satnavs

domsz4

Veteran
so i think the satnag is goosed. its tempermental to read the dvd and more often than not will just sit with a message on the screen saving please wait (or whatever it is). when it does read it i have to start from the beginning and tell it which country like its just reset. its an original bmw dvd too.

so looking about on ebay etc it seems like the going rate for repair is £150+ a second hand one seems to be £300+ which i can only conclude is FCUK ME prices

at these proces i could get a well good tomtom etc so is there any after market one that will sit inplace of the bmw one and use the pop up screen?
 
You will find on the ribbon leading to the laser or circuit board next to where the ribbon plugs in there are 2 tiny potentiometers you need a small screwdriver to adjust these one is for DVD the other standard CD. I always ressurect cheapy old DVD players doing this as 9 times out of 10 the lazer has got dimmer over time and won't read the disc anymore. These pots control the brightness... too much it wont work and too little it won't work. I imagine its exactly the same issue on the Z4. Obviously the first thing to do is buy a cd cleaner with the brushes on the disc to see if there is dust on the lens.
 
Worth checking the DVD itself before spending loads of dosh - it's possible another disc would be fine?
 
ive tried it with 2 dvds but not one of those cleaning cd's

its work looking at adjusting the pots if im going to take it apart the actual laser cradle seems to be about £30 or you can replace the whole drive unit (which is much easier) for 130 euro.

how do you discconect the DVD unit from the car? does it reqire the battery to be off. if it does will the car forget stuff like the radio code phone pairing etc?
 
You can remove it without taking the battery off, no problem.

Fair amount of console removal though to get to the unit. Have a look at the thread for the satnav retrofit. I have posted quite a few posts over time with images on how to get there.

Takes me about 15 minutes to get it out, but if you have never done it, allow 2 hours.
 
Thanks for the heads up and place to look... Famous last words saying not long :) i will go for the 2 hrs time. it looks a ball ache to do. The damn thing was working yesterday too. but I guess it gives me chance to get the autochanger out too

With the two potentiometers are you decreasing or increasing the resistance? I'm not convinced feeding more current to the diode will make much difference but it's worth a try.

If it is goosed is there an aftermarket sat nag that can replace this one and use the screen? Or a way to replace the screen and display all the radio etc if you see what I mean
 
You will need a mkIV DVD drive from a bmw, mini, rover or range rover.

There are no alternatives using the em screen.
 
Yeah thanks been looking about this afternoon so I figured my options are get a tomtom etc just don't want the cables etc, get 2nd hand one So could just be looking at the same problem in a bit and cost £££, get it fixed for 150 or try myself. I recon the fixed for 150 is the best as it comes with a 12 month warranty. Thanks for all the help
 
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