Pcm Problems

[oskibear]

My new-to-me 2006 997 came with the PCM problem "system error: Navigation system not available". To be fair I got such a good deal, that I can't complain. The non-porsche dealer thought that perhaps the disc was missing... They tried to stick another disc in but it seems (feels) like there is one in there already. Pressing the eject button does nothing. There seems to be some noise from it so it appears to be getting power. I'm hoping there is a "reset" button or a manual eject, like the little hole on a laptop disc drive... I am hoping to avoid the OPC while my wallet recovers from the initial pain.

The main/trip SW screen says:

SW version 3.2

Unit: Navigation system

Target: /

Actual:___________/__________

Entered: yes

Found: no

Any suggestions from the collective?

[utkinpol]

My new-to-me 2006 997 came with the PCM problem "system error: Navigation system not available". To be fair I got such a good deal, that I can't complain. The non-porsche dealer thought that perhaps the disc was missing... They tried to stick another disc in but it seems (feels) like there is one in there already. Pressing the eject button does nothing. There seems to be some noise from it so it appears to be getting power. I'm hoping there is a "reset" button or a manual eject, like the little hole on a laptop disc drive... I am hoping to avoid the OPC while my wallet recovers from the initial pain.

The main/trip SW screen says:

SW version 3.2

Unit: Navigation system

Target: /

Actual:___________/__________

Entered: yes

Found: no

Any suggestions from the collective?

It should be able to give disk back... That eject button - does it light up when you turn car`s ignition on?

Check if unit gets power, then check if optical ring is intact - good way would be to disconnect optical cable from DVD unit and attach bypass loop to it so this way you can check if PCM will tell it broken or not.

All you can do without tools is probably to make sure unit gets power, for rest you may need to surrender to your dealer and this is not a warranty work.

'actual' line should have nimber like 00179606/3306 or something like that and not be blank. NAV error upon PCM startup usually signifies that optical ring is broken - disconnect battery, then disconnect optical cable from DVD then connect back battery, trn on PCM and see what errors it gives out, then disconnect negative wire from battery again, connect everything back to DVD unit, connect back and turn PCM on and compare errors - if they are same then it is optical ring. Check that optical wire. May be it simply got disconnected from DVD. would also worth to check connection behind PCM but it is not easy to reach.

Edited April 23, 2010 by utkinpol

[number9ine]

My new-to-me 2006 997 came with the PCM problem "system error: Navigation system not available". To be fair I got such a good deal, that I can't complain. The non-porsche dealer thought that perhaps the disc was missing... They tried to stick another disc in but it seems (feels) like there is one in there already. Pressing the eject button does nothing. There seems to be some noise from it so it appears to be getting power. I'm hoping there is a "reset" button or a manual eject, like the little hole on a laptop disc drive... I am hoping to avoid the OPC while my wallet recovers from the initial pain.

The main/trip SW screen says:

SW version 3.2

Unit: Navigation system

Target: /

Actual:___________/__________

Entered: yes

Found: no

Any suggestions from the collective?

It should be able to give disk back... That eject button - does it light up when you turn car`s ignition on?

Check if unit gets power, then check if optical ring is intact - good way would be to disconnect optical cable from DVD unit and attach bypass loop to it so this way you can check if PCM will tell it broken or not.

All you can do without tools is probably to make sure unit gets power, for rest you may need to surrender to your dealer and this is not a warranty work.

'actual' line should have nimber like 00179606/3306 or something like that and not be blank. NAV error upon PCM startup usually signifies that optical ring is broken - disconnect battery, then disconnect optical cable from DVD then connect back battery, trn on PCM and see what errors it gives out, then disconnect negative wire from battery again, connect everything back to DVD unit, connect back and turn PCM on and compare errors - if they are same then it is optical ring. Check that optical wire. May be it simply got disconnected from DVD. would also worth to check connection behind PCM but it is not easy to reach.

+1 on all of this. It may be easier to troubleshoot if you remove the plastic cover altogether, it's just a few hex screws and will give you un-fettered access to the back of the DVD unit.

