Sat Nav lost its direction

Hi All, New member, first ever post so apologies if I have broken any rules or matters of courtesy.
My Range Rover Vogue LR322 (04 petrol V8 4.4 BMW) sat nav knows exactly where the car is (LATITUDE / LONGITUDE) but can’t fix which direction it is pointing in. Whilst driving, the direction arrow (top right) and the small pointer showing the cars location on the map, continuously slowly rotate through 360 degrees. It will search and find a route and the distance to the destination is always correct but it gives completely wrong directions because it doesn’t know which way the car is traveling. I have solved so many problems through sites like this and I cannot find any answers or solutions on this at all and my RR dealer has responded with the standard corporate 'never heard of that before'
[FONT=&quot]Any guidance would be greatly appreciated
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Maybe up date the firmware or if disc based replace it as it's out of date that's what had to be done on two German cars know off. (BM & Merc)

Direction can only be detected while the vehicle is moving. If it cannot work out what way you're going in it means it is losing your last known location. You'll need to find an update as the software is corrupt.

You could try hard resetting the SatNav first. Chances are it won't fix the problem but on the off chance it does you save yourself the cost of updating the software.

Thanks for the rapid help and interest. I should have said this initially, I have removed fuse 49 and refitted it and it clears the problem temporarily (is this resetting the nav system as you have suggested? or is there another way I need to do it?). After pulling the fuse the system works and the small direction arrow sits in one position as it always has. It may be the wrong position but it quickly detects the right position once you are moving. After a short while the problem returns and has the direction arrow rotating permanently even when stationary. The arrow keeps rotating whilst driving even though it knows what road the car is located on and exactly where the car is located on the particular road. How do I obtain a firm-wear update? is this a CD that you insert in the navigation drive? The system is CD based. Do I need to go to the main dealer? I have bought quite a few RR's over the years from the same main dealer and had a great relationship with them but they recently sold to 'Sytner' and since then they don't seem to have a clue about problems or about customer service. Most of the staff that were there for years have now bailed out and moved on. I have had the car from new, its done 130k miles its not worth a great deal but it is still a great car in great condition and I now only use this car for taking the dogs out twice each day, kids to and from rugby, bikes out, shooting etc. I intend to run it until it dies completely. I have a newer diesel RR that I use most of the time. I would like to fix it without having to throw too much money at it but if need be I would be happy to replace the satnav unit but cant find one that is a direct swap for the Vogue SE system to integrate with, TV, Logic 7 amplifiers etc (it's the original VOGUE SE SPEC) I guess RR would have an OEM replacement but I'd bet its a very painfully expensive solution.

I believe there is a little gyro in the unit that it uses for intertial reference if it has lost a GPS signal....

If this little gyro isn't spinning fast enough it could be giving wrong turn information to the unit (Speed and Direction of travel is from the Wheel Speed Sensors) and hence why even at a standstill your 'car' turns on the map....

Maybe...!!

There is a hidden menu on the Nav Unit to see the speed of the gyro...

I'll see if I can find the information!

EDIT: Blurry but you can just make out the Gyro Speed reading...

Follow the attached link to find out how to access (I know it is a BMW Site, but it is the same system) http://www.bimmernav.com/Advanced_P...of_the_BMW_Widescreen_Navigation_Display.html

Saint.V8 said:

I believe there is a little gyro in the unit that it uses for intertial reference if it has lost a GPS signal....

If this little gyro isn't spinning fast enough it could be giving wrong turn information to the unit (Speed and Direction of travel is from the Wheel Speed Sensors) and hence why even at a standstill your 'car' turns on the map....

Maybe...!!

There is a hidden menu on the Nav Unit to see the speed of the gyro...

I'll see if I can find the information!

EDIT: Blurry but you can just make out the Gyro Speed reading...

Follow the attached link to find out how to access (I know it is a BMW Site, but it is the same system) BMW Navigation Advanced Menu settings

Click to expand...

Is that right Ant? Speed and direction of travel on most if not all Sat Navs is deduced from the changing Lat/Lon calculation from the position inf derived from the satellites.
The Gyro I believe is to allow the system to bridge short term loss of signal as when going through a tunnel, in that situation it may also use speed from the cars sensors.

