This Stock Stereo Is Freaking Retarded! - BMW Forum

drifts14x · 03-22-2005, 12:25 PM

Hey there guys, I come to you because I'm having a problem. The other day I climbed into my Bimmer (525it) and realized that my G/F left some stupid tape in the deck, meaning the car would not go to radio until I took it out. I hit eject, the tape doesn't come out, so I get working at it with a screwdriver and some needlenose plyers and finally pull it out, all while constantly hitting eject. All is well I thought, but then it would still not switch over to Stereo, and putting another tape in, it would not play that either. Is there a way to reset this head unit to stop it from thinking I'm playing a tape, or do I have to buy a new head unit?

da_bull · 03-22-2005, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by drifts14x@Mar 22 2005, 12:25 PM
Hey there guys, I come to you because I'm having a problem. The other day I climbed into my Bimmer (525it) and realized that my G/F left some stupid tape in the deck, meaning the car would not go to radio until I took it out. I hit eject, the tape doesn't come out, so I get working at it with a screwdriver and some needlenose plyers and finally pull it out, all while constantly hitting eject. All is well I thought, but then it would still not switch over to Stereo, and putting another tape in, it would not play that either. Is there a way to reset this head unit to stop it from thinking I'm playing a tape, or do I have to buy a new head unit?

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Is this a soft loading cassette player? The kind that takes it out of your hand and a motor lowers it down, instead of the "clunk" type that is more mechanical. The soft loading while more pleasing to the ears loading a cassette, is REAL susceptable to things going wrong.

What happens is the radio still thinks there is a tape still in there, by way of a micro-switch that internally switches from FM to tape when it is inserted. The problem is that it may have been damaged.

I am not sure of a quick fix for this as there is a lot of moving parts and if one of those gets out of alignment, your off to the repair shop, or better yet if this is still 1992 technology, get you a new CD player for about what it would cost to have that one pulled, fixed, and reinstalled. Hope this helps...

rsn48 · 03-22-2005, 07:46 PM

You might try a radio from the junker from a toasted older Bimmer.

'89 635 csi · 03-22-2005, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rsn48@Mar 22 2005, 07:46 PM
You might try a radio from the junker from a toasted older Bimmer.

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The problem with that is getting the code!

da_bull · 03-22-2005, 09:52 PM

yeah, for the money, i would get an aftermarket. by the time you got the radio, paid to get the code, found out the radio doesnt work, go back to the salvage yard, swap for another one......you get the picture

Scotty Dangles · 03-22-2005, 11:07 PM

Go aftermarket.

If you want something that will match the interior of a BMW have a look at the Clarion decks, some of their higher-end models allow you to change their colours, one of the them happens to match the beemers orange colour perfectly. Also the head units are finished in a nice black aluminum, looks hot and they sound great!

Let me know if you have any questions.

Scott

drifts14x · 03-23-2005, 07:24 AM

I found a stock unit on ebay with the code, so hopefully I win that bid and it works, if not, I'm gonna have to go aftermarket, but I'd rather drive in silence then stand the embarassment of my G/F's current setup, this Home CD player on the passenger floor is just obnoxious!

kcosh · 03-23-2005, 08:18 PM

Had 85 325 with the same problem, if I took the unit out there was an slot on the bottom of the unit where I could take thin screwdriver sideways and slide the mechanism so that the carrige that holds the cassett releases. Although not sure if this might work on your model its definately worth a try. A dealer showed me this once, they were quite helpful. Maybe ask someone in service or just bring the radio in with you.