badhank

I have a strange and annoying problem with my integrated Sirius Satellite radio in my 2004 545i. When listening to the Satellite radio, the audio system will automatically switch to the FM tuner (one minute I'm listening to Sirius and within less than a second, I'm listening the last station I tuned in on the FM radio). This problem typically occurs under harder acceleration and/or cornering with acceleration. The BMW dealer claims it's the Satellite module; however, I'm only under the CPO warranty at this point and the car's audio system is not covered under that warranty.

Has anyone seen this problem?

My initial guess was this was related to a loose cable, but maybe it's a short inside the Satellite module. BMW treats the module as a black box and does not troubleshoot it deeper than the complete module itself. If it's a problem specific to the Satellite module, I wonder why the car switches back to the FM Tuner? Maybe that's a default setting if a module gets unplugged or is no longer recognized by the system??? Not sure what's going on. I did some searching on the forum and saw serveral posts related to Satellite installation; however, not much regarding Satellite problems / malfunctions.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

tom @ eas

This issue was fixed in progman 27.1, you will need a software update (SIB about this subject).

545felix

the radio jumps back to FM if there's a loss of signal from the source it's playing, I can easily replicate this if I flip the mode switch on my dension while it's playing something. Mine is accompanied by a lengthy pause in sound, however.

you may have a cracked fiber cable somewhere, or it may be as simple as a loose connection on the sat module, located in the left rear trunk area. first thing I'd do is make sure the fiber connection on the sat unit is snapped into place. you should also check the cd changer- it's on the fiber loop too, and if any device breaks the chain, you could see that behavior.

have you had any work done in the trunk or near the glove box recently?

EDIT: or, check your software version as tom mentioned as I was typing up this post. I have V30 so I won't be able to replicate your problem.

badhank

Thanks for the heads-up Tom. I did a little research and found a version history for PROGMAN (file attached) and I do see that version 27 includes a comment which states "ipod switch to FM". Hopefully that also applied to the Satellite radio switching to FM.

Do you have any suggestion for asking the dealership to perform and update to the software?

I'll check my Progman version tonight and try to confirm that I do in fact have an older version of the software.

badhank

Felix, Thanks for the suggestions. It would be nice if a software update fixed the problem; however, it's pretty suspicious that problem arises under harder acceleration and cornering while accelerating. Personally, I think these point to a problem with connectivity or a problem internal to the module. Thanks for suggesting a check into the CD changer in the glovebox in addition to the Sat module. I didn't realize they were connected on a single loop.

I'll try to check these tonight and post an update if I find anything with loose connections.

tom @ eas

If under warranty, simply bring up the issue - it can be a progman issue or faulty receiver.

badhank

Quick update regarding the Satellite radio problem. The problem appears to be linked to the "fiber loop" (optical) in the vehicle. While troubleshooting a re-occuring failure with my dynamic drive system (which would also cut out periodically when accelerating) they found an optical connection that was loose and letting light out. At least that's how they described it to me. So far everything (including my Satellite radio problem) appears to be fixed and back to normal.