I can't listen to my radio. When I turn it on it now immediately displays "PHONE," and ignores the AM/FM button. What's going on? I removed the car phone some time ago.

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

If you removed just the handset, that is only part of the system.

In the trunk, find the signal wire ( small dia cable TV type wire ) on the antenna. it will go to a signal amp / splitter. One will go to the front of car, the other to a near by mystery black metal box. ( about 2 1/2 " x 8 " x 1 " I think ) Unplug the other electrical connections on this box. If the radio still doesn't work, the problem is in the radio. There is a small chance the "phone active / radio mute " wire pinched to ground / power but I'd have to see a wiring diagram to be sure this can happen.

Now the radio is working again. I didn't do anything. That means the problem will be intermittent. Anyhow, thanks for the info. I'm sure to use it next time the radio faults.

FIXED! I couldn't find anybody that posted a fix for this on the internet, so I thought I'd guide the next person to a fix.

Basically I disconnected the wire feed from the CTEL transmitter/receiver unit to the radio. It's a blue/white wire that feeds into the back of the radio, located in the middle connector of the three. There are two blue/white wires in the connector, so you need to disconnect the correct one. If you look closely on the connector, you can see they are numbered. You want to disconnect the one marked #3. I attached the schematic to help guide the repair.

I forgot to mention that the radio faulted only when driving. With the car off the radio worked fine.

Of course this fix means you won't be able to use the car phone, but I doubt anyone will shed a tear over that!

Attached Files

sound system.pdf (35.1 KB, 85 views)

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95 E320 Cabriolet, 159K

FWIW you haven't been able to use the car phone since February 18, 2008. It's an analog cell phone, and the previously mentioned date is the last day which analog cell networks were active in the U.S. Everything is digital now, and has been for almost 10 years.