2000 bmw 740il radio dead.

In message #17 father figure addresses the buzzing from the speakers. Check out what he says.[/b]

Originally Posted by darrelljr00

After cleaning the ignition switch the radio still doesn't power on. All I see is the orange light ..navigation screen still dead

If the monitor has even the very slightest glow, which you can detect as its switched on,its almost certainly ok. Its the nav unit that has failed or is disconnected. Test:

If you have TV, switch off ignition, disconnect the nav, switch on ign and wait 2 mins. Switch off again, then back on. If you now have a blue style display, this is being provided by the TV module, thus confirming the head unit is ok, and the nav is faulty...

Its important to understand that the head unit is just a monitor-its not like other cars. The dsp amp, radio module, tv module, nav module are all in the boot. So:

No or poor sound from all these: radio, cd changer, cassette player = amp module fault
No or intermittent sound from just radio = radio module, usually dry joints to certain joints on internal circuit boards
No video signal = nav module, test by substitution or via tv module if present. (in the UK the Traffic Master should be unplugged before testing the nav, being a common cause of loss of video)

chrisn7 thank you for your info, you sound as though you are knowledgeable on this subject. I think it is going to help dalejr00. My car does not have a nav or tv. The radio and cassette light comes on, it shows channels, if you put a cassette in it will change channels but no sound. The cd is probably junk the part that holds the cd's was frozen in the unit and had to be pried out so it's probably junk. I never know when but the radio comes on every few months sounds great but when i shut the car off it will not come on again or when i turn on the lights or hit a bump while backing out of the driveway it goes off and that's it. in simple terms, it acts like there is a loose connection. If you eliminated the things that my car does not have and applied the process that you did in your last message, what would you think i'd need to get this thing working? Also when i apply light braking i get a shimmy in the steering wheel, but when i apply more pressure the shimmy goes away any thoughts on this. Thanks for your help.?

Also where is the radio module? I think the amp is between the left inside fender and the cd changer. Thanks again.

Again,
No sound from CD changer, but radio and cassette work = CD changer faulty.
Intermittent radio: this could simply be a loose plug, although BMW lever type plugs are very positive in use. There is really only cable between the head and modules in the boot, so plug checking is minimal. To check those on the headunit, remove just 4 screws whether 4:3 or 16:9 monitor, slide out.

Bumps might be affecting the connections inside the radio module, which is also located right up against the rear left wing with all the other modules. Its looks daunting to remove but is really quite straightforward-take your time on re-assembly, ensuring no trapped cables (which is easily done). Search BMW BM54 to see some pics. IIRC there is also a fuse to this module, that you might check too. Its quite common to the extent there are a number of people offering repairs to circuit board soldering...

You might be lucky with the cd changer-the cassettes become faulty but are available-not a repair I have done. Check too that the suspension screws on each side are set for vertical use; mine were set for horizontal.

Shimmy-where to start! There are a lot of ball joints on the E38 front suspension, and wear often shows as a shimmy at 50-60mph. If it only occurs on braking, could be just brake discs (rotors). If you replace any joints , only use OEM, most other stuff doesn't last, however tempting the price.

thank you for your reply. I'll start looking for it as soon as i find a source for audio parts. Appreciate your help