- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
Topic
-
The radio in my 2009 Mini Cooper S just suddenly died. Working great on the drive to a store, on restarting the car the radio was dead. So too were the seat belt chimes, the display on the central speedometer (including the indication lights & some other internal features like the mood lighting).
This seems to be a common problem with few if any solutions other than replacing the head unit which is a pricey affair through the dealer.
My questions are:
1 – is it just a case of broken wiring somewhere & therefore no power getting to the unit? If so what to check?
2 – can I replace the head unit with a used one from a similar aged Mini & if so will it need reprogramming?
3 – will replacing it with an aftermarket stereo actually work?Thanks.
-
Replies
-
There seems to be something deeper going on than just the head unit, given all the other things that stopped working. I would suggest a full scan of all the modules in the car. Could be as simple as a blown fuse (although then you need to figure out why the fuse blew) or could be bad module or a number of things in between. Following good troubleshooting practices will lead you to the solution.
Thanks Dave. I checked the fuse for the radio & the fuse for what I *think* is the computer. Everything looked fine. From what I’ve seen in other posts elsewhere online it seems that the head unit is also the computer.
I also saw someone mention a possible issue with corroded wires for the 12V for CANBUS. So I will need to dig into that, which is actually what lead me to Eric The Car Guy’s site – as he did a carpet removal video for the Mini that I thought met shed some light on where the wiring is that I need to investigate.
Another thing that is odd is a warning light for the rear fog lights which has been going on for years, but the rear fog lights actually worked. When I checked them again yesterday they no longer work – however the bulbs in both sides are fine. So I’m wondering if this is related to the sudden loss of radio too.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.