Is the screen completely black? Or more of a "grey"? I say this, because on my car, there's an option to make the idrive screen go blank, but it never really shuts off, it's still illuminated somewhat, again more of a fuzzy dark grey and never really goes to black.

There is a procedure to reboot the iDrive system. I would try that. I found it on the forum somewhere. Just do a search. Try the reboot procedure.

DetroitMatt said:

Is the screen completely black? Or more of a "grey"? I say this, because on my car, there's an option to make the idrive screen go blank, but it never really shuts off, it's still illuminated somewhat, again more of a fuzzy dark grey and never really goes to black.

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Definitely black, so light eminating from it at all. I'm pretty sure it's down, not off. I tried to switch it back on with no luck. Press the menu button twice? I've switched it off a few times and always managed to switch it on again with ease. This is a greater problem.

DetroitMatt said:

Is the screen completely black? Or more of a "grey"? I say this, because on my car, there's an option to make the idrive screen go blank, but it never really shuts off, it's still illuminated somewhat, again more of a fuzzy dark grey and never really goes to black.

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x2. Do this.

racooper3 said:

There is a procedure to reboot the iDrive system. I would try that. I found it on the forum somewhere. Just do a search. Try the reboot procedure.

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No luck with the reboot procedure. They say hold down 3 buttons for the seconds ( mute, eject cd and eject dvd ). Problem is I don't have a CD player in the 523i. Tried several combinations of the avilable buttons, no luck.

Do you have either CD or NAV DVD? Hold down the eject button (if you have either) and the volume knob for 30 seconds. I don't know if the car has to be started or if you can just turn the key to position 1 for accessories. The system should reset. If your screen is truly blanked out, then you'll likely have to visit a dealer for more diagnosis. Good Luck.

MAussie said:

No luck with the reboot procedure. They say hold down 3 buttons for the seconds ( mute, eject cd and eject dvd ). Problem is I don't have a CD player in the 523i. Tried several combinations of the avilable buttons, no luck.

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Tried all that, no luck. I read somewhere that pulling the fuse out causes a break in the cuircut and that disconnecting the battery for an hour may help. But I'm afraid that disconnecting the battery may cause other issues and will not be able to get the started again. You know if that's an issue?

Look. I pulled the battery in my e60 545 and drove about 45 min round trip to an AutoZone parts store to check battery. Ended up buying a new one. I had absolutely no issues with my car starting after battery replacement. It may have erased some engine/trans adaptation settings, but after a week of daily driving to work it was all back to normal. I wouldn't worry about pulling the battery cable off. I would leave it off for about 30-60 minutes. Then put it back on and see what you get on the display. I started having all kinds of weird errors on the iDrive display, related to electrical sensors, etc. I have heard that BMW shuts down certain systems if there isn't enough power in your battery.

How old is your battery? Perhaps you might want to take battery out and find a mechanic or auto parts store to check the health of the battery. My battery completely died overnight about 3 months ago and I got stranded until wife could come home with the 2nd car. New battery fixed everything and I haven't had any electrical issues since. If you get another battery, don't forget to have a dealer/mechanic register the new battery to the car's computer. It really is important that you do this or alternator will not function as designed and possibly die and/or kill the battery prematurely.

Good Luck.

Thanks mate. Worked it out, I put the fuse for the idrive back in the wrong slot. Slipped it back into correct slot, switched ignition on and all was well.

Not sure how old battery is, but I've had the car for 18 months without changing it. I did dis-connect it for an hour and re-connect it and all seems well so far.

If I replace the battery with a new one, without registering it, will the car start? Or must I purchase the new battery, drive to dealership and have them change and register it?

racooper3 said:

Look. I pulled the battery in my e60 545 and drove about 45 min round trip to an AutoZone parts store to check battery. Ended up buying a new one. I had absolutely no issues with my car starting after battery replacement. It may have erased some engine/trans adaptation settings, but after a week of daily driving to work it was all back to normal. I wouldn't worry about pulling the battery cable off. I would leave it off for about 30-60 minutes. Then put it back on and see what you get on the display. I started having all kinds of weird errors on the iDrive display, related to electrical sensors, etc. I have heard that BMW shuts down certain systems if there isn't enough power in your battery.

Good Luck.

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:rofl: Glad you figured it out. Sometimes you have to backtrack to make sure you did what you thought you did. I've done that plenty of times. I know you are relieved to know it isn't the idrive screen after all.

As for the battery, sure. I drove around for about 3 weeks until I could get over to the dealer on a Saturday morning to have it registered. You just don't want to wait too long to get that registration done. BMW uses some sort of smart charging algorithim to keep battery charged by age of battery. They basically don't want to overwork the alternator if they don't have to. Also, if you have a lead acid type battery in a white case and move to AGM type battery in a black case, then make sure you are very clear to the Service Advisor that you changed battery types too. They will need to code that as well as reset the battery settings.

There have been plenty of posts on this issue and it isn't conclusive as to what kind of damage will and when be done if you don't register. Given car is totally sofware controlled, you would be better off following the registration recommendation to avoid other maint. costs down the road.

Good Luck.

MAussie said:

Thanks mate. Worked it out, I put the fuse for the idrive back in the wrong slot. Slipped it back into correct slot, switched ignition on and all was well.

Not sure how old battery is, but I've had the car for 18 months without changing it. I did dis-connect it for an hour and re-connect it and all seems well so far.

If I replace the battery with a new one, without registering it, will the car start? Or must I purchase the new battery, drive to dealership and have them change and register it?

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Indeed, saw some posts stating I was looking at $1500 or more to get that unit replaced.

Thanks for your help bud.

racooper3 said:

:rofl: I know you are relieved to know it isn't the idrive screen after all.
Good Luck.

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