W208 Audio 10 with 6 CD Changer

[Jose Bush]

Hi is there any one out there that can help!! My Audio 10 system was working Fine then out of the Blue while playing a CD it gave out a sort of static crackle and then displayed NO CD.
Turning it off and on got it back working for a few minutes and then the same happened The radio is fine.
Thus far I have been to a breakers Yard got a replacement CD Changer and I also carefully removed the Fiber Optic cable too, Hoping I had cracked it,but no exactly the same happened with the unit I got from the breakers tried the fiber too on each changer.
Today I got hold of a replacement Head and Again though I had cracked it but once again it crackled and displayed NO CD. I have tried every combination and find it hard to believe that the same thing happens on all the units.
Anyone else experienced this.

 

[Hustler]

Could it be that the replacement CD changer and/or head unit from the breakers yard also have the same fault? I had the slightly newer Audio 10 on a W203 with a CD changer with very similar fault with audio constantly cutting out and turning back on before the CD changer stopped being detected at all. Upon checking the forums it seems like a common fault on the CD changer/ fibre-optic side which I never bothered fixing.

 

[Jose Bush]

Could it be that the replacement CD changer and/or head unit from the breakers yard also have the same fault? I had the slightly newer Audio 10 on a W203 with a CD changer with very similar fault with audio constantly cutting out and turning back on before the CD changer stopped being detected at all. Upon checking the forums it seems like a common fault on the CD changer/ fibre-optic side which I never bothered fixing.

Hi Hustler Thanks for your reply.. I did think that but what are the chances I have interchanged everything and using a fiber cable direct from the dash to the boot. Exactly the same problem!

 

[Hustler]

Yeh seems a bit of a coincidence that all 4 units are faulty. Did you check and/or replace the fibre cable too?

I had a similar issue for a couple of years. First started with audio cutting on and off randomly when playing the CD changer, then it started happening when playing the radio. Seemed to occur on hot days or when engine was hot but then it happened more often and even on cold days. Eventually it would say 'NO CDS' when trying to play the CDs in the CD changer and then ultimately the CD changer stopped being detected completely.

I did a lot of research on this but couldn't find anything conclusive apart from knowing it's a common fault.

Some say it's the D2B fibre optic cable from the CDC to the head unit. I inspected mine it appeared to be fine but never actually replaced it.

Other say its a fault with the CDC itself. It's an Alpine CDC that's used across other brands such as Land Rover, BMW/Mini but with the Mercedes logo slapped on it. There was a repair guide I used but it never worked for me and there's a few Youtube videos about.

Ultimately, it's a ball-ache to diagnose. The safest option is to replace it with an aftermarket head unit instead of throwing money and time at it and hoping it will get fixed. A replacement with an identical unit may end up developing the same fault down the line.

 

[Jose Bush]

Yeh seems a bit of a coincidence that all 4 units are faulty. Did you check and/or replace the fibre cable too?

I had a similar issue for a couple of years. First started with audio cutting on and off randomly when playing the CD changer, then it started happening when playing the radio. Seemed to occur on hot days or when engine was hot but then it happened more often and even on cold days. Eventually it would say 'NO CDS' when trying to play the CDs in the CD changer and then ultimately the CD changer stopped being detected completely.

I did a lot of research on this but couldn't find anything conclusive apart from knowing it's a common fault.

Some say it's the D2B fibre optic cable from the CDC to the head unit. I inspected mine it appeared to be fine but never actually replaced it.

Other say its a fault with the CDC itself. It's an Alpine CDC that's used across other brands such as Land Rover, BMW/Mini but with the Mercedes logo slapped on it. There was a repair guide I used but it never worked for me and there's a few Youtube videos about.

Ultimately, it's a ball-ache to diagnose. The safest option is to replace it with an aftermarket head unit instead of throwing money and time at it and hoping it will get fixed. A replacement with an identical unit may end up developing the same fault down the line.

Yes I removed the Fiber optic from the car in the scrap yard and have had that plugged in the the heads and the Changers just running it outside the car ....which means the only thing I havent looked at is the power cable to the CD changer. I need to find out what does what on that plug and see if I can power the cd Changer directly. I am not sure if the three wires in the CD changer power plug are getting any signals from the head unit. But a new System seems to be looming>