Comand APS Gps antenna problem

[sencem]

Hi All,
I've recently retrofitted a comand aps on my facelift w203 sports coupe. Alfie coded and flashed the firmware of the unit (cheers!) 10 days ago but in his diagnostic tool he noticed that the comand wasn't seeing the antenna (gps aerial open circuit or something like that). Unfortunately i can't pay further 100 quid on the original one at the moment without knowing it'll work, so just borrowed an aftermarket one from a friend who's using it without a problem on his Audi RNS-E.

It doesn't seem to work either, -- is displayed on the screen just near the satellite icon. I guess it'd be unlikely, both antennas not working. I'm afraid there may be a problem with the comand aps unit.

My question is, what voltage shall i be measuring on the gps antenna output of the unit? this should be a valid measurement to see if it's working or not. right? and is there a way too see the errors on the comand?

Any suggestion / comment is much appreciated.

Regards
Cem

 

[miro]

Does it flicker between 1 and 0 satellites or does it register none at all ?

If it is the former then it may just be a self-calibration issue. Sometimes the antennas with the long leads take a while to kick in. I often place the antenna on the roof of the car so that the unit can calibrate.

Try pressing down and HOLDING : NAV + 4 till it beeps.

Try doing a complete RESET in the SYS menu area.

Try unplugging the fuse from the COMAND and then after a few hours putting it back in.

Also, can you set the time zone on the system. If you can set the time it is just a calibration taking longer than usual.


If it is the latter then it may be a technical problem.

 

[sencem]

hi miro.
unfortunately it doesn't seem to register at all. that's why i'm willing to measure the output to see if i can get anything. i'll also give a try to your suggestions. Many thanks

 

[Stan the Man]

I retrofitted Comand APS to my 2005 C220 CDi (coincidence !) a few months ago. I took the car along to a local indie to have the agw and cluster coded and encountered the same problem. The GPS antenna was showing open circuit. I left the garage intending to remove the Comand when I returned home in order to check the GPS aerial connection, however within 10 minutes or so into the journey the Comand came to life and operated correctly. I can only assume that, as Miro suggested, the self calibration took 10 minutes or so to kick in.

I suggest you revert to your original aerial, power up your comand and drive around for a half hour or so. My guess is that it will spring into life. Good luck.

 

[Alfie]

Hi All,
I've recently retrofitted a comand aps on my facelift w203 sports coupe. Alfie coded and flashed the firmware of the unit (cheers!) 10 days ago but in his diagnostic tool he noticed that the comand wasn't seeing the antenna (gps aerial open circuit or something like that). Unfortunately i can't pay further 100 quid on the original one at the moment without knowing it'll work, so just borrowed an aftermarket one from a friend who's using it without a problem on his Audi RNS-E.

It doesn't seem to work either, -- is displayed on the screen just near the satellite icon. I guess it'd be unlikely, both antennas not working. I'm afraid there may be a problem with the comand aps unit.

My question is, what voltage shall i be measuring on the gps antenna output of the unit? this should be a valid measurement to see if it's working or not. right? and is there a way too see the errors on the comand?

Any suggestion / comment is much appreciated.

Regards
Cem

Im happy to try a genuine antenna for you if you pop down. If it works you can buy it if it doesnt you dont buy it!

We can hook it up to STAR at the same time to check if the open circuit is still a CURRENT fault or just STORED.

I have come across a lot of those non OEM antennas that just dont work or only work intermittantly. I am 95% sure your problem is the antenna thats all.

 

[sencem]

Hi Alfie,
Thanks for your kind offer. I'm gonna send you an email later , to find out your suitable times.

Thanks to all.....

 

[sencem]

Gents,
while driving last night, i noticed that the pointer is moving on the map as i drive; but the map is still showing Frankfurt (i'm in London

Does that mean the antenna is working and the calibration will take more time than i think or is Comand somehow picking info from the car and that's causing the pointer to move?

I still see "--" on the satellite display, not even a zero..

Comand masters, thanks in advance!

 

[Alfie]

Gents,
while driving last night, i noticed that the pointer is moving on the map as i drive; but the map is still showing Frankfurt (i'm in London

Does that mean the antenna is working and the calibration will take more time than i think or is Comand somehow picking info from the car and that's causing the pointer to move?

I still see "--" on the satellite display, not even a zero..

Comand masters, thanks in advance!

Im afraid that all it is doing is using the gyro and the speed pulse to move the pointer.

You need to have the antenna fixed as '--' means its not seeing the antenna at all. A '0' means it can see the antenna but cant see any satellites.

 

[sencem]

Happy ending!!!!

Good news! (At least for me )

I disassembled the Comand APS tonight, just to see if there was something wrong physically. With the help of a multimeter, I found out that the ground of the blue fakra socket on the Comand is not transmitting to the pcb. The mid piece (metal surrounding) seemed broken. I made my self a new connector by soldering the cable directly on the board with a female phone socket on the other end; i cut the fakra connector on the end of the after market antenna and replaced it with a male phone jack (RJ11). connected it all together and powered up.

Voilà! In a couple of minutes it went up to 9 satellites and now works like a charm.

For those who had commented, i salute you!