Help Needed on COMAND - New Merc Owner

[virtualinsanity]

Hi guys - new poster and recent convert from BMW to Mercedes - have recently acquired a beautiful black 2001ed C240 (C203???) Elegance with a COMAND system and have a few questions - if anyone can help it would be appreciated

(1) the system didn't come with a CD changer (its blanked off in boot) - am looking to purchase said unit on ebay or similar, but what should i look for to ensure i am purchasing the correct one? Is there a model/part number I should look for and if so where can i find this?

(2) If i bought a CD changer unit - is it simply a case of plugging it in, or will it (as i suspect) need professionally fitting? If so, will the wires be in place or will the dealer need to rip out half my fixtures and fittings to wire it all in does anyone know? (Don't want to rip the blank out of the boot just to have a look at it)

(3) The COMAND unit states that there is "No TV!" on screen - any ideas what I can do to ensure there is TV!?!?

(4) The dealer (not MB) gave me what looked like a copy of teleatlas, but not sure what version this is but looks very out of date (no M60, M6 toll or my 4 yr old house!) - any ideas how i find out what version it is (it doesn't say on cd) and how do i get a new one (BMW used to charge you and it wasn't cheap)

(5) How do i find out my COMAND version? have looked in my manual and can't see anything in there

cheers
andy

[Alfie]

Hi guys - new poster and recent convert from BMW to Mercedes - have recently acquired a beautiful black 2001ed C240 (C203???) Elegance with a COMAND system and have a few questions - if anyone can help it would be appreciated

(1) the system didn't come with a CD changer (its blanked off in boot) - am looking to purchase said unit on ebay or similar, but what should i look for to ensure i am purchasing the correct one? Is there a model/part number I should look for and if so where can i find this?

(2) If i bought a CD changer unit - is it simply a case of plugging it in, or will it (as i suspect) need professionally fitting? If so, will the wires be in place or will the dealer need to rip out half my fixtures and fittings to wire it all in does anyone know? (Don't want to rip the blank out of the boot just to have a look at it)

(3) The COMAND unit states that there is "No TV!" on screen - any ideas what I can do to ensure there is TV!?!?

(4) The dealer (not MB) gave me what looked like a copy of teleatlas, but not sure what version this is but looks very out of date (no M60, M6 toll or my 4 yr old house!) - any ideas how i find out what version it is (it doesn't say on cd) and how do i get a new one (BMW used to charge you and it wasn't cheap)

(5) How do i find out my COMAND version? have looked in my manual and can't see anything in there

cheers
andy

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place. I cant help you too much with this but I can assist with 3). 4). and 5).

3). You need to purchase the TV tuner and get it installed into your car. These are not cheap. Have a look on ebay Germany. There are usually a few on there for sale.

4). The latest teleatlas CD's are available from a few places including;

http://www.navshop.com/directsales/catalog/default.php

Again, they are not cheap.

5). The only sure way to know which COMAND you have is to gently pull it out (with the correct extraction tool) and look at the part number on it. Then take a look at http://www.ibex.co.uk/mbstuff/Retrofitting%20Comand.htm which details some of the different COMAND models.

Hope this is of some help to you.

[virtualinsanity]

Thanks for your response Alfie - very helpful!
all the best
Andy

[steve_bcs]

Welcome to our forum.

you dont need to remove comand to tell which part number / version it is.
with comand on, access the service menu. select fm radio then hold down mute, 1 & 3 buttons for a few seconds until the menu is displayed . have a play with the optons & you will find one that gives all the details of the unit, ie date of manufacture, serial number, model /part number. sorry I cant remeber exactly which menu option but you wont break or change any settings.

the cd changer for your car fits in the glove box. it uses a special bracket & once the comand unit is removed - takes an hour or 2 to fit. if you buy a comand fibre optic cd changer & bracket , & fibre optic loom on ebay (or from a dealer) most high end car audio dealers could fit it for you. although it can be done diy. losts of info on here somewhere. there will be a small 3 pin plug for power already on the comand wiring loom (ie =12v, earth & D2b wakeup)