2000 740IL Radio Problem

I'm new to the forum and I've recently purchased a 2000 740il w/nav. My first BMW and an incredible car. However, from time to time the radio/CD will just cut off. In addition the display will freeze. You can manually turn the radio/CD back on but it will cut back off in about 1-2 min.. The display will stay frozen. Everything will reset when you shut the car off and back on. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

a low battery can cause this issue. If your battery is low the car will start, but the audio system needs more voltage so it shuts off. Look at the battery. If lower than 12.6 volts after having a load on the battery for 5 minutes it is time to replace.

Martin

You can unlock your OBD and view various readings, one of them battery voltage. I believe you can find the procedure on www.e38.org. There have been extensive write-ups on other BMW forums about this anomaly....lots of information out there.

Good luck.

jake

Originally Posted by Wader2

I'm new to the forum and I've recently purchased a 2000 740il w/nav. My first BMW and an incredible car. However, from time to time the radio/CD will just cut off. In addition the display will freeze. You can manually turn the radio/CD back on but it will cut back off in about 1-2 min.. The display will stay frozen. Everything will reset when you shut the car off and back on. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have exactly the same story on my E39 '02, have you solved the problem? What was it?

you must leave the car off without it running with the high beams on for 5 minutes to remove the surface charge. then test the battery. If lower than 12V then that is your issue for sure.

Here is a link to the training documents from BMW AG to BMW dealer techs on teaching them about the BMW battery and BMW electrical system

BMW Battery Training docs

Martin

Originally Posted by bimmernav

you must leave the car off without it running with the high beams on for 5 minutes to remove the surface charge. then test the battery. If lower than 12V then that is your issue for sure.

Here is a link to the training documents from BMW AG to BMW dealer techs on teaching them about the BMW battery and BMW electrical system

BMW Battery Training docs

Martin

Thanks mate,

But why does the screen freezes instead of also going off as radio? Also one or two times i had the radio playing but the screen was black And one more thing, sometimes when i open the bootlid i notice that nav cd is ejected from my MK3, but it goes back in by itself, maybe that is the end for my MK3?

Recently, when my battery was about to go dead, that happened to me, very strange, but after I replaced it with a new Duralast, everything is fine again. just wanne throw it out here.

The same thing has been going on with our 2000 740il. First we noticed something when the navigation screen wouldn't come on and the time would freeze, but now the navigation doesn't come on at all and the radio cuts out at exactly 2 minutes. So the problem is the battery?

First off, thanks for all the information from everyone. I finally got a chance on friday and replaced the battery but no success. Still having the same issue.......

Originally Posted by Wader2

First off, thanks for all the information from everyone. I finally got a chance on friday and replaced the battery but no success. Still having the same issue.......

GOOD THING I GOT A 98 740IL LATE MODEL

Since the battery did not fix your issue, which it typically does... The issue could be with either the nav computer or the radio.

What I did in my 01 was upgrade both in order to be SAT ready, Aux input ready, and MP3 CD changer ready.

Here is how to change the radio
Upgrading the E38/E39 to new style Radio

My battery went dead months before this problem occurred. I have a new battery and have same issue with the radio and the screen. I thought it was water from the trunk that might have gotten into the navigation cd-rom, but I attempted to eject it, and got no response. The "on" light is not on, and the cd did not eject. I have checked my fuses; I dont see any blown under the hood. BMW even could not figure the problem, but they charged a nice diagnostic fee... (

Originally Posted by Wader2

First off, thanks for all the information from everyone. I finally got a chance on friday and replaced the battery but no success. Still having the same issue.......

my screen freezes also, sometimes is grey with lines, sometimes with display, but my radio goes off after about 2 minutes also. Have a new battery, which was installed prior to this problem, and came from BMW dealer parts dept. My second thought was the navigation cd with water in it from opening trunk since it is just below the canal for the trunk lid. Cannot eject navigation disc from trunk; no "on" light illuminated. Thinking this is the problem for sure, but don't know what to do... can u help? Checked the fuses under the hood, didn't see any that were blown... BMW dealer no help--charged for diagnostic testing, but found nothing.
Hatin that I bought this car...

My brother-in-law's 00' 740Li had the same issues. I simply downloaded the latest NAV firmware, burned it to a CD, updated and not a problem since. I found out about the NAV updates on X5world. Simpy goto their web site and search for NAV Update. First hit will be a thread on version 29.1. All the info is there to upgrade the NAV firmware. Try it out.

Jer

Don't know if this is going to help or not, but it's worth a try.

I was having problems with my nav screen ('01 740i CD based NAV), where the screen morphed from its normal colors to a muddy brown color. I depressed the tape button, causing the NAV screen to swing out and then reached behind the screen feeling for the wire which I knew was back there somewhere. Finding it (blindly) I followed it to the connector, and simply reseated it.

Problem solved. No more color changes.

