E39 Radio and Screen won't work

Hi there,

I have 2002 E39 530 with the DSP, NAV, Telephone, TV, you name its and its in the trunk. Three weeks ago i was driving and the radio cut off for 2 seconds, then came back on, then cut off completely and never came back on. The screen was working fine, was able to go to the Nav, but the DSP option was gone and I couldn't get the cassette, cd or radio to turn on. Pushing the power button doesn't do anything. The sound from the Nav and from the Memo were still operational. At that time i started having problems with my signal indicators, but that has gone.

Since then, the screen doesn't work anymore. When the car is powered, it has glow to it that it is powered on. I've tried every trick to get it working:

1. disconnected battery (10 times till now, ranging from 1min to 1- hr) in all flavours including keeping the lights on and taking some fuses out.
2. disconnected all the radio components in the trunk.
3. disconnected the DSP amp, d/c temporarily the battery, and still no response from radio.

I would like to know if there's any way to test any of the components BM53, DSP to conclude that they're working so i can isolate the problem.

Any assistance would be appreciated. thanks

Hey Man,

I am having the exact same problems...radio/cd not working....now my nav doesn't work and my turning signals work but when they're on they don't show-up in my console as being on...same with my high beams.

Have you had any luck fixing the problem 'cause I'm seriously stumped!!

I think this is definitely a wiring problem. my guess is that you have a bad ground. if you have a sound system that draws too much power from your alternator it can a use this to happen also. but you didn't say whether you had a high current sound system, so I am going to guess its a grounding issue.

shaynesharma, you might be having an ignition switch problem. It causes problems with the turning signals. I had the issue right when my radio/cd problems started. A test for that in E39's was to bring down the passenger side visor and turn on the mirror light. unfortuneatly, that wasn't the problem at my end. i've been without music in the car for over 6 weeks. sucks.

I had a similar issue while on vacation. I have no NAV on my 02 530I. The display began to to blink on and off. Controls would not function and CD Player would play on/off. Turned of the unit for over 24 hours. Tried it again and unit played fine the entire 8 hour drive. Next day played unit for a while then it cut out completely along with the entire display including the clock it also took out my emergency and turn signals. Was just outside St. Louis,MO when this happened. Pulled over and called my mechanic in CA. He mention the ignition switch right off the bat. I let the car sit for a few minutes but still no luck. Decieded to take off and take my chances. Within 5 minutes my clock display returned along with my turn and emergency signals. I did not use the radio after that. I drove the rest of my 4K mile trip with no tunes but had my turn and emergency signals.