radio powers on and off by itself

EMagnuson · 11-01-2017, 10:59 AM

So I have a strange situation that I wonder if anyone else has experienced. I have intermittent issues with the radio in my 07 moupe. There are times when the radio shuts off and back on by itself. the front orange display goes dead when the power goes off, it seems to be worst when it is cold outside. The strange thing is that when it comes back on and I manually shut it off it will still power cycle and when the power comes back on so does the music. Once the car warms up the problem seems to go away. I have been living with it because in this car I dont care much about the radio but it is strange and I have no control over it as I cant shut it off.

Anyone else experience this and if so is there a fix?

thanks,

Eric

VindieselJetta · 11-01-2017, 06:48 PM

Check out the above thread about volume knob. You could use the same company to rebuild your radio for $120 (Bavtek)

EMagnuson · 11-02-2017, 07:14 AM

Thank you VindeiselJetta, I will reach out to them today!

i2ichal2dZ4M · 11-02-2017, 01:44 PM

This is a symptom of the alternator about to go out. If your mileage is around 70-90k it would seem to be right. I experienced same thing personally. New alternator solved this issue.

EMagnuson · 11-04-2017, 09:00 PM

I2i, I never would have thought about it being related to the alternator. Did you have any other symptoms?

i2ichal2dZ4M · 11-04-2017, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EMagnuson

I2i, I never would have thought about it being related to the alternator. Did you have any other symptoms?

it started when radio turning on and off. Because I have nav it was very obvious because the screen would come down and back up. later symptom, engine randomly stalled out. If you search for alternator symptoms on the forums, you can read other symptoms others had. I changed my alternator out at 80k. It's a daily easy DIY

jrich4411 · 11-19-2017, 07:05 PM

I had almost the exact symptom with my last '06 Z4Mr. It also had the NAV. It started one day when I was driving along and the radio just shut down and the NAV closed. Nothing I could do would get it to turn back on, including shutting down the vehicle. Along with that, the seat belt light would come on.
It progressed to the point where I could watch the NAV & Radio cycle on & off right before my eyes.
Shortly after that, I ended up with a problem where I would go to start the car in the morning and the battery would be completely dead. Replaced the battery & that was OK. Dealt with the radio issue for a couple more months & put her up for the winter.
Come spring, both issues reappeared - dead battery in the morning, radio & NAV turning itself off & on at random.
Went to the local German specialist - no luck. Finally brought her to BMW - almost 2 hours away. What they found was that the aftermarket module I added to have remote control of the top was shorting out the bus causing communications to stop. That was the radio/NAV issue.
The radio itself also had an issue - it never shut down when the car was shut down thereby never allowing the car to go to sleep. There was a constant 2 amp draw from the radio, even when it was off or not working.
So - do you have any aftermarket accessories that could be causing bus related issues?

SaltyNC · 11-19-2017, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrich4411

What they found was that the aftermarket module I added to have remote control of the top was shorting out the bus causing communications to stop.

Was it a SmartTop? I have that on my wish list, but don't want to encounter any issues. Thanks.

Salty

jrich4411 · 11-19-2017, 11:56 PM

It's been several years but I believe I had the module from Gap-Tech. It also included the one-touch up/down feature.
They actually don't sell to the USA. I purchased mine via private sale.
In their defense, the module worked great for 4 years, and I had purchased it used for half the price of new.

EMagnuson · 11-29-2017, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrich4411

I had almost the exact symptom with my last '06 Z4Mr. It also had the NAV. It started one day when I was driving along and the radio just shut down and the NAV closed. Nothing I could do would get it to turn back on, including shutting down the vehicle. Along with that, the seat belt light would come on.
It progressed to the point where I could watch the NAV & Radio cycle on & off right before my eyes.
Shortly after that, I ended up with a problem where I would go to start the car in the morning and the battery would be completely dead. Replaced the battery & that was OK. Dealt with the radio issue for a couple more months & put her up for the winter.
Come spring, both issues reappeared - dead battery in the morning, radio & NAV turning itself off & on at random.
Went to the local German specialist - no luck. Finally brought her to BMW - almost 2 hours away. What they found was that the aftermarket module I added to have remote control of the top was shorting out the bus causing communications to stop. That was the radio/NAV issue.
The radio itself also had an issue - it never shut down when the car was shut down thereby never allowing the car to go to sleep. There was a constant 2 amp draw from the radio, even when it was off or not working.
So - do you have any aftermarket accessories that could be causing bus related issues?

interesting, there is an aftermarket amp and Sub that was installed before I bought the car. This wouldn't bother me so much if it would stay off, I would rather hear the exhaust, the cycling back and forth drives me crazy.

jdoublehcubed · 11-30-2017, 07:34 PM

That sounds like the alternator voltage regulator for sure, a bunch of us have had that issue. Its cheap to repair, about $25 for a new voltage regulator for your alternator. Search and you'll find the thread.

The easiest way to verify the issue is to get a bluetooth OBDII adapter (<$10 on amazon) and a program like Torque that will display data from it on your phone. Open Torque, and create a live graph showing battery voltage, and leave it open while you're driving around. When your radio resets, look at the graph. You will most likely see a voltage spike to around 17-18V that just happened, and which cased the reset. Total cost to diagnose: less than $20.

