dave_r

New Member
Anyone got any clever ideas on how to sort this out, its on a 2001 P38

Sat Nav was working fine on the car until 3 weeks ago and now it doesnt want to have the cd in. The CD is being taken into the unit but then ejected again and constantly does this. As a result the screen shows the location of the car but no maps appear in the off road option and it wont load the road navigation option at all.

Is it a replacement unit I need or is there a clever fix for this?

Any help much appreciated.

Thanks Dave
 
Thought that myself and so took out the unit the other day. Is loading the CD right into the unit and there appears to be nothing wrong with the mechanicals. I've also tested the micro switches that the loading mechanism operates and they are all ok. My thinking is that the laser has gone but there are some comments on other forums saying that the laser can be reset but I cant find anything detailing this.
 
If it uses the BMW I-BUS unit (I think the 2001 model may do), then you can buy a unit quite easily on ebay, fairly cheaply, as they were interchangeable in the years when BMW owned Land Rover. Earlier CARIN models sadly aren't, but come up now and then on ebay. Not worth paying new prices for what was not a good satnav in the first place. The IBUS units were quite good and can also be replaced directly with the Mk4 DVD units instead of the CD, it depends on whether you have the IBUS or the CARIN unit. The laser can apparently be easily replaced with a SONY laser using rudimentary soldering skills - costs about £40 for the kit. Not sure which website has the kits, will try to find the link for you.
 
Ta, any obvious signs to find out which one mine is? As I say its a 2001 p38 which has the same sat nav screen in the dash as all other p38's.
 
Have a look at photos of the BMW units on ebay, and compare with yours. The screen doesn't really make any difference re the main units - compare the unit itself directly with photos of the IBUS units used in BMW X5s, 5 series and a few more, from 2001 to 2007. You may be lucky and find its a BMW IBUS unit in your car rather than the old CARIN units, although BMW may only have changed from the very early L322 onwards. .
 
Well had a look and its identical to the mk3 sat nav units shown for the BMW's. The back of the unit is also the same. I assume changing to the mk4 unit would have issues with the screen though as it uses colour and the screen in the RR in green only.
 
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Looks like you're in luck then - at least for a Mk3 unit - they are sold fairly cheaply and are plug n play. For software upgrades you could try Mick on eurosatnav.com - I think he may have info on the laser kits as well.
 
Thought I'd put an update on here for anyone else who may have the problem any time.

The issue seams to be with the system that holds the CD in and starts reading it beign faulty. Mine is as thought the later Mk3 unit which is used in BMW's until 2005. You can buy a replacement unit on ebay etc but I have found a place in Birmingham that will repair the old unit either by post, you can drop the unit in or as in my case they will come out (so long as your in B'ham) and repair it there for you. The cost is fixed for this fault at £149 and this includes an upgrade to the latest software which also gives post code search.

I'm getting mine done next week while I'n in the office there so will see how it goes but sounds ok so far.
 
Hi all, this is my first cry for help here.
Sat nav in my 2000 Vogue has had this fault since I got the car 5 years ago.
Dealer can't advise nor can after market fitters.
CD loads fine, unit switches on fine, but when the rotary knob is pressed to select Road navigation, get an orange message on screen, "wait while loading" then this disappears and road navigation option goes blank leaving the others still there, Off Road & Set. They work OK .
This fault sometimes vanishes after a few weeks and the satnav seems to work OK for a while before going on strike again. Oh, if the ignition is swtched off for a few minutes the system seems to recover and displays the Road Navigation option again but it of course evaporates as above as soon as one tries to select it.
I went behind/above the satnav unit in the boot and removed and replaced the plugs that are there but this didn't make any difference. It has been playing dead for longer this time than ever before.
I don't wish to spend any serious money on sorting this, because portables are so cheap and better now, but it would be nice to have the thing working for when I try to get rid of the car. It's the only bit that doesn't still work!
over & out.
ET
 
Thought I'd put an update on here for anyone else who may have the problem any time.

The issue seams to be with the system that holds the CD in and starts reading it beign faulty. Mine is as thought the later Mk3 unit which is used in BMW's until 2005. You can buy a replacement unit on ebay etc but I have found a place in Birmingham that will repair the old unit either by post, you can drop the unit in or as in my case they will come out (so long as your in B'ham) and repair it there for you. The cost is fixed for this fault at £149 and this includes an upgrade to the latest software which also gives post code search.

I'm getting mine done next week while I'n in the office there so will see how it goes but sounds ok so far.

Hi, my dad has just got a disco which seems to have the same fault. The car came without a cd in the system, so got a disk of ebay. Tried it in the unit but it keeps being rejected after a few seconds. The screen just says" insert cd". Did you get the unit fixed?
If so, have you the contact details of the company as he wants to fix it.
Any help would be most appreciated.
 

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