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benzdude
12-16-2003, 08:55 PM
background:

I just installed a alpine 9815 headunit in my 95 c280. ( I dont think I have a bose system). I also had a cd changer.

on my alpine wiring harness there is a blue wire for triggering the power antenna when in radio mode and a blue / white wire for
remote amp turn-on.

If the "antenna trigger" wire is connected to the MB antenna trigger wire I only get sound when the radio is on. when in CD mode the amp is silent. (the antenna works fine)

if the remote amp turn-on wire is connected, I get sound in both radio and cd modes, however the antenna is also triggered in cd mode.

Is there a way to have the antenna work only when the radio mode is on and still get amp power when I switch to cd? (like with MB radios?)

has anyone had this problem?

benzdude.

pnsji
12-16-2003, 09:24 PM
The way OEM MB system works:
Antenna goes up whenever the head unit is on (Does not matter radio, casette, or CD changer).

To do what you want, you have to run separate wire for amp and antenna.
For amp, hook the amp turn on
for Antenna, hook the antenna turn on

vas2vas
12-17-2003, 07:57 AM
hmm interesting, how many speakers does your car have?
remouve the trunk lining on the right side (same side as power antenna), and look for an amp... I have a 95 c280 too and before 96 cars with BOSE didn't have any identification such as the nice shiny "BOSE" label on the back speaker covers (as far as I know) that I have noticed on the 96+ w202's with bose.... that said the basic audio sustem in a w202 is suposed to only have 4 speakers, front doors (or dash, not sure about this-i have never actually seen an early c class with no BOSE) and rear shelf powered by head unit.... easiest wat to tell if bose or not bose is to look at speaker labels and count # of speakers, bose system has 9, one in each door, 2 in the dash, and 3 in the back (one of them a base speaker).... pnsji please correct me if I got anything wrong....
please check to make sure if bose or no bose and get back to us....

JRE320
12-17-2003, 08:44 AM
I got a C280 1995 and it got 2 speakers in the dash and 4 speakers on the doors 3 in the back. The way my Alpine set up is whenever you turn on the radio the antenna goes up and when the cd player turn on the antenna goes down. I got 2 two amp Kicker and 2 Jl sub 10" in the back. Is that what you want on how the antenna goes up and down?

benzdude
12-17-2003, 10:48 AM
jre320, yes!!, thats what i want. :D how did you get yours to work? did you have to run additional wires?

I assume that if the factory headunit worked that way, it means the wiring is there.

I also checked out the sound system wiring diagram for a 95 w202 (w/o bose) and it looks like the amp is also triggered by the power antenna trigger. (there is a blu/wht wire going to the factory amp from the MB power antenna trigger in the diagram).

But I also remember that my antenna DID retract when I switched to CD on the factory unit. ( my radio manual also confirms this)

Hey, I have 9 speakers also but no "BOSE" anywhere. :confused:

I also have a low hissing sound problem in the speakers, but I assume that it is because of my aftermarket headunit (240 watts) and factory amp combination.

I bought a line output converter and hopefully that will fix my sound problem. (I will find out tonight)

I just want my antenna to work properly. :rolleyes:

benzdude
12-17-2003, 10:53 AM
JRE, I just thought of something:

your setup might be working becuase you are using the antenna trigger in radio mode (for antenna up) and remote amp on trigger for your other amps. (and maybe the factory amp?) which means you had to run an extra wire to the factory amp to trigger it.

(Are you using the factory amp ?)

vas2vas
12-17-2003, 11:01 AM
ok... 9 speakers=you have bose audio system, the line output converter should solve your hissing problem...

about the antenna amp issue, you might have to run a new wire to either the BOSE amp or the power antenna to turn both on independently, I would run a new wire to the power antenna and use the stock harness to turn on the amp....

