so much, but both my daughter's cars, a Mitsubishi Colt and a SEAT Ibiza, automatically change (using RDS time).

GPS time is accurate from any point of time to the next one but it does not follow accurately our clock time. Already now there is an offset of multiple seconds (makes a big difference when you plan to be at work at time, I mean not too early ) but more importantly it knows nothing about summer time or when the US or some European countries have changed their summer time schedule. GPS does not even tell which time zone you are! Except that it gives coordinates and you can look from your own database the local time for this particular position.

Navigation equipped cars usually read time from GPS and then adjust it to the local time (including daylight saving time info) using the mapping given on the navigation data. Like US owners had to update their navi DVDs a few years back when they changed the period for summer time.

I've always wondered why MB does not make use of the RDS time, it looks like some cars now might do it. RDS as such is different in the US (a bit), likely not even available everywhere and MB is a global brand, perhaps this is why GPS has been the primary source for clock sync (when available).

 

[lynall]

Both my car w210 2001 and wifes w203 2001 both with command both change time automatically.



Lynall

 

[Rory]

GPS time is accurate from any point of time to the next one but it does not follow accurately our clock time. Already now there is an offset of multiple seconds

Whatever it uses (I assumed GPS time but maybe not) the time in my car is always spot-on (to normal human ways of checking, and apart from the hour adjustment) to the long tone in the pips - it's certainly not offset by one second, never mind several of them.

I've always wondered why MB does not make use of the RDS time, it looks like some cars now might do it. RDS as such is different in the US (a bit), likely not even available everywhere and MB is a global brand, perhaps this is why GPS has been the primary source for clock sync (when available).

It's a bit weird the way it seems almost random that some MBs update and some don't. I was certain that there must be some way of making my car do it, but having some some time looking, I'm sure there isn't

The nav units MB fit do vary by territory, so there's no reason why Europe/US/APAC couldn't have different capabilities, and European cars have been using RDS time for many years.

 

[Diesel Benz]

Whatever it uses (I assumed GPS time but maybe not) the time in my car is always spot-on (to normal human ways of checking, and apart from the hour adjustment) to the long tone in the pips - it's certainly not offset by one second, never mind several of them.

I guess I forgot to say, GPS satellites do inform the receiver about the few seconds offset between the GPS time base and UTC. The GPS receiver then knows UTC extremely accurately.

The GPS device needs to know the local time zone (and summer time), it would then give the local time also absolutely accurately. This few seconds offset that I was talking about, changes every now and then, depending how accurately our earth knows how long it should take to travel around the sun. UTC corrections are done one second at a time, last time at new year 2009 and 2006. At those occasions a GPS device actually gives UTC incorrectly by a second, until it receives an update about the UTC offset. This doesn't take long, less than a minute if I remember right.

http://leapsecond.com/java/gpsclock.htm

 

[ckember]

And the car does not have Comand? I guess not as it should change time automatically then.

I have comand and had to set it manually using the date function in the system setup.