Sat Nav stopped working after a big pothole?

1

123BillyB

Member
Hi Guys,

My 2005 Z4 Satnav was working fine up until a few days ago when I went over the mother of all potholes. Apart from ruining one of the runflats (was going to change over to Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's anyway (£105.00 fitted from Blackcircles)), my satnav has started to act strangely.

Going to be as in depth as I can here because I have tried a few things to rectify this problem with no luck and the firmware is up to date with a 2012 map.

Firstly I noticed that the location position was way off even thought the map was moving with the car and no matter how many times I tried to re-calibrate via the crossing junction feature in the menu, it just wouldn't work. Tonight after searching a few post from all over, one of the things I went and checked was the hidden menu GPS readings.

I posted the screen pictures below but basically the Almanac is stating "NO" instead of "YES" and even though next to that it states I have 8 Visible Satellites, all the S/N values read "00.0". Because it was showing 8 Visible Satellites, I followed a few posts saying leave the car on for about half an hour with a clear sky and the Almanac should change to "YES" after it downlands the setting to calibrate the Gyros etc but after 45 minutes, the Almanac still read "NO". I then noticed that on the main screen in the top right hand corner (if using split screen), the box has the half globe sign towards the right but the GPS symbol is missing.

I took it that my GPS antenna might have a problem from the jolt (was really bad) so I looked above the interior light and nothing seems to be loose with the GPS antenna but I haven't had the Navigation DVD system out yet to have a look at the connection behind there yet as I haven't got the DIN extraction pins to hand and it was a bit too dark to shove toothpicks in the holes to try pull it out.

So what do you reckon guys? is it the Almanac alone or is it the Antenna at fault which is not allowing the Almanac to load? Also if it is the Antenna, how comes the Navigation does work, albiet just not showing me where I am correctly?

If it is the Antenna, I have seen ones on eBay that are BMW MK4 Navigation compatible for under a tenner. If I was to get one of them, the advert says "the reception on them is really good so can be hidden away", does that mean I can just place it behind the Navigation DVD unit rather than having to feed the cable from the back to the front to fit where the factory one is?

Any help here will be much appreciated as its driving me nuts.

Thanks,

Billy

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20121009_191453_zpsc1426c44.jpg


20121009_191441_zps14291555.jpg
 
First things first, disconnect the battery for 20 minutes or so. This might fix the problem.

If not its worth buying an antenna from eBay for a Fenner and tying it. I bought one when retro fitting in my old Z4 ad it worked fine. If you located it at the top of the rear bulkhead it should get a signal. I located mine by the instrument binnacle nest to the radio. There is a structural beam there which the GPS antenna attaches to magnetically. It can be fed down the central tunnel without to much effort.
 
The good old Japanese reset didnt even crfoss my mind.

I'll try that in the morning and if it doesnt work, time to buy a new antenna.

Thanks
 
'Rec-Stat' and RECERR seem to indicate 'Reception Error'. srhutch is right - battery disconnect re-set first... If that doesn't work, might be worth getting an indy to have a wee look if you have one you use, if only to diagnose the error code / fault.

Perhaps it still thinks you aqre in the pot hole ? :D
 
Hi Guys,

Tried the Japanese reset and no joy... all readings are still the same an in one of the other hidden menu screens, I confirmed that the Gyro is working (hence why the map seems to move about using where it thinks it is) but Satalites still show as "00".

Think I need to find the DIN pins to take the DVD unit out to check connection behind there and if thats fine, buy a new antenna.

Are the GPS antennas fragile and would a big jolt have been enough to damage it (I mean the car nearly bounced and my phones flew everywhere)?
 
GPS arial is only a tenner, so cheap option to try. You can literally just clip it anywhere in the dashboard but you need to connect it to the navcomputer though.

I would check connections first at the computer side though.

Does the voice command work ok when you press the instruction button?
 
Are you going back to the local authority over the wrecked tyre? You might be able to claim for the repair to the nav system. Might be worth checking with Citizens advice or similar. Or even with a lawyer if you have legal expenses. If it's looking expensive, will your insurance cover it?

The state of the roads are bloody awful, they're still doing crap repairs after the big freeze of a couple of years ago. They've already had to redo one of those "spray it with tar and stones and hope nobody complains" near here. It lasted a week before it was wrecked again :(
 
Hi Stuart,

Not going to bother making a claim as a) was gonna change tyres anyway before next mot in March. b) the tyres aren't that expensive and c) writing all them letters would just drive me mad...

Thanks for the suggestion though.
 
Like the idea but the problem with that is the incident happened in Essex and as Essex is a large county, I don't know which town hall would deal with that particular area and I live in Hertfordshire so holding back their council tax will not work at all.
 
I think you need to research the council responsible very carefully, and the go an plant a big jobbie on their town hall steps :thumbsup:
 
You might be able to get to the GPS antenna plug from the boot to save taking the unit out which will require half the interior to come out as well.
 
Think I'll just take it out from the front with DIN pins.

The less dismantling, the better.

Thanks for all the advice guy's.

Billy
 
123BillyB said:
Think I'll just take it out from the front with DIN pins.

The less dismantling, the better.

Thanks for all the advice guy's.

Billy
Click to expand...

Believe me that is the hard way as per my post.

From the boot there are four plastic screws that hold the carpet down on the bulkhead. Remove them then lift it up from the bottom. You should be able to get to the GPS antenna through the access hole.

From the fron you will have to remove some of the interior to get the DVD drive out.
 
Think I'll just take it out from the front with DIN pins.

The less dismantling, the better.

Thanks for all the advice guy's.

Billy
 
Think I'll just take it out from the front with DIN pins.

The less dismantling, the better.

Thanks for all the advice guy's.

Billy
 
Think I'll just take it out from the front with DIN pins.

The less dismantling, the better.

Thanks for all the advice guy's.

Billy
 
Sorry srhutch, misread your reply.

I'll have a go from the boot on the weekend as I won't be back home till dark all this week.

Thanks
 
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