91 300D Stereo Upgrade..What do I have from factory? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JamesDean · #1 11-04-2012, 12:01 PM

Hey everyone,

A while back I bought a Kenwood head unit to put in my 300D, I finally am getting around to it and I'm trying to figure out what setup I have in the car now. Its stock but I was looking through the FSM and theres a bunch of different ones.

Here is what I know:

-I've got a MB labeled CD player, not tape.
-I dont have a CD changer.
-Only my front dash speakers work, the fader has no effect.
-I believe I've got some kind of amplifier mounted on the right side of the trunk behind the lining.

I THINK these are the relevant pages from the FSM:

anziani · #2 11-04-2012, 12:10 PM

You might have better luck if you post this in the "Car Audio and Multimedia" forum.
Anziani

mbdoc · #3 11-05-2012, 08:19 AM

MB didn't have an in-dash CD unit until 2000.

JamesDean · #4 11-05-2012, 08:31 AM

That might explain why it really doesnt work all that well. I burnt some audiobooks on to CD-R's and it just said ERROR at me.

Here's what it looks like:

jcyuhn · #5 11-05-2012, 10:19 AM

That is definately not the radio that came in the car. That said, I don't recognize that radio. It looks much like the 210 head unit, but I have never seen a 210 with an in-dash CD, only a tape player.

Most likely your car came with the infamous Becker 1432 two-piece radio and aktive Bazz system. I did a rip-and-replace of the 1432 in my old '93. I found the easiest approach was to start from scratch, so although I retained the OEM speakers and active bass system, I ran all new wiring. You also need an antenna extension, as the 1432 tuner is in the trunk rather than the head unit. There's some discussion of my travails in the archives, lemme see if I can find them...

This is a bit rambling and has some Becker 1492 stuff, but may be helpful: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/208617-94-e320-w124-aftermarket-head-unit-upgrade.html

And... http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/207863-1432-dead-what-replace.html

Good Luck.

JamesDean · #6 11-05-2012, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcyuhn

That is definately not the radio that came in the car. That said, I don't recognize that radio. It looks much like the 210 head unit, but I have never seen a 210 with an in-dash CD, only a tape player.

Most likely your car came with the infamous Becker 1432 two-piece radio and aktive Bazz system. I did a rip-and-replace of the 1432 in my old '93. I found the easiest approach was to start from scratch, so although I retained the OEM speakers and active bass system, I ran all new wiring. You also need an antenna extension, as the 1432 tuner is in the trunk rather than the head unit. There's some discussion of my travails in the archives, lemme see if I can find them...

This is a bit rambling and has some Becker 1492 stuff, but may be helpful: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/208617-94-e320-w124-aftermarket-head-unit-upgrade.html

And... http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/car-audio-multimedia/207863-1432-dead-what-replace.html

Good Luck.

Hmmm. There is a CD player option in the FSM though..

Here is what I would like to do:
Keep the factory amp and active bass system and wire it into my Kenwood. Can I just interface the line out of the kenwood with the factory amp/bass system? Or is there more to be done?

JamesDean · #7 11-05-2012, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbdoc

MB didn't have an in-dash CD unit until 2000.

You sure? My first post has a snip from the FSM, they called it "Two Piece Radio with CD Player" Not sure if that meant CD in trunk or dash though.

jcyuhn · #8 11-05-2012, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesDean

Hmmm. There is a CD player option in the FSM though..

Here is what I would like to do:
Keep the factory amp and active bass system and wire it into my Kenwood. Can I just interface the line out of the kenwood with the factory amp/bass system? Or is there more to be done?

You can retain the active bass amp, but it uses speaker level inputs, not pre-amp level inputs. I did it on my '93 and it worked surprisingly well. Since your Kenwood probably has a 4 channel amp, you are best off wiring the head unit directly to all four speakers. The factory system uses a 2 channel amp through the fader in the center console. You can retain this, but you give up half the power of the head unit. Don't forget to run the turn on signal to the amp.