JRE320
12-17-2003, 01:27 PM
No, I don't use the factory amp. The factory amp got disabled. So I'm using the 2 kicker amp. Red = power Black - negative blue = power antenna and the green, violet, white and gray are for the speakers. ;) :)

benzdude
12-17-2003, 03:16 PM
I found the word "BOSE" on one of my rear speaker. (oh happy day!!!) :bunny:

thanks for all the input.

jnolte
12-17-2003, 03:44 PM
Originally posted by benzdude
I found the word "BOSE" on one of my rear speaker. (oh happy day!!!) :bunny:

thanks for all the input.

I think the Bose system sucks, my freinds nissian gots a better stock system

JRE320
12-17-2003, 08:23 PM
Originally posted by jnolte
I think the Bose system sucks, my freinds nissian gots a better stock system

Nobody is asking you.... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

vas2vas
12-18-2003, 08:34 AM
Originally posted by jnolte
I think the Bose system sucks, my freinds nissian gots a better stock system

I like it....

benzdude
12-18-2003, 12:02 PM
ok, so I got the damn $42 line output converter connected , packed the trillion wires back into my dash , reinstalled the headunit and the sound sucks. fronts sound like people singing in tin cans. ( but, boy does the headunit look good :D)

I adjusted the built-in crossovers , time correction , EQ , bass focus, etc and it still sounds worse than my factory radio with a sony tape adapter and external mp3 cd player!! :mad: (and yes, its wired correctly)

you need an engineering degree and a team of scientists to get the sound correct. (if you dont believe me go to alpines i-personalize site)

What ever happened to simple bass and treble controls? Thats all I need. For $400 it sucks out of the box.

two days ago I installed a $150 pioneer deck in my friends honda and it sounded so much better. (too bad pioneer doesnt have an all black faceplate)

well, its going back tommorrow and my tape adapter is coming out. (maybe I will get an ipod instead) :bunny:

benzdude
12-18-2003, 12:07 PM
....at least I will have my antenna working properly and my speed adjusted volume back. (and premium sound)... Now where did I put that radio code?

vas2vas
12-18-2003, 01:05 PM
I'm getting a becker monza 7882 to put in my car, mp3 player, cd changer controls, line out for additional amps, phone audio, and most importantly plug and play compatibility with the BOSE system, no need for harnesses, antenna adapters, line converters or any of that crap :-) my BOSE works perfectly why replace it... much better to upgrade it :-)
best solution for seemless intergration to BOSE is a becker unit in my opinion, especially used Porsche or newer mercedes CD radios... the cdr-220 looks great in a w202.... and it won't cost you that much...

JRE320
12-18-2003, 01:15 PM
Originally posted by benzdude
ok, so I got the damn $42 line output converter connected , packed the trillion wires back into my dash , reinstalled the headunit and the sound sucks. fronts sound like people singing in tin cans. ( but, boy does the headunit look good :D)

I adjusted the built-in crossovers , time correction , EQ , bass focus, etc and it still sounds worse than my factory radio with a sony tape adapter and external mp3 cd player!! :mad: (and yes, its wired correctly)

you need an engineering degree and a team of scientists to get the sound correct. (if you dont believe me go to alpines i-personalize site)

What ever happened to simple bass and treble controls? Thats all I need. For $400 it sucks out of the box.

two days ago I installed a $150 pioneer deck in my friends honda and it sounded so much better. (too bad pioneer doesnt have an all black faceplate)

well, its going back tommorrow and my tape adapter is coming out. (maybe I will get an ipod instead) :bunny:

Are you still using the factory amp?
Maybe you wire it incorrectly,,, and that's wny it sounded like crap.... :confused: ;)

benzdude
12-18-2003, 01:49 PM
Originally posted by vas2vas
I'm getting a becker monza 7882 to put in my car, mp3 player, cd changer controls, line out for additional amps, phone audio, and most importantly plug and play compatibility with the BOSE system, no need for harnesses, antenna adapters, line converters or any of that crap :-) my BOSE works perfectly why replace it... much better to upgrade it :-)
best solution for seemless intergration to BOSE is a becker unit in my opinion, especially used Porsche or newer mercedes CD radios... the cdr-220 looks great in a w202.... and it won't cost you that much...


