my screen has gone blank

ludeygirl · 05-13-2010, 01:04 PM

Hi I am new to this and have tried searching for what I think must be a very simple problem but can't find the answer. I have an m3 convertable and booked it in for a valet today realised when driving away that although the radio is working the whole screen is blank so can't access the computer sat nav etc.
is there some simple button to push or is there some reset button for the computer.
This is the second time this has happened and the first time it was going in for a service and they told me they had to reboot the computer.thank you would really appreciate help on this

ersin · 05-13-2010, 02:47 PM

Yikes! Don't let a valet touch it.

Anyway, did you try hitting the menu button? Other than that I can't think of what to do.

Cheers.

semperfi1776 · 05-13-2010, 02:53 PM

try clicking the idrvie knob, as in push it down like a mouse button

+1 Don't let valet touch your car

ludeygirl · 05-13-2010, 05:06 PM

thanks I will try that ...does that mean I have to clean the car myself? I did find a thread that says you can reboot the satnav/computer by pushing and holding the volume button and the cd eject button for 5 secs but not sure if car is same model.If all else fails will try and disconnect and reconnect battery.
Just thought there might be on/off switch for screen that I didn't know about

ludeygirl · 05-14-2010, 04:52 PM

Have tried pushing and holding various buttons nothing has worked I don't have idrive as my car is an e36 M3 2004/2005 model . Will probably have to resort to battery disconnection or book it in I suppose .

ersin · 05-14-2010, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludeygirl

... my car is an e36 M3 2004/2005 model .

Ahh. You should have stated that before. I had an E46 M3 with nav which was somewhat like the earlier E36 version. I recall that there was a way to turn the screen off but I'll have to look that up. Still, I believe it should come back on when the ignition is off then on again. The "unhook the battery for a few minutes" technique is one thing to try. If that doesn't work then I'm afraid you'll need to take it to the dealer. Good luck.

Cheers.

P.S. Yes, you need to clean the car yourself.

tom @ eas · 05-14-2010, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludeygirl

Have tried pushing and holding various buttons nothing has worked I don't have idrive as my car is an e36 M3 2004/2005 model . Will probably have to resort to battery disconnection or book it in I suppose .

This is an e46 model, there is a problem within the NAV computer (MKIV), which processes the video feed for the monitor.

skywalker562 · 05-15-2010, 01:32 AM

well mine is E93 M3 (production yr:08) model.
it happend couple of times when top is down. don't know why it did it. i took it to a dealer but they said couldn't find any error codes. any comments?

Thank you guys~

tom @ eas · 05-15-2010, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skywalker562

well mine is E93 M3 (production yr:08) model.
it happend couple of times when top is down. don't know why it did it. i took it to a dealer but they said couldn't find any error codes. any comments?

Thank you guys~

This could be anyone's guess - can the issue be replicated on command or does it happen at random times?

ludeygirl · 05-16-2010, 06:18 AM

Yes my car is an e46 so what is the problem with sat nav and how do you fix it ?
Thanks

ludeygirl · 05-16-2010, 07:36 AM

disconnected the battery and reconnected and the whole thing works now. I am pleased but what a faff thanks for the advice anyway still not sure about cleaning my car myself maybe will just let them handwash the outside and I will take responsibilty for the inside

skywalker562 · 05-18-2010, 07:12 PM

it does it randomly. but usually weekends (don't know why but i guess my nav also wants to take some break) with open top. i noticed every ~30 seconds or so it blinks. with closed top, i haven't experienced it. any ideas? so battery reset will solve this problem for good? if it is, i'll try it.

Suprane · 07-07-2010, 03:34 PM

This happened to me today. Went to start the car in am, orange screen followed in a few seconds by blank screen. Radio works and idrive controller seemed to be working. Just blank screen. Kind of like disconnecting the video signal on a tv.
Restarted two times. No change. Still blank.
Drove it for a few miles. Restarted again. Still blank.
Was looking up the dealers number on my phone and started car..VOILA.. its back.
Not going to take it in unless it happens again.

rob612 · 07-07-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludeygirl

disconnected the battery and reconnected and the whole thing works now. I am pleased but what a faff thanks for the advice anyway still not sure about cleaning my car myself maybe will just let them handwash the outside and I will take responsibilty for the inside

please don;t take your e46 to a hand wash place..they usually give your car swirls... two bucket methods for hand washes are the best. takes a little longer but you'll be satisfied with the outcome.

btw im glad that your system works now.. I had the same thing happen to me on my other car.. sometimes they just need to be reset or worst case scenario..reprogrammed.

