# MKIII Naviation going bad?!



## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

Hello guys, i recently purchased a 2001 740i and made the mistake of disconnecting the battery one day. After reconnecting, the navigation computer keeps trying to read the nav cd and ejects it, then repeats cycle. Also the power button does not light up and the screen on my 16:9 display flickers then blacks out. CD changer and radio work fine, as well as the radio controls on the 16:9 unit.

Is my MKIII dead or can it be fixed?

This unit is an MKIII correct? - 2001 manufacture date, 16:9 display in dash.

Thanks.


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## sunstorm (Jan 10, 2006)

sounds like you just need a new fuse(s).

Nothing too big so far. Wish you good luck! Hope you lucky enough to save the IC of SatNav base...


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

sunstorm said:


> sounds like you just need a new fuse(s).
> 
> Nothing too big so far. Wish you good luck! Hope you lucky enough to save the IC of SatNav base...


I checked the fuse box on the right side of the trunk, everything is fine.

What is the IC of the SatNav base? Thanks.


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## sunstorm (Jan 10, 2006)

Joe.K said:


> I checked the fuse box on the right side of the trunk, everything is fine.
> 
> What is the IC of the SatNav base? Thanks.


ok, what about the fuse in the glove box? check them ont by one.

IC = Integrated Circuit


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

Thanks for the help sunstorm.

I checked all the fuses, none are blown.

I have no idea what else to do, i guess i should buy a used unit on ebay? Thanks.


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## harjothundal (Jun 19, 2007)

since you stated this started after the power failure, have you tried to lower cycle the unit again? Only other thing I can think is that maybe the unit was working when it lost power, resulting in some type of software corruption... This usually doesn't happen with rom firmware, but you may want to try and obtain a firmware update cd abd run it just for the sake of testing... You can download an iso of the firmware from x5world, i hope this may be of some help to you..

Also, if you have a cd based unit, then yet, its a mk3...


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## harjothundal (Jun 19, 2007)

sorry, typo... First sentence asked if you tried to power cycle the nav computer...


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

I did reconnect safely but it still does the same thing. It spins the CD over and over and then ejects, then accepts, repeats cycle.

I ran a firmware update cd using clonecd and it didn't work, oh well. Thanks for the help guys, i just bought a unit off ebay.


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## sunstorm (Jan 10, 2006)

Help your new unit work well with your car.

Anyway, Good luck!

Post the result here plz..


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

I bought a used MKIII off ebay, plugged it in and it works fine. It has newer software so it supports the split screen. I'm relieved that it works again.


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## harjothundal (Jun 19, 2007)

good job, and congrats!


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## sealbeach740 (Sep 5, 2003)

Joe K. -
There's no problem disconnecting your battery, except with a MKIII (& all MK's, to be honest), you need to make sure the red LED on the Nav is out before you disconnect power (either by pulling the battery cable, or unplugging the Nav). The MKIIIs are especially sensitive to that. And, yeah, that can cause a MKIII to die. :yikes:


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## chenja 330CI (Jun 16, 2006)

man my mkiii is doing exactly the samething, this sucks. i was told to check my battery (02) which i've never changed, reload my firmware, and check for the cables... is this common? i hope my unit isn't dead


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## H2oskiphil (Nov 19, 2007)

While we're on the subject, sorta.....

I did the upgrade on my MKIII today. Is it normal with v22.1 to have to "ACCEPT" every time you start the car, and again about 5 minutes after starting? 

Seems like the system cycles after it's been on for a couple of minutes, the screen goes blank, and then it comes back up with the "ACCEPT" screen.

Could that have anything to do with the fact that I'm just outside the coverage area of the nav CD that came with the car? The nav system hasn't been able to re-initialize since I upgraded the software.


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

hey guys, if anyone needs an MKIII for cheap, this looks like a good one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMW-...011QQitemZ320182903339QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

short notice but just wanted to share.


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## Joe.K (Oct 28, 2005)

Hey, so i have my old MKIII that was corrupted, is there anything else i can do with this other than toss it? Im willing to give it away to anyone on the forum if they wanna pick up in socal, if its even worth it.


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## BMW_tech (Sep 20, 2007)

sealbeach740 said:


> Joe K. -
> There's no problem disconnecting your battery, except with a MKIII (& all MK's, to be honest), you need to make sure the red LED on the Nav is out before you disconnect power (either by pulling the battery cable, or unplugging the Nav). The MKIIIs are especially sensitive to that. And, yeah, that can cause a MKIII to die. :yikes:


he sure sounds and speaks like a tech. :thumbup:


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