vas where did you get the becker and how much. (are you sure it plays mp3's?)

benzdude
12-18-2003, 01:53 PM
vas why didnt you say so in the first place.?

this is exactly what I was looking for. dont you want the Monza MP3 7886 to match your dash colors?

becker monza mp3s (http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/becker/becker_range.htm)

vas2vas
12-18-2003, 02:14 PM
Originally posted by benzdude
vas where did you get the becker and how much. (are you sure it plays mp3's?)

yes it plays mp3's ordered it from SW Stereo, should be arriving tomorrow afternoon... cost was $499 + shipping

vas2vas
12-18-2003, 02:19 PM
Originally posted by benzdude
vas why didnt you say so in the first place.?

this is exactly what I was looking for. dont you want the Monza MP3 7886 to match your dash colors?

becker monza mp3s (http://www.soundlabsgroup.com.au/becker/becker_range.htm)

well most people don't go the becker way cause they're not flashy enough, hard to find in the US (close to impossible) and too damn expensive!

the site you found is in australia... the shop in the US only had the 7882 :-( but I can live with it... you can get the mexico pro CD 4627, that will match the color nicely for around $600 at http://www.continentalimports.com/4627.html doesn't play mp3's though....

pnsji
12-18-2003, 02:44 PM
nakamichi CD400
http://gilbreth.ecn.purdue.edu/~nkumala/pnsji/cd400/eveninglook.jpg

http://gilbreth.ecn.purdue.edu/~nkumala/pnsji/cd400/cd400closeup.jpg

You got the NICE sound quality and it is $299 on ebay.

benzdude
12-18-2003, 06:22 PM
...but no mp3.:confused:


I found a couple of becker monzas on the german ebay. sprechen Sie Deutsches?:bunny:

(if i see a picture of that nakamichi CD400 one more time...):)

benzdude
12-19-2003, 08:05 AM
vas,

pleeeeeeze post pics of your monza.

vas2vas
12-19-2003, 10:17 AM
Originally posted by benzdude
vas,

pleeeeeeze post pics of your monza.

I will as soon as I get it, was supposed to come yesterday, the brain dead UPS guy rings the wrong doorbell, then leaves, and puts a missed you notice on the mailbox :mad:
today I went out and frecking put signs with arrows all the way from the driveway up to the door, I'm not leaving anything to chance!!! :D
will post pics in my site...

vas2vas
12-19-2003, 12:12 PM
Here you go benzdude... will post more pics after the install...

http://vassiasplace.homestead.com/files/monza_7882.jpg

1SIKBNZ
12-19-2003, 12:25 PM
wow i dont know why there is so many audio/sound/wiring questions on here all the time. i got a panasonic 7 in. motorized w/ built in cd/dvd and the harness to connect to th ebose system (only 20 odd bucks on ebay) out with the old in with the new wham bam thank you mam! sounds spectacular no problems and then i just threw on a changer to the head unit and stilol no problems. with the harness its all plug and play you cant fuck up.....

vas2vas
12-19-2003, 02:31 PM
And here how it looks installed....
http://vassiasplace.homestead.com/files/monza_7882_installed.jpg

benzdude
01-15-2004, 10:37 AM
sorry, I was out for a while. Thanks for the pics, it looks very nice.

I am taking a trip to the UK this year and I will look for a monza 7886 (with amber display).

How does it sound? Is most of the display text in german?

vas2vas
01-15-2004, 10:46 AM
Originally posted by benzdude
sorry, I was out for a while. Thanks for the pics, it looks very nice.

I am taking a trip to the UK this year and I will look for a monza 7886 (with amber display).

How does it sound? Is most of the display text in german?

no everything on the display text is in english, owners manual is also in EN, DE, FR etc... sound quality is ok especially the loundness function... 15 stage gal is also cool...