EMagnuson · 12-01-2017, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdoublehcubed

That sounds like the alternator voltage regulator for sure, a bunch of us have had that issue. Its cheap to repair, about $25 for a new voltage regulator for your alternator. Search and you'll find the thread.

The easiest way to verify the issue is to get a bluetooth OBDII adapter (<$10 on amazon) and a program like Torque that will display data from it on your phone. Open Torque, and create a live graph showing battery voltage, and leave it open while you're driving around. When your radio resets, look at the graph. You will most likely see a voltage spike to around 17-18V that just happened, and which cased the reset. Total cost to diagnose: less than $20.

I purchased an ODB adapter, ODBLink might be the name. I didnt realize it might be able to provide info on voltage! Great idea thank you,

11-01-2017, 10:59 AM	#1
EMagnuson Enlisted Member 3 Rep 32 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4M Coupe Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Mass iTrader: (1)	radio powers on and off by itself So I have a strange situation that I wonder if anyone else has experienced. I have intermittent issues with the radio in my 07 moupe. There are times when the radio shuts off and back on by itself. the front orange display goes dead when the power goes off, it seems to be worst when it is cold outside. The strange thing is that when it comes back on and I manually shut it off it will still power cycle and when the power comes back on so does the music. Once the car warms up the problem seems to go away. I have been living with it because in this car I dont care much about the radio but it is strange and I have no control over it as I cant shut it off. Anyone else experience this and if so is there a fix? thanks, Eric
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11-01-2017, 06:48 PM	#2
VindieselJetta Private First Class 34 Rep 154 Posts Drives: Z4m Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Tampa Bay, FL iTrader: (1)	Check out the above thread about volume knob. You could use the same company to rebuild your radio for $120 (Bavtek)
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11-02-2017, 07:14 AM	#3
EMagnuson Enlisted Member 3 Rep 32 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4M Coupe Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Mass iTrader: (1)	Thank you VindeiselJetta, I will reach out to them today!
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11-02-2017, 01:44 PM	#4
i2ichal2dZ4M Lieutenant 62 Rep 516 Posts Drives: 2007 BSM Z4MC Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Los Angeles, California iTrader: (1)	This is a symptom of the alternator about to go out. If your mileage is around 70-90k it would seem to be right. I experienced same thing personally. New alternator solved this issue. __________________ 2007 BSM Z4M Coupe - 18" VOLK TE37 - 18" Apex ARC-8 - GC Track/Street
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11-04-2017, 09:00 PM	#5
EMagnuson Enlisted Member 3 Rep 32 Posts Drives: 2007 Z4M Coupe Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: Mass iTrader: (1)	I2i, I never would have thought about it being related to the alternator. Did you have any other symptoms?
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11-19-2017, 07:05 PM	#7
jrich4411 Private First Class 5 Rep 165 Posts Drives: 2006 ///M black on black Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	I had almost the exact symptom with my last '06 Z4Mr. It also had the NAV. It started one day when I was driving along and the radio just shut down and the NAV closed. Nothing I could do would get it to turn back on, including shutting down the vehicle. Along with that, the seat belt light would come on. It progressed to the point where I could watch the NAV & Radio cycle on & off right before my eyes. Shortly after that, I ended up with a problem where I would go to start the car in the morning and the battery would be completely dead. Replaced the battery & that was OK. Dealt with the radio issue for a couple more months & put her up for the winter. Come spring, both issues reappeared - dead battery in the morning, radio & NAV turning itself off & on at random. Went to the local German specialist - no luck. Finally brought her to BMW - almost 2 hours away. What they found was that the aftermarket module I added to have remote control of the top was shorting out the bus causing communications to stop. That was the radio/NAV issue. The radio itself also had an issue - it never shut down when the car was shut down thereby never allowing the car to go to sleep. There was a constant 2 amp draw from the radio, even when it was off or not working. So - do you have any aftermarket accessories that could be causing bus related issues?
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11-19-2017, 11:56 PM	#9
jrich4411 Private First Class 5 Rep 165 Posts Drives: 2006 ///M black on black Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: New Hampshire iTrader: (0)	It's been several years but I believe I had the module from Gap-Tech. It also included the one-touch up/down feature. They actually don't sell to the USA. I purchased mine via private sale. In their defense, the module worked great for 4 years, and I had purchased it used for half the price of new.
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11-30-2017, 07:34 PM	#11
jdoublehcubed Mechanical Engineer 96 Rep 1,025 Posts Drives: 2006 Z4MR, Imola Red Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Anaheim, CA iTrader: (1)	That sounds like the alternator voltage regulator for sure, a bunch of us have had that issue. Its cheap to repair, about $25 for a new voltage regulator for your alternator. Search and you'll find the thread. The easiest way to verify the issue is to get a bluetooth OBDII adapter (<$10 on amazon) and a program like Torque that will display data from it on your phone. Open Torque, and create a live graph showing battery voltage, and leave it open while you're driving around. When your radio resets, look at the graph. You will most likely see a voltage spike to around 17-18V that just happened, and which cased the reset. Total cost to diagnose: less than $20.
	Appreciate 0 Quote