Replacing the crappy German Becker Grand Prix Radio. - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

paterron · #16 06-10-2006, 08:43 PM

do you know anybody who sells wiring harnesses so I can easily hook up a generic cd player to my 420 sel 1989? thanks for any help

paterron@yahoo.com san diego, calif.

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedy300Dturbo

A good CD/MP3 radio would be either Alpine or Eclipse. Wiring is very straightforward! The four pin wire harness on the back of the stereo is coded as such:

Ground - Brown
Ignition (12v switched) - Black with yellow
Illumination - Grey with violet
Battery (12v constant) - Red

There is a black wire (with a black sleeve) which connects to the back of the stereo - this will be connected to the antenna control wire (usually blue) of the new stereo. Make sure that you ground the other brown wire, or you may have alarm problems.

What you choose to do with the speakers is up to you. Some people run the wires to the fader wheel, others spliced both fronts together and connected them to the existing wiring. I'd get separate amplifiers and new speakers though.

Jeff300SDL · #17 06-10-2006, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezatu300sdl

I often wondered if the terrible FM reception in my '87 SDL was the fault of my antenna and/or the radio (original Becker). It's interesting to see others complain about the radios anemic ability to pull in and hold FM frequencies. Is this a typical problem with the Beckers.......do they get worse with age? Is there anyway to improve the signal. I really don't want to get a new aftermarket unit. They all look like video pinball machines.......

FYI mine works exceptionally well, including the sensitivity setting. The audio quality is quite good too.

I can not say if the stereo has been repaired or rebuilt....

greasybenz · #18 06-10-2006, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Randall Kress

Before you go calling a Becker Grand Prix "crappy" please note that a lot of people collect them and they are a lot of money to replace. Don't throw yours away, it can be restored. In reality, the Becker is a great unit, probably better than 99% of the aftermarkets out there, if just for its appreance in the dash.

i have a working becker grand prix from my SD if anyone is interested....

just gotta find it though.

TheDon · #19 06-10-2006, 09:43 PM

i just did a radio install in my 300D.. the wiring confusing as hell unless you have help. im going in and bypassing the fader just connecting straight from the leads off the head unit to the speakers since the head unit has a fader control already

N41EF · #20 06-11-2006, 08:07 AM

As a corvette guy I'm used to dealing with ancient am radios. If you want to put a new radio in an old car do it by all means, but run new speaker wires to all four speakers directly, don't use the fader, and don't cut ANYTHING. Take your existing radio out and label every bracket, screw, nut, washer, plug, whatever. draw a picture showiny where everything went, put it all in ziplock bags, and then in a well labeled box on the shelf of your garage. Unless you know you'll drive the car till you die, if someone you sell it too wants it to be original, you will have made his/her day.

Chuck.

PS the becker in my '83 works better for AM than any radio in anything I own.

rchase · #21 06-11-2006, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericnguyen

Dear friends:

If I want to replace the crappy Becker Grand Prix radio in my 300SD with a third-party (not MB ones!) ISO/DIN CD/radio, is there any company that offers ready-made connectors that allows me to easily plug the new radio to the original radio wiring harness?

Since I had never attempted to remove and replace a car radio before, I wonder whether it's easy to splice/cut/attach a modern CD/radio to my 300SD's original wiring harness without the need for ready-made connectors?

Please recommend a good and cheap CD/MP3/Radio to replace a crappy Becker Grand Prix (whose signal sensitivity is so terribly wimpy.).

Also, any link to a site showing how to remove the original radio on a W126?

Thanks a lot.

Eric

The only choice you have if you want your car to match and not look like a japanese rice rocket is the Mercedes Audio 10. You can buy one at http://www.perfectmarketaudiot.com for $299 with an adapter harness that plugs right into the existing harness in the car. No cutting and no modifications....

If you click the link in my signature you can see photos of my 300SD with an Audio 10 installed.

barry123400 · #22 06-11-2006, 06:07 PM

Back in the days when I repaired auto radios. First get them functional. Second thing was to realign the intermitiate frequency transformers as they always were off with age or the circuits that were part of their function. A massive improvement. They were almost always off. Back then transistors had a pronounced aging curve as well. That I believe has been lost to posterity. A good thing. Not really a rebuild is required sometimes. More a tune up so to speak. Can make an enourmous difference by itself.

Bens lover · #23 06-11-2006, 11:20 PM

Just replaced my old Becker with an Alpine MP3 player model CDA 9856.Everything was very simple to install and now all i need a is a good set of speakers!! lol

jwhughes3 · #24 06-12-2006, 12:02 AM

Hey Greasybenz - I'm interested in that Grand Prix if you still have it - is it the one with the LCD and digital tuner? My wife is having a fit with my nice original dial Becker and I refuse to replace it with some Sony/Alpine/etc...but I'd consider a Becker! Let me know what it will cost and shipping.

Thanks
John in San Antonio