The optical ring utkinpol refers to are the orange fiber-optic cables, there will be two of them coming from your unit. does the car have Bose or a CD Changer? If you have either or both and the MOST loop (optical ring) is compromised, they'll all exhibit problems of some sort. Do other functions on your radio work at ths time?

[utkinpol]

another hint about optical ring - if when you press main+trip all other items also do not show up proper versions - that means it is broken.

of course it makes sense if you have any other devices sitting on it like cd changer, bose amp, etc. if it is a none-bose system with nav and pcm head unit only then it is more difficult to establish.

one more thing nevertheless - when you disconnect those optical cables from DVD and turn on pcm one of those cables should light up. if both are black with no light and PCM is on - that means it gets no signal from PCM.

Edited April 23, 2010 by utkinpol

[oskibear]

Thanks for the great suggestions, but I must say that while I am mechanically inclined, electronics are not my strong suite.

It appears there is power to the plug, and at least one of the optical cables lights up.

I pulled the entire DVD unit out and even opened up the unit (997.642.137.02, Model BE 6647) and have stripped it down to the 3.5 DVD drive. There is a disc in it, but despite the work, it still won't eject (there are two small vertical bars that somehow retract before the DVD can pop out).

Can Porsche or some other high-end audio shop bench test these things? I suspect that I have a bad unit and it may be around the power input, which it does not seem getting...

I do have the Bose stereo and the CD (in the dash), the Ipod connection and all other elements work fine...

Edited April 25, 2010 by oskibear

[berty987]

Sounds like someone got the CD changer and Navi mixed up and put a CD in the DVD drive or put an old version map DVD in the unit before selling. The DVD unit has permanent power and a wake up from the PCM. All I can suggest is holding the eject button whilst re instating power to the DVD drive by replacing the plug, you may be fortunate that this allows the unit to give up the disc. I've had a few close calls with the PCM where an incompatable disc has become "locked " in the drive. In most cases a bit of patience has paid off where the disc ejected after holding in the eject on power up. There is also a reset procedure you can try which involves pressing and holding 1 4 8 together. Porsche approach will be labour and parts to fit a new DVD drive.

[number9ine]

Thanks for the great suggestions, but I must say that while I am mechanically inclined, electronics are not my strong suite.

It appears there is power to the plug, and at least one of the optical cables lights up.

I pulled the entire DVD unit out and even opened up the unit (997.642.137.02, Model BE 6647) and have stripped it down to the 3.5 DVD drive. There is a disc in it, but despite the work, it still won't eject (there are two small vertical bars that somehow retract before the DVD can pop out).

Can Porsche or some other high-end audio shop bench test these things? I suspect that I have a bad unit and it may be around the power input, which it does not seem getting...

I do have the Bose stereo and the CD (in the dash), the Ipod connection and all other elements work fine...

iPod connection, you say? Do you know what type you have? The only MOST-compatible options for PCM 2.1 were aftermarket, so it's entirely possible that unit is throwing a wrench in the works. Everything else (including the OEM Porsche connection) are based on an FM modulator.

All the MOST (fiber-optic) iPod solutions essentially emulate a CD changer, and therefore have to take the changer's specific place in the MOST loop order. If the unit was installed outside of this order it may cause issues.

[berty987]

If you press MAIN and TRIP buttons together you get a service menu displayed. Each of the items on the MOST (fibre optic) ring is displayed with a target and actual value. If there are items in the wrong sequence or with faults there will be a warning triangle next to the device and missing parameters. Typically if an item is incorrectly installed in the loop it affects other devices as well , as there is a set sequence for each control item ( CD , NAV, TEL etc) that must be followed.

If the Navigation unit isn't showing a fault on this menu , then its correctly located on the MOST loop. The Navigation unit DVD drive has permanent power , whereas the MOST loop is only functional when the PCM is active since this is the hub for the system. Therefore ejecting the DVD should not be dependent on the MOST loop being active.

