Hey all,
I will try to be brief and give only the pertinant info. I have a 01 740i with about 65K on it. I was going to do a major redo of the audio system including a new JL amp, Pioneer avic HU, ipod adapter and xm tuner for the Pioneer. A local shop was going to have the wood trim made for it, etc. Total cost would be around $1850 or so including the parts. That is major cash to me anyway.

However, my car broke down, had to be towed and all these other things have to be fixed first and I dont feel like investing nearly 2K in this car given I may not keep it much longer.

However, on way home from work, Nav was stuck at the accept screen. Satellite/radio would play for 2 -3 minutes and then stop and the HU had to be turned off and on again to play just 2-3 min and repeat this process all the way home. Once home I let the car sit turned off a while. Turned on and same thing with radio or satellite. However no picture at all on the monitor. Just a dead pixel. The navi is the MK??2 version. forgot the lettering but it is 2 for sure.
I was told previously that the popping heard with turning the volume up and down, as well as the loud pop when I turned the engine off is indicative of a dying amp. I have a xm rodi and the soundgate adapter that lets me go between cd changer or the satellite. Other parts include infiniti speakers and original HU/subs.

Anyone feel this is the amp or a more global, serious issue. I am hoping against hope that for some reason this was a freaky thing and it will be fine on drive to work tomorrow. But I doubt it. I am hoping I dont have to buy a cheaper HU like Alpine and new amp installed just to get the care "sellable." If that is the case I would have to knock off a lot more from what I would get on trade in due to lack of navi. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edit. I should point out that a week ago when the car was towed in for the cracked coolant reservoir tank they put in a new display screen as several of the pixals were dying. The display sure looks nice now (above the steering wheel, not the monitor screen) but I am wondering if there is any association between the audio system and the steering wheel display.??
ty

Update... Although I dont think anyone really cares about this. hehe.

The roady xt, cd, navigation, etc. all played great on the way to work today. 77 deg this am.

coming back home in afternoon, radio gave no audio after a few minutes, nav stuck meaning could still see a street but wouldnt continue, turning the radio off and on would give a few minutes of play, and finally the monitor display would show disc 1, track 2 even though on another disc. So essentially all sorts of combinations of problems. I had thought perhaps something was getting cooked in our 95 degree summer. An already sick amp was shorting out perhaps?? However, a bad storm dropped the temp 20 degrees and on way home from a party tonight same problems.

Simply wondering if anyone thinks this could just be a random short or something more serious. Again, I was told amp was on the way out but have no way of knowing if this is true. Not sure what this has to do with the Nav, and not sure how the soundgate cd/xm radio switch-adapter comes into play.

Any ideas at all?? Im guessing the bmw repair place wont be able to figure it out given extra work by the audio shop previously, but I could be wrong. Thanks for any suggestions at all, including get a new car or dont bother us anymore.

These are the types of problems that I would have to see the car to troubleshoot.

I am not surprised at all by that statment - it makes sense. Frankly reading over my posts I was confused. sorry. Thanks for the input.

could be the amp, but more likley it is bad wiring.

I totally, completely agree with gmannino.

Thanks for the input guys. Again today, it was a little cooler here in Charlotte NC but nevertheless after a little while the nav screen just went blank and the radio sound stopped shortly after that. It would immediately come back on after turning HU off and on and play for a few minutes. It is hard to know what to do. I actually tried to trade the car in today but the negative equity was too much to overcome in terms of monthly payments. Now I will have to bite the bullet and put in a new amp, Im guessing a new HU of some type that will work with the amp, and maybe new front speakers as the infinity reference speakers are apparently crap based on what I have seen on the boards. (I have an email sent to BSW to see what they have to offer. I was hoping for a plug and play amp because I dont think anyone in my town knows what they are doing on BMWs so not sure how my JL 6 channel I bought on ebay will work). Thanks all for the input.

Just to put closure on this for me and if anyone ever does a e38 double din or 740i search this may pop up. A pioneer avid d1 will positively absolutely NOT fit into the car. The audio shop popped out the stock nav HU and tried to put this in. It would stick out a good few inches for sure-there is just not the room in there and they were not about to start sawing and hammering. Im gonna either have to get a traditional single din, or single din pop up and even at that it will be off center with lots of empty wood grain trim on the side. Oh well. Thinking of the eclipse CD 3000 - the buttons have true orange lighting - not red like others. It may look o.k. and I can get the ipod interface and sirius tuner. All i would be missing is the nav.
edit. car is 2001 740i with non widescreen nav.

I kind of doubt the CD3000 will look good - the display will look wrong.

Get the AVN7000 1-DIN nav.

I bet you are right. Eeeeeek!!! The price on the AVN7000. That is beautiful but like most of the other single din navs it is out of my price range. I found the avicD1 at BB for $699 and got the last one there, but back it went today. I may have to bend a lot on beauty, just to get the function. (remember my current mostly stock stuff is not working at all now in the hot weather here in NC) Thanks for the idea though, I will have to think about it.

Does anyone know of a good current generation single din cd receiver that would look good - color, knobs, etc. in an E38. I have searched these forums carefully and the older Alpines, Naks with the red/orange lighting don't interest me too much.

Hi plupp,

I read your post with a lot of interest. My radio and NAV screen is doing the same as yours. The Nav screen freezes and eventually goes blank. The radio plays for about 2-3 minutes and then the audio stops even though the power to the radio is still on. But turning the radio off and on will restore the sound for another 2-3 minutes. Therefore, the navigation is not working at all because the screen is blank.

Did you happen to find the problem to this and if so, where did you find the parts to fix it.

My car is also a 2001 - 740i.

Thanks for any help,
Al
(mypalal)

Hey Plupp,
I read your post and feel your pain. Just bought a used 2003 745i a couple of month ago from the dealer and running thru same problems that developed about week ago. My radio,CD Player,Phone or anything affiliated with audio is doing the same as yours. The radio only plays for about 10 sec. and then the audio stops then comes back on. Power to the radio is still on. But turning the radio off is somewhat difficult. Have an appointment to take it in with the dealer and check this out Monday 10-23-06 (still got warrenty) and will get back with you.

Tom

Have you looked for a BMW Traffic Pro?