Dead Parrot

daibevan

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W203 C200 Kompressor Elegance SE 2006 Tanzanite Blue with cream interior
I have a deceased parrot.
It's stopped working. It s locked on the goodbye screen. I've contacted Parrot and they suggest that either the wire has come loose, or the blue box has died. This is the "brain" of the system as they put it. I wonder if it is a Norwegian Blue. I'm not pining for it, as I only make/receive about 2 calls a year. ( No mates).
My concern is that it will be a drain on the power and I will be leaving the car standing away from home for 3 weeks in the not to distant future.
To disconnect it will probably mean removing the Audio 10 to get to the connections. Whilst it's out do I replace the blue box, if faulty about £45 on the bay for a new one (probably not). discard it completely (quite likely),or replace it with something else? This last one is where I could need advice. Does anyone have a recommendation for a device that can supply calls &/or music from my phone at a reasonable cost, considering my W203 is not getting any younger. Music would be most important, as when I travel any distance my wife is usually with me, and I almost never speak to anyone else on the phone..
Look forward to any ideas.
 

DelDrew

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It's not dead, it's just sleeping
Sorry, not helpful, but I couldn't resist.
Do you not have a 3.5mm aux-in jack in the glovebox for audio?
If you grab a used parrot on eBay, if you don't need any parts in the end you could just re-sell it??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

LostKiwi

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'93 500SL-32, '01 W210 Estate E240 (RIP), 02 R230 SL500, 04 Smart Roadster Coupe, 11 R350CDi
I removed my ancient parrot (in my 210) just after Christmas.
I replaced it with a Kenwood BT710 DAB unit (about £135). It does DAB (you'll need an aerial), FM, CD, Bluetooth audio, Phone, USB for MP3 etc. You can also use it to voice control your phone (for example "navigate to home" and it will open Google maps and start satnav - great if you have your phone on an in car mount.). There is a steering wheel integration kit available for it too.
The only thing I don't like about it is the phone book displays in a weird sort order but if you use voice commands to call it's not a problem.

Setting up the audio is quite complex (13 band equaliser, digital time adjustments for each speaker etc but you can just use presets too). Sound quality is excellent.

Oh... And the lighting is variable colour and can be adjusted to perfectly match the dash.
 

umblecumbuz

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S204 and CLC 204 cdi, MX5, Kia Soul
Clever parrot, saying goodbye on the screen.
Clever parrot, saying goodbye on the screen.
Clever parrot, saying goodbye on the screen.

Probably just a mynah hitch.
(Sorry).
 
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John Laidlaw

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There’s been a cockatoo....I’ll get me coat :shock:
 

Frosty149

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W207 '63 E350 coupe amg sport
Have you checked the perch nails?


Power off, power on?
(Pull the fuse)
 
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daibevan

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No apologies necessary, I asked for it with the post title. I think it had gotten fed up with being in a Merc and was pining for a FiORD.

Thanks Frosty, that's my first port of call. It has 2 power feeds, one that goes off with the ignition and one permanent feed (according to the manual I downloaded). I just have to track down which fuse to pull.
Thanks LK, your Kenwood looks the biz, it has some great reviews too. The set up wouldn't worry me, I like complex, its better than word searches and crosswords to ward off senility.
I'm quite happy with my Audio 20 (not 10 as above). As I hardly ever use the phone when driving and we burn playlists onto cds for our hols I can cope without music connection. I suppose I've answered my question, pull it out. I know me though. If there is a chance of a new bit of kit I can't resist. Watch this space.
I'll have to remove the radio to reach the cabling. Can I do it with trim removal tools, or will I need an audio removals kit? If so any recommendations, It would only ever be used once in a blue moon. I'd best look for some video on youtube.
 

phillj

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No apologies necessary, I asked for it with the post title. I think it had gotten fed up with being in a Merc and was pining for a FiORD.

Thanks Frosty, that's my first port of call. It has 2 power feeds, one that goes off with the ignition and one permanent feed (according to the manual I downloaded). I just have to track down which fuse to pull.
Thanks LK, your Kenwood looks the biz, it has some great reviews too. The set up wouldn't worry me, I like complex, its better than word searches and crosswords to ward off senility.
I'm quite happy with my Audio 20 (not 10 as above). As I hardly ever use the phone when driving and we burn playlists onto cds for our hols I can cope without music connection. I suppose I've answered my question, pull it out. I know me though. If there is a chance of a new bit of kit I can't resist. Watch this space.
I'll have to remove the radio to reach the cabling. Can I do it with trim removal tools, or will I need an audio removals kit? If so any recommendations, It would only ever be used once in a blue moon. I'd best look for some video on youtube.

Hardest part when removing a Audio 20 in a W203 is removing the two centre air vents above the unit. These need to be removed to access the two top screws of the Audio 20, a trawl of the web will probably provide a how to video
 
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daibevan

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W203 C200 Kompressor Elegance SE 2006 Tanzanite Blue with cream interior
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Hardest part when removing a Audio 20 in a W203 is removing the two centre air vents above the unit. These need to be removed to access the two top screws of the Audio 20, a trawl of the web will probably provide a how to video
Thank you, I've seen pics of this, I'll try for some video as well.
 

John Laidlaw

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No apologies necessary, I asked for it with the post title. I think it had gotten fed up with being in a Merc and was pining for a FiORD.

Thanks Frosty, that's my first port of call. It has 2 power feeds, one that goes off with the ignition and one permanent feed (according to the manual I downloaded). I just have to track down which fuse to pull.
Thanks LK, your Kenwood looks the biz, it has some great reviews too. The set up wouldn't worry me, I like complex, its better than word searches and crosswords to ward off senility.
I'm quite happy with my Audio 20 (not 10 as above). As I hardly ever use the phone when driving and we burn playlists onto cds for our hols I can cope without music connection. I suppose I've answered my question, pull it out. I know me though. If there is a chance of a new bit of kit I can't resist. Watch this space.
I'll have to remove the radio to reach the cabling. Can I do it with trim removal tools, or will I need an audio removals kit? If so any recommendations, It would only ever be used once in a blue moon. I'd best look for some video on youtube.
How about a Norwegian blue video ?
 

davemercedes

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2007 Merc 220 CDi Est Auto Av (s203)
My hands free (also Parrot) is disconnected when ignition is fully OFF so do you need to worry about a power drain?
 
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daibevan

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W203 C200 Kompressor Elegance SE 2006 Tanzanite Blue with cream interior
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My hands free (also Parrot) is disconnected when ignition is fully OFF so do you need to worry about a power drain?
Thanks davemercedes, they have 2 power sources, one that goes off with the ignition and a permanent live via the audio. If screen is frozen then this still supplies a current and so would be a small drain. 3 small leds woun't take much, but over 3 weeks?
 
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daibevan

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W203 C200 Kompressor Elegance SE 2006 Tanzanite Blue with cream interior
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THE PARROT WAS RESTING!!!!
I found out how to do a factory reset, by holding down all switches for 2 seconds and then repeating. Didn't work, as blue box was switched off.

Found Frosty's audio fuse and pulled it. Radio and parrot went off. Replaced fuse and parrot came back to life. Considered a factory reset & a software update, but as it is working I thought I'd leave well alone.

Easy fix in the end, but still I now know how to dismantle most of the centre fascia of a W203. :)

It also allowed some of us older members to revisit some old jokes.

Thanks all
 


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