Comand NTG1 GPS issue - 2006 CLS 219

[Steve260E]

Hello, Can anyone offer some advice on what my issue could be relating to the GPS on my NTG1 sat nav in a 2006 CLS?

I've had the car about 3 weeks and at no point has the GPS picked up any satellites, upon researching the issue I went ahead and fitted an aftermarket Fakra GPS antenna from ebay, placed it into the back of the navigation unit in the boot and positioned the antenna on top of the rear parcel shelf visible through the rear window, many people have had sucsess at this point but for me its made no difference, the unit hasn't picked up any sign of any satellites and as a result still thinks I'm stuck out at sea near Madrid(actually in North West England) and ofcourse the dashboard clock is also set at the incorrect time and is only adjustable in 30 minute increments.

Any suggestions?

 

[AMGeed]

I couldn't comment on whether the location you have placed the replacement GPS receiver is effective or not but........
I had a similar issue in my long gone W211 E55 and cable tied the new e Bay receiver under the rear parcel shelf inside the boot.
I drove off slowly afterwards and the map showed my current location within 100 yds.
Only two pics I have are these. I assume you have plugged the new blue fakra plug into the correct socket in the back of the sat nav unit.?

 

[Steve260E]

Thanks for that, I have indeed done the same as you did but to no avail, new Fakra antenna is plugged in place of the old one and placed atop of the rear parcel shelf so it has a clear view of the sky

 

[Diesel Benz]

Hello, Can anyone offer some advice on what my issue could be relating to the GPS on my NTG1 sat nav in a 2006 CLS?

I've had the car about 3 weeks and at no point has the GPS picked up any satellites, upon researching the issue I went ahead and fitted an aftermarket Fakra GPS antenna from ebay, placed it into the back of the navigation unit in the boot and positioned the antenna on top of the rear parcel shelf visible through the rear window, many people have had sucsess at this point but for me its made no difference, the unit hasn't picked up any sign of any satellites and as a result still thinks I'm stuck out at sea near Madrid(actually in North West England) and ofcourse the dashboard clock is also set at the incorrect time and is only adjustable in 30 minute increments.

Any suggestions?

The dash after the satellite icon should tell the navigation unit does not see the antenna. If the connection was fine but no satellites in view (like underground parking), it should show zero.

 

[Steve260E]

I should also add that I did temporarily place the antenna on the roof of the car and again no sign of any GPS signal, have checked a number of times to make sure the Fakra connection is in correctly and the terminal is clean....

 

[Uky]

Try to get into the Engineering Menu of the NTG1 system. There should be a menu item to verify wether the GPS antenna connection sees an open or short circuit condition.
Provided that the antenna is an active one (almost always the case - a ceramic patch with RF amplification circuitry built in)
and that the antenna can be fed from 3.3 or 5V. Some antennas accepts both voltages. Some that are 5V only will not work if the
feeding DC voltage that is fed via the center conductor is a 3.3V. If it is the other way around, I cannot tell if feeding 5V to a 3.3V antenna will destroy the antenna or not
but the Comand GPS connector should have a short circuit protection.

If you unplug the antenna and have access to a voltmeter, try measuring between the center pin of the Fakra and the surrounding outer shield.
Then compare the reading to what's specified for the antenna you got.

 

[Alfie]

Exactly as Diesel Benz says. It. looks to me like the navigation drive is not seeing the antenna. This is a common issue with aftermarket antennas. Also, it can take fifteen minutes to acquire satellites. Try a complete power cycle of the navigation drive. ie, remove the power from it, wait 30 seconds and then plug it back in.

 

[Steve260E]

Try to get into the Engineering Menu of the NTG1 system. There should be a menu item to verify wether the GPS antenna connection sees an open or short circuit condition.
Provided that the antenna is an active one (almost always the case - a ceramic patch with RF amplification circuitry built in)
and that the antenna can be fed from 3.3 or 5V. Some antennas accepts both voltages. Some that are 5V only will not work if the
feeding DC voltage that is fed via the center conductor is a 3.3V. If it is the other way around, I cannot tell if feeding 5V to a 3.3V antenna will destroy the antenna or not
but the Comand GPS connector should have a short circuit protection.

If you unplug the antenna and have access to a voltmeter, try measuring between the center pin of the Fakra and the surrounding outer shield.
Then compare the reading to what's specified for the antenna you got.

Thank you for the advice, I have been into Engineering mode today and I can't find anywhere through the various options that mentiones GPS short or open circuit.

I have taken a voltage reading at the fakra connection at the back of the unit and get a steady 4.94V, my antenna is rated for 3V-5V so is nicely within range, is it looking more and more like a bad/cheap antenna? It was pretty much the cheapest one available on Amazon as I thought it would be enough just to rule other potential failures out before spending on a more expensive one....


Thank you again for any advice and help offered

 

[Steve260E]

Exactly as Diesel Benz says. It. looks to me like the navigation drive is not seeing the antenna. This is a common issue with aftermarket antennas. Also, it can take fifteen minutes to acquire satellites. Try a complete power cycle of the navigation drive. ie, remove the power from it, wait 30 seconds and then plug it back in.

Sorry I've not seen your reply as I've been replying to the previous post but yes I think you are correct, its looking like a case of a very cheap poor quality antenna being the problem, I have had it fitted for atleast a week now and in all that time its showed no sign of picking any satellites just "ALT - SAT-" will try a better quality one and report back, thanks!

