swake457

So the NAV on my 2005 RL went dark for the first time last night. I'll be more specific, the LCD itself appears to have the back light. Just none of the lower buttons, knob, menu, cancel, etc work. They do light up. After returning home I disconnected/reconnected the battery. Now the NAV boots to the blue logo screen and never past that. I did pull out the DVD and reinsert it. No luck. I'm thinking the NAV unit might be shot. Battery is almost 3 years old though, so I'm replacing that tonight just in case. Been there, done that with the gremlins a flaky battery can cause.

To cover all the bases I just want to make sure which fuse # belongs to the NAV and check it. None of the fuse panels or manuals actually say NAV. Since I do get a blue logo screen, the NAV does seem to be getting juice.

Anyone know what Alpine is getting these days for a repair to the NAV unit? I've only got 144K on the car, not ready to give it up yet.

oo7spy

Probably the most helpful thread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-b...-black-835164/

It's cheaper to buy a new (used) drive on eBay than it is to send it to Alpine.

swake457

Thanks 007. I had read through that thread. Looks like Fuse #7 is good. I did swap in a new battery last night also. It was three years old and sometimes you just never know. The NAV came back for about 10 minutes, after 10 minutes of "downloading software" first. But after moving the car to my regular parking spot, the NAV went black and never came back. I'm certain the unit is shot.

Called Alpine just to find out the current cost. They now want $475.00, not including S&H, and it's a 3-4 week turn around time.

I have an active eBay search alert set and waiting for a used NAV unit :-(

swake457

....actually, still on topic, I see at least a dozen units on eBay currently. Anywhere from $209 through $500. Some list "W/O code". I'm assuming they mean the NAV code.

Is it possible to find out the NAV code?

oo7spy

Should be. Ask the seller if they have the VIN.

merlin the wrench

If you press the three buttons together do you get the diagnostics screen? https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-b...v-unit-810509/

swake457

Tried that. Nada.
Occasionally a 'downloading software' screen appears and also 'Check disc'. One time the NAV actually came back for about 5 minutes. I checked the disc. I've only ever had it ejected once before I think. It's chock full of hairline scratches, even smaller than hairline.

Debating trying a new disc, or just biting the bullet and getting a used unit off eBay. If I can find an original 2005 DVD, I'll give that a shot first.

oo7spy

Given the different part numbers after 2005, I would have to guess they made improvements in the later years. I would go later if you could find one.

swake457

So this morning I hop in the car to head to work, and the normal NAV screen appears. I was able to get to the NAV diag screen for about a minute and the system checked out all green. But...where the system normally would show the disc version in the upper right hand corner it just showed as "Checking" for maybe a minute. Then it shutdown again.

I'm starting to really think this could be a disc issue.

Anyone know where I can get my hands on a copy of the 4.13 disc image? I see one torrent out there. I'd rather not buy it just for this test.

oo7spy

Ripping the DVD disk is a royal PITA. It would be more cost/time effective and painless to go mow lawns for 5 hours and buy a disc.

swake457

Yeah, that was a pain. Worth a try though. I think the unit may be ok though. I see a white 4.92 on eBay. Doesn't say 2005 though. I'm assuming that should work? It says RL, MDX, TL, etc but only 06 through 09? If I knew for sure the unit was fine I would just get the latest disc. Don't really need it though. I use Waze all the time. But I do want the NAV screen back :-) It's crazy that they made the screen dependent on the NAV unit and/or the disc.

oo7spy

After 4.31, you need the firmware update disc along with the maps disc.

swake457

Quick update...The unit I bought off eBay arrived today. Took about an hour all total to pull out the old NAV and install the "new" unit. Most of that time was just because it's awkward working in the small space of the trunk. Once the unit was in, I powered up the car and the nav screen came on right away. It had to sync up with satellites for a few minutes, but that was all. The eBay listing said no nav disc was included, but I lucked out. After pressing the eject button, I was happy to see a 4.92 disc slide out. That's good enough for me :-)

oo7spy

:thumbsup

Gonna move this to the Navigation sub forum since everything is resolved.