Datatek said:

Is that right Ant? Speed and direction of travel on most if not all Sat Navs is deduced from the changing Lat/Lon calculation from the position inf derived from the satellites.
The Gyro I believe is to allow the system to bridge short term loss of signal as when going through a tunnel, in that situation it may also use speed from the cars sensors.

Click to expand...

Thats what I said Keith....

I believe there is a little gyro in the unit that it uses for intertial reference if it has lost a GPS signal....

Click to expand...

Saint.V8 said:

Thats what I said Keith....

Click to expand...

Bugger, I read inertial as initial Even so the gyro should be irrelevant if it has a signal

Datatek said:

Bugger, I read inertial as initial Even so the gyro should be irrelevant if it has a signal

Click to expand...

Very True...

Not sure on the redundnacy checks it goes through...the OP states the symbol spins even whilst driving and tracks the road it is on...

There are only a couple of things I can think of -

a) The Nav unit isn't getting a GPS signal at all (indicated by a Grey Line through the Symbol at the top right corner of the screen) and is relying on the Inertial system for turn and direction information....most nav systems will 'Snap' the car to a road if it is within X distance thereof

or

b) The Nav system is getting a GPS signal, but the Gyro is giving spurious signals and the Nav unit doesn't know which one it should use for reference and as such follows the road but the symbol spins....this is summising the unit doesn't have 'error checking' of the two systems then picks the most 'logical' based on Inertial and GPS feedback and as such it doesn't know which one to 'believe' so it displays Inertial reference information AND GPS tracking at the same time.....

Saint.V8 said:

Very True...

Not sure on the redundnacy checks it goes through...the OP states the symbol spins even whilst driving and tracks the road it is on...

There are only a couple of things I can think of -

a) The Nav unit isn't getting a GPS signal at all (indicated by a Grey Line through the Symbol at the top right corner of the screen) and is relying on the Inertial system for turn and direction information....most nav systems will 'Snap' the car to a road if it is within X distance thereof

or

b) The Nav system is getting a GPS signal, but the Gyro is giving spurious signals and the Nav unit doesn't know which one it should use for reference and as such follows the road but the symbol spins....this is summising the unit doesn't have 'error checking' of the two systems then picks the most 'logical' based on Inertial and GPS feedback and as such it doesn't know which one to 'believe' so it displays Inertial reference information AND GPS tracking at the same time.....

Click to expand...

You are most probably right Ant but it could also be flash memory corruption.

Datatek said:

You are most probably right Ant but it could also be flash memory corruption.

Click to expand...

That is the most likely....

To the OP, due to the age of the system, you may not be able to get hold of the update discs anymore....

You can change the CD based system for the Mk4 DVD based system from an X5 or E39 5 Series or a Late E38 7'er.....and it is plug and play

Some BMW derived units have the BMW splash screen and can be re-flashed with the Land Rover or Range Rover Splash Screen....

This site does a recent update for the DVD based system (MK4) only....

Software downloads

Bmwnavigation.co.uk do a firmware update for the mk3 nav. Or you can burn your own cd at neiloakley.com

If it's any help I got an update disc from ebay but as far as I'm aware they run along the same frequency as hen's teeth.

Hi All, many thanks for all the knowledge and time you are sharing here, it is really appreciated. I am going to take the car out today and run the Gyro test SaintV8 suggested. I have downloaded the firmware and will try that next but I am thinking fitting a MK4 unit may be the way forward however a couple more questions. Is it just the drive unit in the boot that needs changing and nothing at the head unit? Is the Gyro located in the drive unit? If the Gyro is elsewhere I will possibly have the same problem with the MK4 unit.

hademforyears said:

Hi All, many thanks for all the knowledge and time you are sharing here, it is really appreciated. I am going to take the car out today and run the Gyro test SaintV8 suggested. I have downloaded the firmware and will try that next but I am thinking fitting a MK4 unit may be the way forward however a couple more questions. Is it just the drive unit in the boot that needs changing and nothing at the head unit? Is the Gyro located in the drive unit? If the Gyro is elsewhere I will possibly have the same problem with the MK4 unit.

Click to expand...

I think it is in the Nav unit.....The Mk4 is plug and play so no need to change anything other than the unit in the boot....

Can be had from Ebizle - but budget for between £300-400 for a servicable unit.....and make sure you get the map discs with it!