 

[Uky]

There are indeed a lot of cr*p being offered on various sites. Go for a quality product.

Try placing it on the rear bootlid on the outside of the car. Just as an experiment.

If and only if the rear window has the same very fine pitch rear window demist heater wires as in my CL500 (C215), they can block RF.
That was the case with my car. The boot lid was made of a plastic material on a metal frame. In thet car, Mercedes placed
the GPS antenna underneath just close to the lid. RF had no problem penetrating it.

(Another problem is if trying to place the GPS antenna close to the wind screen. There are options that offers IR protection
based on a thin metal layer being applied to the front wind screen. No RF will pass and such a location cannot be used.)

 

[Steve260E]

Update: Fitted another slightly better quality GPS antenna this afternoon, removed the power cable to the nav unit in the boot for 30 seconds and once switched back on I instantly had 6 satellites showing, slow drive round the block and the clock instantly updated itself and the map centred on my current position! Good result!

Thanks all for any help offered

 

[Terryk]

Wow, I have exactly the same problem the last months. With the same model car (2006 cls c219).
Problem started all of a sudden after a battery swap (with genuine merc one at a merc specialist).
From summer the ntg1 just cannot find correct location, based outside north London and maps showing car location north France (and some times Netherlands).
Cheap Amazon antenna was placed at the exterior on the boot lid and few times on cars roof. Never fixed the problem.
Checked a dozen of times the connection behind the navi and always was OK.
Also time can be adjust with accuracy of 30min only.

@Steve260E if you could advise or share the link of the new antenna that worked for your car I would be grateful, thanks.

 

[Steve260E]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07314BQRB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Thats the one I used, one thing to try before buying another antenna is to remove the power cables from the back of your navi unit for a few minutes to allow it to reset, I did this just as I fitted the second antenna and may have been the reason for its success!

 

[Terryk]

Thank you @Steve260E for your prompt reply.
Funny thing that I bought exactly the same one back in the summer (from the same shop) and never fixed my problem.
I will try with the power cable this time and maybe reorder it (in case I received a faulty new one)

 

[Terryk]

*just to eliminate any misunderstanding from my end, I am talking about the eightwood Active GPS Antenna Fakra C Female Adapter Right Angle Fakra GPS Antenna Adaptor etc of £9.99

 

[Terryk]

I had another try with the power cable (unplugging it etc) but no luck. I placed the antenna on the bootlid too. Just to confirm that the new antenna I was using its exactly the same with the one that you are using @Steve260E

I ordered another antenna slightly more expensive, I had another go with again all cables unplugged for few minutes and the new antenna on the bootlid but again no luck even after 40' of driving.

With this I now know that there is no issue with the antenna. Very peculiar. Maybe the navi has an issue..

 

[Terryk]

Another thing to note is that my navi does Not display/include the satellite info as per the attached screenshot that Steve shared with us in his initial message (thanks for sharing it so I can use it too as reference)

 

[Alfie]

Another thing to note is that my navi does Not display/include the satellite info as per the attached screenshot that Steve shared with us in his initial message (thanks for sharing it so I can use it too as reference)

From that screenshot, the navigation drive is not seeing the antenna at all.

Try removing the power from the unit completely, waiting a minute or two and plugging it back in.

If your display doesnt show the bar at the bottom then you can turn it on in the NAVI settings. change from ETA display to Location.

 

[Terryk]

From that screenshot, the navigation drive is not seeing the antenna at all.

Try removing the power from the unit completely, waiting a minute or two and plugging it back in.

If your display doesnt show the bar at the bottom then you can turn it on in the NAVI settings. change from ETA display to Location.

Thanks @Alfie

I have tried with the power cable but no luck. This time I left the power off for more than an hour. Nothing. Location is still at north of France (as it was always, previously attached photo was loaned from the initial post of this thread).
I changed my display from ETA to location and can see no connected sats unfortunately, please see attached photo.

I do believe that there is an issue with the HU now. Maybe there is an integrated fuse in the HU for the antenna reception? I don't know...
Unless the updated v19 maps did something to the location which that would be strange.

I also disconnected car's main battery for 2hrs.
I also removed the navi v19 dvd and replaced it with my original one from 05.

I am still where I began my search on the matter.

 

[Alfie]

Thanks @Alfie

I have tried with the power cable but no luck. This time I left the power off for more than an hour. Nothing. Location is still at north of France (as it was always, previously attached photo was loaned from the initial post of this thread).
I changed my display from ETA to location and can see no connected sats unfortunately, please see attached photo.

I do believe that there is an issue with the HU now. Maybe there is an integrated fuse in the HU for the antenna reception? I don't know...
Unless the updated v19 maps did something to the location which that would be strange.

I also disconnected car's main battery for 2hrs.
I also removed the navi v19 dvd and replaced it with my original one from 05.

I am still where I began my search on the matter.

It's not the headunit.

It is the navigation drive or the antenna. The drive has all the navigation componentry in it. How long did you leave the system to find the antenna and collect satellites? It can take 15 minutes.

Those drives are £3,000 from Mercedes!!!!! Fortunately if the drive does need changing then there are much cheaper routes ;-)