rob612 · 07-07-2010, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by skywalker562

it does it randomly. but usually weekends (don't know why but i guess my nav also wants to take some break) with open top. i noticed every ~30 seconds or so it blinks. with closed top, i haven't experienced it. any ideas? so battery reset will solve this problem for good? if it is, i'll try it.

sometimes it works.. sometimes it doesn't. if it doesn't work you may have to take it in to the dealer and have them reprogram it. it takes like 4-6 hours to reprogram but its covered under warranty.

quality_sound · 07-08-2010, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludeygirl

thanks I will try that ...does that mean I have to clean the car myself? I did find a thread that says you can reboot the satnav/computer by pushing and holding the volume button and the cd eject button for 5 secs but not sure if car is same model.If all else fails will try and disconnect and reconnect battery.
Just thought there might be on/off switch for screen that I didn't know about

Yes.

skywalker562 · 07-08-2010, 05:41 PM

Just a quick updates; i guess there are two (similar posts) regarding blank-out nav unit.
i took my car into a dealer near my place while it was blinking. They confirmed that what i was telling them is true and took the car in for service. i guess they haven’t figured it out what cause or trigger this blanking. So what BMW did? Just change the whole nav computer. That’s what the invoice told me. Anyway, after 3 weeks, it did it again. I recorded a short video and brought my car in to the same dealer. that was yesterday.

SA just contacted me that since they couldn’t duplicate the problem, their foreman wanted to drive my car for some period of time. (she told me the foreman will drive my M3 to his tome today and come back the next day). and of course I said no. What if he didn’t see it? it happens randomly. If he doesn’t see it, he will tell me it works find and come back when it happens. Right? M3 for a day drive? Man I want his job. what a joke.

I encountered BMW foreman at Sterling BMW and he’s a little kid probably just got out of a college. With different reasons, I had to let him test drive mine. Oh man. he beat the hell out of my car. Anyway, I told the SA that if it happens again (and I am pretty sure it will) I’ll bring the car in and the foreman or service manager whoever wants to check it out can ride with me.

Any ideas guys? I really hate to see my nav goes blank and come back every 30 seconds. and please don't tell me disconnect and reconnect my battery. i know it won't solve the problem...

JCtx · 07-08-2010, 06:40 PM

Let a freaking tech drive your car home, to see if the problem comes up? That's freaking unbelievable. I wouldn't have let them remove anything without trying a download first. If screen comes back, it's pretty darn obvious it's NOT the screen.

And yes, I'd definitely try cutting power to the system, but thru the fuses, rather than physically disconnecting the battery. If that doesn't do it, find a way to duplicate the issue before taking car again. Good luck.

skywalker562 · 07-09-2010, 11:49 AM

Thanks elp_jc~ that's what i did last time. they couldn't figuired it out and had to contact BMWNA and got PUMA case number. changed out entire Nav computer. and it did it again. so it's not Nav com fault. somewhere in the connection i believe. maybe top down hardware pinch or pushes some wires and cause short disconnection. don't know. i'll keep you guys updated. so weird. heard about BMW electronics problem but didn't think i would get one. bad luck i guess

JCtx · 07-09-2010, 05:47 PM

Good luck man. After a year of no problems, my speakers went mute, as in no stereo, no bluetooth, no nav commands, no nothing. After getting back to the car, everything fine. Hope it's not the beginning of an electronic glitch, like yours. The scary part is getting this kind of crap after warranty.

skywalker562 · 07-12-2010, 10:57 AM

yes i feel ya. that's what i am worrid about too. even under warranty, BMW dealers tried to avoid any type of warranty-related repairs like there is no tomorrow. lame excuses and "can't duplicated at this time" stuff. the best one i heard was that i have to drive my car everyday and if i miss even one day of driving it, the battery will cause some kinda of electric damage to my car. can you guess? even high school kids will laugh at that. (maybe not. but i would)

skywalker562 · 07-12-2010, 07:54 PM

Like i mentioned ealier (like yesterday), the nav act up justs after my long day work. i guess i can't enjoy simple sun w/ my top down. I called the dealer ahead of time to check if my SA was there. luckly she was there. i told her that i was heading her way and make sure foreman sees my car. once i got there, both of them were waiting for me. checked and varified that i was tellling them the truth and booked in for diago work. oh~ while i was waiting for the write-up, i noticed that there was M5. 1~2 yrs old. other SA started the car and while she was sitting in the car, the car shut off. XD she tried to strat the car again, it started. and a few secs later, it died. i guess that's why the owner brought it in for service.

it's faily big dealer. the SA told me all the loaners were gone, they have to put me into a rental car (or course they have to cover it) i had three choices. camry hybrid, nissan altima, and toyota prius. guess what i picked? prius. never had a chance to drove one. so. not fun car. but at least i was getting ~40 mpg w/ no shutting down screen. anyway, wish me luck guys. i love my car. if there was no electronics problem, i'd be a happy camper.

