technical help required please - car radios...

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

OK, we have the 'new' car and it has a non-standard BMW car radio. The car is a 13 year old BMW 330d touring and the car radio is an Alpine CDE-173BT.

We can't get the radio to see any USB device at all and it is meant to be able to and power them as well. It is meant to be able to see and power either of iPod classics (both should be compatible by the alpine website), my mobile phone as a USB device or any USB stick with MP3s on it.

We get the same 'error message' and I use quotes for a reason, for everything - no device. It is the same 'error message' you get if there is nothing plugged in at all, hence my suspicion that there is no power getting to the USB port at all.

Bluetooth connection does work with phones btw, as does the auxiliary jack (which we could use but is annoying if you get my meaning - I would like to be able to power the iPod from the car radio if possible).

Does anyone know enough about either the wiring on the BMW 330d or the Alpine radio to give me a few areas to try please? I appreciate it could be an internal radio wiring issue, but I suspect it is a connector issue at the back to the radio (I have seen this once before many years ago). Anyone any thoughts please?

Alpine Radio Link
http://www.alpine.co.uk/p/Products/bluetooth-and-usb8/cde-173bt

Alpine Radio Manual direct link (to pdf file)
http://www.alpine.co.uk/fileadmin/u...r_audio_manuals/CDE-173BT/OM_CDE-173BT_EN.pdf

 

[Markymark]

Do you have anything that runs off USB power or a USB stick that lights up when plugged in? It would at least eliminate whether it is a power issue or something else.

 

[CopperCyclist]

It's a BMW so will only work properly if you fiddle with it while doing 80mph+ in the outside lane of a motorway, with no cars to the left of you.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Do you have anything that runs off USB power or a USB stick that lights up when plugged in? It would at least eliminate whether it is a power issue or something else.

Usually the USB stick side lights up and whilst I don't know for definite that it did not, the iPod certain did not even register that it had been plugged into anything and we have the correct lead for it as well (the Alpine one which works just fine on my laptop and opens iTunes etc).

 

[coffeejo]

See what happens if you use the indicators? You know, the lever by the steering column, covered in dust...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It's a BMW so will only work properly if you fiddle with it while doing 80mph+ in the outside lane of a motorway, with no cars to the left of you.

it is also an estate, automatic with cruise control and with 'privacy' glass!

at least we no longer drive an Audi, look on the bright side of things...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

See what happens if you use the indicators? You know, the lever by the steering column, covered in dust...

you had already requested that we have those removed, so I'm vetoing that suggestion with my moderations powers!

 

[coffeejo]

you had already requested that we have those removed, so I'm vetoing that suggestion with my moderations powers!

I just asked if they'd been fitted. T'was your hubby that said he'd get them removed!

 

[w00hoo_kent]

On a 13 year old motor I'd just buy a cigarette lighter charger and live with it. It's almost definitely something dead in the radio. I can't imagine it has a separate power feed coming in at the back just for the USB. I suppose there _might_ be a fuse somewhere but again, unlikely.

Can you ask the previous owner if it ever worked?

 

[w00hoo_kent]

I just asked if they'd been fitted. T'was your hubby that said he'd get them removed!

I presume being a Beemer they are an optional extra, like wheels were.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

On a 13 year old motor I'd just buy a cigarette lighter charger and live with it. It's almost definitely something dead in the radio. I can't imagine it has a separate power feed coming in at the back just for the USB. I suppose there _might_ be a fuse somewhere but again, unlikely.

Can you ask the previous owner if it ever worked?

The radio is much newer, considerably so. The cigarette lighter will be in use when I am in the car for the heated seat cover I need to use for my bad back - its the only way I can sit in any car. I could get a splitter for that, but I need to be careful with space and the likes around the gear lever hence why I would prefer to see if I can 'fix' or resolve the issue first rather than try to find ways around it at this stage. There is not a rear 12v connector for passengers in this model of the vehicle, only another one in the boot which is too far away to run my heated seat off.

Asking the previous owner is not possible - it was purchased through a garage and it is not worth the cost of the radio to go back up to Lancaster to get them to check it out (over an hour each way). It would be cheaper to replace the radio, but I need to ascertain that it is not a wiring issue at the rear of the radio (so the car is not supplying power on a certain connector) hence me asking if anyone know anything technical about either the car or the radio...

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

[QUOTE 3839431, member: 259"]Nice car by the way, SNSSO [/QUOTE]
thanks
[QUOTE 3839431, member: 259"]Just what I was going to say. You can get one for a couple of quid.[/QUOTE]
but it is already in use

 

[Profpointy]

proper apple i-pods often (deliberately) won't charge if plugged into non-Apple chargers so it's as likely Apple's corporate trickery as BMW issue

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

[QUOTE 3839441, member: 259"]You can get one with two outputs for a pound more.[/QUOTE]
there is limited space between the gear lever and the 12v port and I would like to fix the issue rather than come up with a work around. For all I know the cabling is there and it is an easy fix. I know on one of my vehicles it was simply a case of fitting an adaptor at the rear of the radio to get a feature working and again it was a power issue then. If I can fix it for a few pounds I would prefer to.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

If the radio can't be fixed, I've something like this in mine which works well and the long lead (mine's hard wired because Peugeot lighter sockets are stupid) allows you to choose the location.

proper apple i-pods often (deliberately) won't charge if plugged into non-Apple chargers so it's as likely Apple's corporate trickery as BMW issue

Not if non-Apple stuff also isn't working though.