Factory Cell Phone issue
 

The '95 came factory equipped with a cell phone in the armrest which I promptly removed after buying the car. It of course had/has the hands-free feature and the control panel is mounted above the rear-view mirror.

NEVER, ever, ever...until TODAY...have I had any problem whatsoever from this factory option. Today while driving along I had my smartphone in its mount as I was trying to find a location using GPS navigation I suddenly heard a short blast like a dial tone. I thought for whatever reason it came from my wife's or even my own smartphone. A minute or two later it did it again! In the meantime I heard what sounded like my antenna extracting from its location and sure enough, it was! I had not touched my head unit on/off button. I noticed that a light was on in the factory hands free control unit near the rear-view mirror "Service Not Available" or similar.

I cannot figure out how to turn off this thing so that the antenna goes back down! Help, if you have any suggestions!

The "ghost of Christmas past"? Seriously, I had a similar problem on my wife's '95 E420. After 8 years I started hearing "chirps" out of the dash. There was no rhyme or reason for them. They were random and only once in a while. Sold the car before I could figure it out. Good luck!
Anziani

The rest of the system should be located near the antenna, disconnect the transceiver wiring and that should take care of it. ( At least on the 97 E320 parts car I have )

Thanks for your replies, I'll look into the "rest of the system" near the antenna. :)

Also, to help locate the box, look for a signal splitter at the antenna and follow the wire marked CTEL / Phone or similar.

Thank you :)

OK, so I found the 'TELEFON" connection at the antenne/splitter, disconnected but no love. Is there another point at which I am to disconnect from?

Yes, follow the antenna wire from Telefon to the other mystery black box, that is the cell phone electronics. I think the last one I disconnected was Ericsson brand.

For more info, try here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telefon_(film)
The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, but I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.

Thanks for the help! It's really starting to p!$$ me off every time I start the car to drive it..:mad:

Well, found it and KILLED it....DEAD! :P

@97 SL320 - you were spot on, I followed the thinner cable to a small box just in front of the rear window washer reservoir. There was a knurled thumb screw with a slot for a screw driver that held a much larger cable with a 'computer' style (like a printer port) connection. This ran up to the antenna but I removed it from the small black box. IDK, but I'm wondering if I might have been able to disconnect from the antenna side since the black box was a bit cramped in a much smaller place. Bottom line: it's silent. I'm happy :D

Thanks for the follow up, there are lots of threads that don't have a resolution.

Removing the wire you speak of in the above post from the antenna side would probably just result in the antenna functioning properly, but still keep the cell going. Disconnecting the cell box was the proper solution.