05-13-2010, 01:04 PM	#1
ludeygirl New Member 5 Rep 5 Posts Drives: m3 cabriolet Join Date: May 2010 Location: windsor iTrader: (0)	my screen has gone blank Hi I am new to this and have tried searching for what I think must be a very simple problem but can't find the answer. I have an m3 convertable and booked it in for a valet today realised when driving away that although the radio is working the whole screen is blank so can't access the computer sat nav etc. is there some simple button to push or is there some reset button for the computer. This is the second time this has happened and the first time it was going in for a service and they told me they had to reboot the computer.thank you would really appreciate help on this
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05-13-2010, 02:47 PM	#2
ersin Brigadier General 126 Rep 4,145 Posts Drives: 17 YMB F80 M3 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Maryland iTrader: (1)	Yikes! Don't let a valet touch it. Anyway, did you try hitting the menu button? Other than that I can't think of what to do. Cheers. __________________ 2017 F80 YMB.
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05-13-2010, 02:53 PM	#3
semperfi1776 Private 6 Rep 77 Posts Drives: 2009 M3 Coupe Silverstone Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Francisco iTrader: (0)	try clicking the idrvie knob, as in push it down like a mouse button +1 Don't let valet touch your car
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05-13-2010, 05:06 PM	#4
ludeygirl New Member 5 Rep 5 Posts Drives: m3 cabriolet Join Date: May 2010 Location: windsor iTrader: (0)	blank screen thanks I will try that ...does that mean I have to clean the car myself? I did find a thread that says you can reboot the satnav/computer by pushing and holding the volume button and the cd eject button for 5 secs but not sure if car is same model.If all else fails will try and disconnect and reconnect battery. Just thought there might be on/off switch for screen that I didn't know about
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05-14-2010, 04:52 PM	#5
ludeygirl New Member 5 Rep 5 Posts Drives: m3 cabriolet Join Date: May 2010 Location: windsor iTrader: (0)	Have tried pushing and holding various buttons nothing has worked I don't have idrive as my car is an e36 M3 2004/2005 model . Will probably have to resort to battery disconnection or book it in I suppose .
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05-15-2010, 01:32 AM	#8
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	well mine is E93 M3 (production yr:08) model. it happend couple of times when top is down. don't know why it did it. i took it to a dealer but they said couldn't find any error codes. any comments? Thank you guys~
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05-16-2010, 06:18 AM	#10
ludeygirl New Member 5 Rep 5 Posts Drives: m3 cabriolet Join Date: May 2010 Location: windsor iTrader: (0)	Yes my car is an e46 so what is the problem with sat nav and how do you fix it ? Thanks
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05-16-2010, 07:36 AM	#11
ludeygirl New Member 5 Rep 5 Posts Drives: m3 cabriolet Join Date: May 2010 Location: windsor iTrader: (0)	disconnected the battery and reconnected and the whole thing works now. I am pleased but what a faff thanks for the advice anyway still not sure about cleaning my car myself maybe will just let them handwash the outside and I will take responsibilty for the inside
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05-18-2010, 07:12 PM	#12
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	it does it randomly. but usually weekends (don't know why but i guess my nav also wants to take some break) with open top. i noticed every ~30 seconds or so it blinks. with closed top, i haven't experienced it. any ideas? so battery reset will solve this problem for good? if it is, i'll try it.
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07-07-2010, 03:34 PM	#13
Suprane Second Lieutenant 4 Rep 280 Posts Drives: 09 M3 E90 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Big D iTrader: (0)	This happened to me today. Went to start the car in am, orange screen followed in a few seconds by blank screen. Radio works and idrive controller seemed to be working. Just blank screen. Kind of like disconnecting the video signal on a tv. Restarted two times. No change. Still blank. Drove it for a few miles. Restarted again. Still blank. Was looking up the dealers number on my phone and started car..VOILA.. its back. Not going to take it in unless it happens again. __________________ 09 E90 M3 DCT SSII Carbon Blk, Eisenmann Sport, RAC 19"RG63 on 255/275 UltracS, Dark Sidemkrs/Reflectrs/Grills, BMC Filter, LUX H8 V3 LEDs, V1 H/W, Ultimate Pedals & 30% Tint
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07-08-2010, 05:41 PM	#17
