Well, my '82 380SL now has its 6th Becker radio & 3rd faceplate in 2 years, 2nd new antenna & all new coax....dealer doing all the work & using Becker supplied items...radio plays fine for awhile & then the AM side goes out--not the FM side, just the AM side...dealer tech is at a quandry, Becker is no help...anyone else facxed the same thing?

I think I have a Becker in my '94 wagon and the AM side works once a year it seems.

Your best bet is to get rid of the Becker unit. I have never heard one yet that sounded good. I have had excellent luck with the Pioneer Am/FM/CD units. You can get them in this area for abouty $200 and that includes installation. The FM and CD both have excellent sound and the AM has the best pulling power (sensitivity) of just about anything on the market, especially in the lower price range. The Pioneer AM/FM/CD units have 3 bands of pre-sets for FM and one band for AM. Plus plenty of custom sound controls to really make your music sound great. Stop wasting your time with the Becker....even if it keeps working, which it probably won't, the sound sucks.

I really like having the weather band on the radio though...

Well, I've worked hard keeping this car completely original...nothing's ever been done to it other than maintenance except for changing to a dual timing chain, no accidents, no paintwork, no major repairs other than AC rebuild & new leather for seats...heck, convertible top is original & its only got a little over 100,000 miles on it...
...guess if the dealer can't fix it, I'll go to a Blaupunct that looks original

1982 380SL
1991 190E

...&, some guy in a jacked up Bronco backed into wife's 190E this am..hood, grille, headlights, radiator support, radiator, front cooling fan....damn! that car never had any bodywork or damage either

Sorry to hear about your wife's car...

...as for the Becker...they are horrible units. I'd replace it with a good aftermarket unit and keep the Becker in a dark box somewhere. If you ever need to sell the car stock, just pop it back in and wish the new owner some much-needed audio luck!

__________________
Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

To each his own. I personally like the stock appearance of Becker radios, and the newer models are better than the earlier ones. If you want to keep the old unit, or for that matter upgrade to a newer Becker, check out beckerautosound.com . There is a tech named Ed Ebel who gives out lots of helpful advice on the Ritter/Easley list and can be reached at beckerautosound. Might not be too expensive to have your unit reconditioned.

__________________
Steve
'93 400E

Well, this one was just reconditioned by Becker--3 weeks ago!! &, the am side is already out!

All the more reason to call Beckerautosound yourself. I wouldn't bother with the dealer. Their knowledge of troubleshooting radio problems consists of removing and replacing.

I bet if you get a hold of Ed Ebel he'll fix get you fixed up.

__________________
Steve
'93 400E