In any machine, vibrations can easily cause connectors to unseat as I learned from many years aboard large four engine aircraft filled with arcane radio equipment. We called it "brogan maintenance"....unseat and reseat, and 98% of the time, the problem just went away.

Try it, it might just work.

jake

PS: Since everything is controlled from that screen, or the buttons on it, this would normally have been my first step, which it was, and it solved everything.

I might also add, do not pull the plug out, as it will be difficult to re-insert. Simply wiggle it from side to side, and then push it firmly back into the seat. Should do it.

jake

Thanx, I have a 2003 Nav cd in there; no power light on in the trunk where the cd is; it won't even eject the old one to place a new one in it...

I don't understand how to get to the wire

On the 2001 and earlier models, if you select the tape deck (instead of radio or cd), the nav screen will swing out exposing the tape deck behind. If you reach behind the nav screen while the screen is slanted forward, you will be able to feel the wire which connects the screen to the cars electrical system. Follow the wire with your fingers below the tape deck and you will feel a connector....this is the one which you should wiggle around, left to right, right to left, and then give a firm push forward to seat it firmly. It is a male connector, into a female receptacle.

I know that once I reseated mine, I have never had another problem with the nav screen changing colors. As stated in a previous post, I learned this trick from my flying assignments with the USAF. Something else that helps, is a spray contact cleaner, but I don't think one will be able to get to the female receptacle without removing the nav screen. I remember taking the car to BMW, and they looked up the price of a new nav screen, because I thought that was what I would have to do, replace the screen. It was prohibitive. The solution came to me after that, and was a 'what have I got to lose' type solution,......and it worked.

f4v: I just noticed you are in Aiken....my brother lives in Aiken...out at Cedar Creek. Maybe you are familiar with it. He lives off Veranda Lane. Has been known to visit the ABC from time to time (Aiken Brewing Company). Great little town, have spent a lot of pleasant hours there.

jake

I'm having the same problem that everyone else is describing. I have an unilluminated power button on the navigation system in the trunk, the cd will not eject from said navigation system. My nav screen in the front is black and will not turn on and the power to the radio/cd/tape deck shuts off every few minutes.

I bought the car from my friend, who is a dealer, a few weeks back. He got it at the auction for me at a beautiful price, but with the knowledge that the nav was having problems. I've been trying to troubleshoot this problem without going to the dealer (stealer) and having them give me no real answers. My dealer friend's mechanic messed with it and found that there was no power getting to the front screen or the system in the trunk. I have yet to check the voltage on the battery, but from other's posts it doesn't seem like that will remedy my problem. The mechanic called my local bimmer dealer and also confirmed there was a TSB Recall on a retrofit cable for the nav, but my warranty is expired and the service manager told me that recall had been completed. When my mechanic called BMW they told him I may be able to get a recalibration done that should fix it, yet the service manager at BMW told me she never heard of such a thing even though someone from her service dept relayed that to my mechanic the day before (figures).

So she has suggested a diagnostic test, 1 hr labor/$93, but it seems that from previous posts this may simply be a waste.

Opinions requested....Should I pay for the diagnostic and keep my fingers crossed or just buy a new widescreen nav screen and an MKIV?

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I am having same problem with 2000 740IL. I have a new battery before this started, is the loose connector the answer?

Originally Posted by Wader2

I'm new to the forum and I've recently purchased a 2000 740il w/nav. My first BMW and an incredible car. However, from time to time the radio/CD will just cut off. In addition the display will freeze. You can manually turn the radio/CD back on but it will cut back off in about 1-2 min.. The display will stay frozen. Everything will reset when you shut the car off and back on. Any thoughts will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Let me ask you, how is the instrument cluster, can you see all the numbers or letters? and the reason is because the radio and instrument cluster comunicate with each other, you might have to take the car to a BMW delaer for diagnostic, if the instrument cluster is bad that will solve the radio problem. I work on BMW for almost 4 years and we had that problem before and you must remember that the instrument cluster has to be installed with the GT1 BMW scan tool.( cluster is married to the car and can not be use on another vehicle.

Bobby.

so guys, what was the problem that you found with the radio and navi cutting off? I'm haveing these issues now.....Help.....

Posted this in another thread... but was having all the same problems... Here's what I did and it's been working fine for about a week with no problems.

I cut off the car and waited ~ 2 minutes then disconnected the battery. (at the time, the nav light was never on).. When I reconnected the battery I also pressed the eject button on the nav at the same time- the light on the nav unit came on when reconnected ... the disc popped out .. after securing the battery terminal I re-inserted the disc.... All systems back to normal.... did this last Saturday and have had no problems all week.... Not to say, this want happen again... but hopefully this solved my problem. My son (the computer nerd) thinks the nav was not re-booting properly with the disc in the unit.. My battery is holding 12.6 volts... so I know it's good..