There is a small paper guide located on the inside of the fuse box cover in the forrwell. This explains the location of the fuse for the PCM and navigation DVD drive. If you pull the fuse , allow a few minutes before re instating and then press and hold the DVD eject on the NAvi DVD player you may have some success.

[samuel.mercer]

iPod you say, well as number9ine says, this is aftermarket. I have one and if I disconnect the MOST cable from the back, I get exactly the same error as you do.

What they did for mine was to just take the MOST from the CD changer and stick this into the iPod unit. So, maybe test and see if this is what has been done to yours, and if so then stick it back in the CD changer and maybe it will work again. Then you know there is an issue with the iPod unit you have.

HTH

Sam

[oskibear]

I| think you guys may be on to something with the iPod as the source of the problem... interestingly, when the iPod plays, it shows up as the CD changer playing, so it must have taken its place on the optical loop... It is certainly worth sacraficing the cd changer for the Ipod connection... So I am not to bothered by that...

The next question is did the install of the iPod connection mess up the sat nav somehow... they both show as red triangles when you press MAIN and TRIP. I will attempt to go back to factory connection with the CD changer and see if that also pulls the sat nav into line...

watch this space...

[berty987]

The CD changer and NAVI drive are in sequence on the MOST ring so the connections very close to each other. Is it possible when the i pod interface was being installed the wrong MOST cable was taken out of the rear of the DVD Navi rather than CD changer ? The I pod interface mimics the Cd changer so it must replace the CD changer in the loop. Dension offer a switched interface whereby the CD chnager can remain connected and via a switch on the aux input module you toggle between dension or original CD changer. The MOST cables are also directional , so when you fit a new device there is an IN and an OUT most fibre optic to the unit. If you look closely at the plug you can see a direction arrow. The MOST connectors come in two forms , one is pre wired , the other is user assembled , as a result its possible to get the wires in the wrong chambers and directions incorrect. The OUT wire from one device should correspond to the IN wire on the next device in the sequence etc.

Edited April 30, 2010 by berty987

[oskibear]

Well, I made some progress...

As suggested, it is a Dennison iPod unit, and it does seem to be installed in the optical loop instead of the CD changer. Some how the CD changer is then connected to that Dennison unit and there is a small box with a switch in the glove box that allows me to toggle between the iPod and the CD changer (So that's what that is for! :thankyou:)

As for the Navi DVD: I tried holding down the eject button for a while... I tried it again while unplugging and replugin the power connectors... I tried 1,4,8... nothing worked on ejecting the disc in the DVD drive...

I was hoping to "go back to the factory setting" by removing the Dennison iPod unit from the optical loop and plugging the CD changer back in were it was... Despite removing a good bit of the carpeting and having a good look around, I cannot for the life of me, figure out how to remove the CD changer covering and get to the back of the CD changer to gain access to the plugs... There must be some trick to removing the plastic cover on the CD Changer, but I can't figure it out... any suggestions?

[samuel.mercer]

I think that would give you a good starting point, if it works like that, you can be pretty certain it was upset by the iPod unit.

To get to the unit that holds the CD changer and the DVD drive for the navigation, you will need to pull off the thick plastic seal that seals the boot when closed, and then remove around 8-10 screws that hold in the inner plastic structure, which you can then remove. Once this has been done you can get better access to the unit, which you can then just pull forwards towards the front of the car and then get to the back and replace the MOST cable.

I've done this a few times, my last iPod interface module packed up and so upset the MOST loop, and it is very easy, takes around 15 minutes. I may not have the correct terminology for the actual parts I describe, but you should get the idea.

Oh, and don't worry about exclamation marks against items in the system menu for the PCM, 5 out of 6 of mine are like that and all works fine. I think this happens if versions found are not what is expected or been programmed to be expected using the PIWIS

Sam

[oskibear]

Hmmm, I've removed the large plastic cover towards the back of the boot the covers the sat nav dvd drive and exposes the brake fluid reserviour... but my cd changer is towards the front down low in the boot, mounted to the left, just inboard of the tyre. It sits vertically and the cd cartridge drops down into changer. Both my brother in law and I are stumoed as to how to get to the back of the cd changer...

