Expert: Cleggsan - 3/3/2010

Question
I recently bought a brand new Mercedes Benz E350 CDI car. I bought a new Samson M.P. player to use in the car. I connected the player via the usb cable provided by Mercedes which came with the car. It worked fine the first time I connected it, now though it only works intermittently e.g.every other time I start the car, say going to work it will work and then coming home it will not, coming up on the dash screen " Device incompatible ". Have you any idea why it does this.

Answer
Do you mean "Samsung"? Don't know of any MP3 maker by the name of Samson - or Delilah (Sorry for the humor).

It is possible the connection is not good. It is possible the player is intermittently defective. It is possible the car system USB connection is intermittently defective.

The "incompatible" reading is a sign that the digital information is not reliable.

Also, check the version of USB the car supports and compare with the player you are using.  They may actually be slightly incompatible.

In a follow-up send the model number of the mp player.

PS: The only specification found quickly with a google search indicates the car has iPOD interface and memory stick support so it may not, in fact, support all forms of MP3 players.  (iPOD is an Apple product and Memory Stick is a Sony product).  So, check the specifications of the USB port on the car more carefully as a suggestion.

PPS: This car supposedly also supports an audio in;  have you tried using the analog audio input rather than the USB?