w211 Harman Kardon stereo no sound

[matthew k]

Hi, I got in my car today and there's no sound coming from my stereo, the head unit comes on an seems fine, just no sound! Any idea what could be wrong with it? It's the Logic 7 13 speaker set up.

It was working fine before, just a bit of distortion on the high notes/speech which I had put down to tired tweeters, not so sure now. Thanks

 

[bembo449]

amp has failed

 

[matthew k]

OK, if that's the case what are my options?

 

[Botus]

as above,

very expensive and usual failure - repairs are often unsuccessful - u could gamble on an eBay job but quite likely its not in the car for the reason yours won't be

 

[Botus]

4 options

buy new say goodbye to 1000 to 1200
sent to bba for repair watch 200 quid go down the drain
buy secondhand keep fingers crossed
look for a HK refurbishment - one guy says they're doing a "rebuild option these days for around 500"

 

[matthew k]

Thanks, this sounds bad! I'm not willing to spend much, this car has had many irritating faults so far. You can get one on EBay that's warranted for £100, that's probably my best bet. How hard are they to change?

 

[Botus]

there is no way a functioning one will sell for £100 - it'll be around 300 to 400 and might work for 3 years might die the day after you fit it.

probably the hardest part is lifting the boot trim... with the car asleep you can just unplug it and change it over, I would check any secondhand unit's fan is moving smoothly and runs up quietly before bolting it down fully

now yours is failing some days it may work but over next 6 months it'll be dead (if not already there)

as for multiple faults - welcome to the world of Mercedes DTF

 

[matthew k]

Mines an estate, does that make it easier to change?

 

[matthew k]

This is all I could see, the other side is the Sub, where is the amp located?

 

[Botus]

who needs flash ! can't see it there myself (can't see much of anything). the one we are talking about is a monster sliver box with a fan in the middle about 8" x 12" x 3"

umm this one in a w211 is smaller (becker)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Org-Merc...h=item41efb2a9ee:g:eEoAAOSwKA5btjBn:rk:5:pf:0

the bigger one (haman kardon)

mine doesn't have HK but it still died at 50k miles (adds say beker but the circuit board is Panasonic)

either way they go wrong, if the display works but no sounds its a dead amp

 

[matthew k]

Thanks for all of the replies. I made contact with the guy who refurbishes (not resets) SBC pumps in South London. He says he can test and repair my amp, I'm taking it to him on Wednesday, wish me luck!

 

[AMGeed]

^ Let us know if Jonny SBC can fix your amp. It will be useful info for anyone else with a similar problem.

 

[matthew k]

Sadly I phoned the guy today as agreed and after giving him my reg he messaged back to say he couldn't help. So I'm back to square one

 

[Botus]

did you at least find the device in the car?
and if so find the part number?

I think its a huge risk to buy secondhand but if you can get a later part number (3 or 4 years newer) you should get 2 or 3 years before DTF. Some have been Ok with a ebay America where lots more seem to come up. But postage and import tax is nasty (so keep wits about you). The other one would be ebayde which has more and often better prices than you see on ebayuk

 

[Botus]

how do u know its HK.... all the 211s seem to be becker?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mercedes...h=item23b1868c7a:g:1iwAAOSwlfNcEqYL:rk:4:pf:0

looks the same different part number (I think older, ad above looks in better condition)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Org-Merc...=item41efb2a9ee:g:eEoAAOSwKA5btjBn:rk:52:pf:0

often its just a later unit and fully compatible... (plug and play) but you need someone with access to a system to say what's what. If you can get your own part number others might be able to say what newer ones are OK (mine is running a later one and it has diff bass and treble for each source and a subtle third colour on the std screen to differentiate which part you are operating

 

[matthew k]

I need to get access to it and get a part number. So nobody's had any luck with anyone being able to fix these units, BBM Reman or whoever?

 

[Milu]

BBA reman have fixed mine. Twice!! Which I guess is the main point,do the repairs last? They say I've had 2 separate faults so who knows.
Mine is the middle HK one pictured. Must say at the moment it's sounding good but if it goes again I might see how it performs as a football lol

 

[matthew k]

BBA reman have fixed mine. Twice!! Which I guess is the main point,do the repairs last? They say I've had 2 separate faults so who knows.
Mine is the middle HK one pictured. Must say at the moment it's sounding good but if it goes again I might see how it performs as a football lol

That sounds pretty useless TBH, there's obviously a few weak spots, they should address them at the same time, I certainly wouldn't pay them twice within a few months, that sounds harsh! I'm going off that idea TBH, I'll investigate a secondhand one maybe. My problem is I still haven't worked out how to get to mine, estate, to get the part numbers.

 

[Botus]

in this car its right against the wing (silver bit with the orange fibre leads going to it) you have more toys sitting next to the rear SAM

 

[matthew k]

in this car its right against the wing (silver bit with the orange fibre leads going to it) you have more toys sitting next to the rear SAM

That's actually very helpful, I shall look tomorrow but I think you've helped me find it! Cheers