[samuel.mercer]

This is what I was trying to describe, if you take this off then you should have easy access.....

[oskibear]

yeah Sam, we're talking about the same thing... my Navi DVD drive IS under the luggage compartment cover as described, I've had that off a few times now. The CD changer is NOT under that cover. Using the lower picture, my cd changer is mounted down inside the boot, sort of in front of the screw marked with the #1...

Sorry to hear about your run in with the French police...

[samuel.mercer]

Hmm, that's strange, I've never heard or seen of one being down where you describe. Maybe somebody else on this forum knows how to get to this sort of CD changer location? There is another compartment down there that holds the tow ring and emergency tyre inflator but I think you are talking about something further to the left hand side of that.

French police, hey, these things happen, it was well overdue to be honest. Have to be more careful now, maybe stopped a potential accident in the future, who knows! I'm back in London now, so I am driving again, I'll just keep the car over here until August...

Edited May 4, 2010 by samuel.mercer

[berty987]

Cars that are US spec and have the additional carbon filter for the fuel tank or are the 4wd model use a different Navigation unit thats vertically mounted in the front trunk. As I tried to describe in earlier posts , the MOST ring is directional , so there is an IN and an OUT on the plug that goes into the rear of each device. Having installed the very same (dual FOT) dension myself I'm aware that when fitting the unit with a change over switch , the fibre optic cables need to be altered from those of standard. Simply unplugging the dension isnt going to help , as the loop wiring is modified to allow the CD changer and Dension to sit side by side. You will need to identify the original cable from the PCM and plug this into the CD changer and then connect this to the nav which then in turn connects back to the PCM. Its difficult to explain in words , but if you download the user install guide from dension .com it has a diagram that makes better sense. I dont beleive this is the root cause of your stuck DVD in the nav drive, I suspect its more a case of the disc being the wrong way up, the wrong type or incompatable software with the rest of the system. I know of a couple of other cases where the disc became "stuck" in the nav drive , none were able to eject it and ended up with a new drive. The Navi drive should be able to eject the disc , even with the main PCM off , therefore I'd suggest that removing the power to the rear of the nav and holding the eject button when reconnecting (after a few minutes ) may be the only possible solution.

What seems stange in this particular case is that the CD and nav are in different places to expected. Furthermore the PCM doesn't display a "target" value for the navigation. The target is configured using the PWIS and held in the gateway of the car. The navigation option is not standard with PCM on the 997 , so it may be that this is a later addition. When coding the new navi drive , if the car isnt subject to a vehicle handover procedure , the updated setting (ie the the nav) can be lost if the power is disconnected from the battery. Is it possible that the nav was fitted afterward and either incorrectly placed in the MOST loop or never coded ? The nav units have different codes for vertical versus horizontal mount , so incorrect installation may well cause issues. A look at the vehicle options codes in the front of your owners sevice book will validate if this was factory fittment or added later.

The first pic shows the 997 TT which is 4wd , as you can see the DVD drive has two possible locations each of which has a separate part number , the CD drive in this case is fitted vertically also.

The second pic shows the Gt3 which has the option for either a vertical or horizontal DVD drive.

The CD changer on most 997 is normally a horizontal mount.

Edited May 7, 2010 by berty987

[bob/ft.worth]

like the OP, i was getting PCM system errors and there would be no sound even though the PCM came on. I have on 06 with a OEM Nav system, denison and tooki installed. All have been in the MOST loop for 2 years and have worked fine. Then the intermitent errors and no sound and it almost always occurred as I got in the car to drive home from work. Morning was generally Ok (but not always), but afternoon, always a dead system.

I pulled the plastic shroud off (as above) for the Nav and denison and accessed the amp. I pulled off the fiber connectors and reseated each in their respective device receptacles. I also started keeping the PCM on all the time rather than turning it off from time to time (PCM trigger signal to turn amp on?)

So all is working fine now (I'm probably jinxing myself). Not sure which 'fix' worked, probably the connector check.