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	Just a quick updates; i guess there are two (similar posts) regarding blank-out nav unit. i took my car into a dealer near my place while it was blinking. They confirmed that what i was telling them is true and took the car in for service. i guess they haven’t figured it out what cause or trigger this blanking. So what BMW did? Just change the whole nav computer. That’s what the invoice told me. Anyway, after 3 weeks, it did it again. I recorded a short video and brought my car in to the same dealer. that was yesterday. SA just contacted me that since they couldn’t duplicate the problem, their foreman wanted to drive my car for some period of time. (she told me the foreman will drive my M3 to his tome today and come back the next day). and of course I said no. What if he didn’t see it? it happens randomly. If he doesn’t see it, he will tell me it works find and come back when it happens. Right? M3 for a day drive? Man I want his job. what a joke. I encountered BMW foreman at Sterling BMW and he’s a little kid probably just got out of a college. With different reasons, I had to let him test drive mine. Oh man. he beat the hell out of my car. Anyway, I told the SA that if it happens again (and I am pretty sure it will) I’ll bring the car in and the foreman or service manager whoever wants to check it out can ride with me. Any ideas guys? I really hate to see my nav goes blank and come back every 30 seconds. and please don't tell me disconnect and reconnect my battery. i know it won't solve the problem...
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07-08-2010, 06:40 PM	#18
JCtx Major General 258 Rep 5,012 Posts Drives: No BMW yet Join Date: May 2008 Location: El Paso TX iTrader: (0)	Let a freaking tech drive your car home, to see if the problem comes up? That's freaking unbelievable. I wouldn't have let them remove anything without trying a download first. If screen comes back, it's pretty darn obvious it's NOT the screen. And yes, I'd definitely try cutting power to the system, but thru the fuses, rather than physically disconnecting the battery. If that doesn't do it, find a way to duplicate the issue before taking car again. Good luck.
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07-09-2010, 11:49 AM	#19
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	Thanks elp_jc~ that's what i did last time. they couldn't figuired it out and had to contact BMWNA and got PUMA case number. changed out entire Nav computer. and it did it again. so it's not Nav com fault. somewhere in the connection i believe. maybe top down hardware pinch or pushes some wires and cause short disconnection. don't know. i'll keep you guys updated. so weird. heard about BMW electronics problem but didn't think i would get one. bad luck i guess
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07-09-2010, 05:47 PM	#20
JCtx Major General 258 Rep 5,012 Posts Drives: No BMW yet Join Date: May 2008 Location: El Paso TX iTrader: (0)	Good luck man. After a year of no problems, my speakers went mute, as in no stereo, no bluetooth, no nav commands, no nothing. After getting back to the car, everything fine. Hope it's not the beginning of an electronic glitch, like yours. The scary part is getting this kind of crap after warranty.
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07-12-2010, 10:57 AM	#21
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	yes i feel ya. that's what i am worrid about too. even under warranty, BMW dealers tried to avoid any type of warranty-related repairs like there is no tomorrow. lame excuses and "can't duplicated at this time" stuff. the best one i heard was that i have to drive my car everyday and if i miss even one day of driving it, the battery will cause some kinda of electric damage to my car. can you guess? even high school kids will laugh at that. (maybe not. but i would)
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07-12-2010, 07:54 PM	#22
skywalker562 Private First Class 20 Rep 194 Posts Drives: 08 AW M3 E93 6MT Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: OC CA iTrader: (0)	Like i mentioned ealier (like yesterday), the nav act up justs after my long day work. i guess i can't enjoy simple sun w/ my top down. I called the dealer ahead of time to check if my SA was there. luckly she was there. i told her that i was heading her way and make sure foreman sees my car. once i got there, both of them were waiting for me. checked and varified that i was tellling them the truth and booked in for diago work. oh~ while i was waiting for the write-up, i noticed that there was M5. 1~2 yrs old. other SA started the car and while she was sitting in the car, the car shut off. XD she tried to strat the car again, it started. and a few secs later, it died. i guess that's why the owner brought it in for service. it's faily big dealer. the SA told me all the loaners were gone, they have to put me into a rental car (or course they have to cover it) i had three choices. camry hybrid, nissan altima, and toyota prius. guess what i picked? prius. never had a chance to drove one. so. not fun car. but at least i was getting ~40 mpg w/ no shutting down screen. anyway, wish me luck guys. i love my car. if there was no electronics problem, i'd be a happy camper.
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