JamesDean · #9 11-05-2012, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcyuhn

You can retain the active bass amp, but it uses speaker level inputs, not pre-amp level inputs. I did it on my '93 and it worked surprisingly well. Since your Kenwood probably has a 4 channel amp, you are best off wiring the head unit directly to all four speakers. The factory system uses a 2 channel amp through the fader in the center console. You can retain this, but you give up half the power of the head unit. Don't forget to run the turn on signal to the amp.

Interesting.

In my 420SEL I was able to access all 4 speakers from the amps mounted behind the top of the back seat. Is there a similar location for the 124s?

I could buy a decent 4 channel amp and install it in the trunk, wire up the speakers and parallel off into the active bass unit.

Or I could run 4 sets of wires to where-ever and tie into the active bass unit.

compress ignite · #10 11-05-2012, 12:08 PM

I cannot "find" it right now...
BUT,someone in the EU was selling Dealer "Takeout" units
("Heinrich" had the dealer upgrade to another unit.)
That were a direct fit replacement for the Becker head unit that was in your dash.[Plug and Play]

Some Alpine and some Becker.

That "Face" you've got is one,I believe.

Mayhaps "It" doesn't like the format of your "Disc" ???

Try a regular CD first.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______

I also believe the "CD" option mentioned in the FSM you refer to is a Trunk
Mounted Player (Multiple discs) which would have a different "Face" on the Dash.

JamesDean · #11 11-05-2012, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by compress ignite

I cannot "find" it right now...
BUT,someone in the EU was selling Dealer "Takeout" units
("Heinrich" had the dealer upgrade to another unit.)
That were a direct fit replacement for the Becker head unit that was in your dash.[Plug and Play]

Some Alpine and some Becker.

That "Face" you've got is one,I believe.

Mayhaps "It" doesn't like the format of your "Disc" ???

Try a regular CD first.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______

I also believe the "CD" option mentioned in the FSM you refer to is a Trunk
Mounted Player (Multiple discs) which would have a different "Face" on the Dash.

When I get home today I shall try a regular CD.

I've got a Kenwood unit lined up to fit go, just a matter of figuring out the speaker connections. I've actually got its bigger brother installed in the 190E.

rob m · #12 11-05-2012, 05:55 PM

the stereo in my 91 300e was a becker cassette deck and radio
the unit in the dash was a cassette deck and controller in the trunk was a main unit that is the tuner and preamp controller along with a left and right channel amp they are all on the passengers side in the trunk the fader in the center console controls dash and rear deck speakers
the dash speakers have a capacitor and a choke on them to act as crossovers for the dash speakers
i replaced the deck and dash speakers and added a small amp for the door speakers i wired the deck directly to the new dash speakers and to the factory rears you can get these at the fader i put the amp in the same location as the factory controller in the trunk and grabbed the wires to the factory doors there i run the doors as mid woofers off the amp and the dash and rear deck off the deck it is a nice upgrade without going crazy run power for the amp to the battery fuse it at the battery you have to run an antenna cable from the antenna to the deck as the factory goes to the controller in the trunk

JamesDean · #13 11-05-2012, 06:15 PM

I believe this unit IS actually original to the car. I recall looking at the car and finding the CODE document thing in the manual booklet thing. I'll have to find where I put it and everything.

If the Active Bass systems run off of speaker level inputs, its likely that it runs off the rear speaker lines. Since my rear speakers aren't working, theres nothing to kick the active bass system on.. Perhaps the fader has died somehow.

In other MB's the amplifiers serviced one half of the vehicle (front/rear left or front/rear right) I don't believe BOTH rear halves would be out. It must be a signal problem upstream. Perhaps at the do-nothing fader. Maybe it crapped out and someone bypassed it ****tily.

JamesDean · #14 11-06-2012, 10:30 PM

Is this guy the Active Bass amplifier?

If so, where are the normal other speaker amplifiers?

jcyuhn · #15 11-07-2012, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesDean

Is this guy the Active Bass amplifier?

If so, where are the normal other speaker amplifiers?

Yes, that is the AB amplifier. The tuner/amp for the 1432 is supposed to be in that other clip behind the AB amp. Can't quite tell from the picture what is currently residing there.