Battery Died, Radio Won't Turn Off & SteerWheel Audio Controls Unresponsive
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 5
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From: Libertyville, IL
2008 E350 4Matic Estate
Battery Died, Radio Won't Turn Off & SteerWheel Audio Controls Unresponsive
Not sure which is a symptom or which is the cause...please help!
Car was dead/battery died this morning. I jumped it, drove a good 45 miles on highway, runs fine & started fine at lunchtime. The keyfob lock/unlock works, the steering wheel buttons access all the menus OK, the radio & Sirius work & HVAC and most functions close when car is locked...
EXCEPT the radio. it stays on when car is shut down & locked....AND the volume and station-select functions on steering wheel do not work at all (but those same buttons are fine for all the menu-selection functions!).
Controlling volume, on/off, LCD display on head unit and everything else via the audio/nav head-unit are fine, and THAT display shows the names of the Sirius stations & programming info shows just like normal. But the LCD display under the speedo does NOT show the station being played, it says "Audio...".
I'm guessing/HOPING that a simple reset of some kind might fix it...any ideas? It's not a simple "buttons on wheel don't work/got disconnected" situation, as they work fine when navigating the settings/menus/trip calculators/etc.. But it didn't ask for an audio code or anything, either...and for all I know, the radio issue CAUSED the dead battery vs. these things all happening after/because of the battery 'disconnnect'?
I searched the forum...pretty thoroughly, I believe, but all I see is this cropping up with aftermarket systems, not the factory head-unit (that is otherwise fully functional!). Thanks for any help you wanna throw my way!
Dean
Car was dead/battery died this morning. I jumped it, drove a good 45 miles on highway, runs fine & started fine at lunchtime. The keyfob lock/unlock works, the steering wheel buttons access all the menus OK, the radio & Sirius work & HVAC and most functions close when car is locked...
EXCEPT the radio. it stays on when car is shut down & locked....AND the volume and station-select functions on steering wheel do not work at all (but those same buttons are fine for all the menu-selection functions!).
Controlling volume, on/off, LCD display on head unit and everything else via the audio/nav head-unit are fine, and THAT display shows the names of the Sirius stations & programming info shows just like normal. But the LCD display under the speedo does NOT show the station being played, it says "Audio...".
I'm guessing/HOPING that a simple reset of some kind might fix it...any ideas? It's not a simple "buttons on wheel don't work/got disconnected" situation, as they work fine when navigating the settings/menus/trip calculators/etc.. But it didn't ask for an audio code or anything, either...and for all I know, the radio issue CAUSED the dead battery vs. these things all happening after/because of the battery 'disconnnect'?
I searched the forum...pretty thoroughly, I believe, but all I see is this cropping up with aftermarket systems, not the factory head-unit (that is otherwise fully functional!). Thanks for any help you wanna throw my way!
Dean
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 5
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From: Libertyville, IL
2008 E350 4Matic Estate
Will do so when I get home tonite, thanks!
Any other "reset procedures" I should do after I reconnect? with my older W210, I had to turn wheel left/right, lock-2-lock, and run windows & sunroof full up, full down (and hold button for a bit when locked in each direction, etc. (while key was turned to position 1 or something..not engine-on). But i thought that wasn't as much a thing with W211s as it was w/W210s...what do you advise?
Any other "reset procedures" I should do after I reconnect? with my older W210, I had to turn wheel left/right, lock-2-lock, and run windows & sunroof full up, full down (and hold button for a bit when locked in each direction, etc. (while key was turned to position 1 or something..not engine-on). But i thought that wasn't as much a thing with W211s as it was w/W210s...what do you advise?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Libertyville, IL
2008 E350 4Matic Estate
sorry to get back so late, but Konistiger's "remove Hum, disconnect battery for a few minutes (+), reconnect battery" procedure worked perfectly! Everything's perfect, and to be safe, I did all the windows lock to lock (and hold) & steering wheel turns...though I think that's mostly for older models
I've had the hum for a long time, this is the first time it may have acted up, and I've left it plugged into obd for weeks between drives & everything's fine. I'm thinking that the battery died because I or my son did something to leave the cabin power on overnight, NOT the hum itself...though the hum's presence DID affect how everything booted up.
I have a theory for what I did to cause it; our BMW makes you push the start button twice to shut off radio when parking; if you turn engine off & get out of car, close door...the stereo stays on forever, or until you lock the car w/your fob. So I get used to pushing the start button TWICE (with foot off brake) when exiting the X3, to be safe with the radio. THEN, I've caught myself a few times up pushing the E350 start button twice when parking/shutting down, too, and THAT turns the radio 'permanently' ON...the opposite of the X3. I've always caught it...maybe I didn't this time.
Thanks for your help!
Dean
I've had the hum for a long time, this is the first time it may have acted up, and I've left it plugged into obd for weeks between drives & everything's fine. I'm thinking that the battery died because I or my son did something to leave the cabin power on overnight, NOT the hum itself...though the hum's presence DID affect how everything booted up.
I have a theory for what I did to cause it; our BMW makes you push the start button twice to shut off radio when parking; if you turn engine off & get out of car, close door...the stereo stays on forever, or until you lock the car w/your fob. So I get used to pushing the start button TWICE (with foot off brake) when exiting the X3, to be safe with the radio. THEN, I've caught myself a few times up pushing the E350 start button twice when parking/shutting down, too, and THAT turns the radio 'permanently' ON...the opposite of the X3. I've always caught it...maybe I didn't this time.
Thanks for your help!
Dean
