Becker problems and gearbox ECU - Any thoughts?

[nickpb]

Hello,
For the last few months I have been having some minor, but irritating problems with my Becker sat nav:

* Map slow to change - you've passed a road before it shows on the map
* (Linked to above) Turn instructions spoken after you've passed the turning
* Satellite detection fails completely
* Becker doesn't start when you turn on the engine, instead it 're-initialises'. (normally, you turn on the engine and the sat nav menus shows pretty quickly. When I get the problem, it comes up with the 'Becker' home page, or says 'Navigation module reinitialising', and takes ages to boot up).

The car has been in to the garage a couple of times, and they could not find anything wrong. After the second time, they replaced the Becker unit. Sat nav appears to be OK at the moment, but I haven't used it for a long journey yet.

Gearbox problems:
Last week, I was driving along and everything seemed OK on country roads, but when I got onto the motorway, I could not change gear at all (auto or manually) and the engine seemed to be detatched from the gearbox, in that the revs would increase but the speed would stay the same. Also on over-run, instead of the engine revs slowing with your speed, as soon as I took my foot off the throttle, the revs dropped back by 500 RPM. These problems all cleared after an engine switch-off/switch-on.

The garage said it was an ECU fault, so they reset it and updated the software. All OK so far.

Today, I switched on and the sat nav didn't start up at all - I had to pop the unit out and pop it back in again.

I know that the sat nav problem is not a major thing (until you really need it!), but it is very frustrating. Has anybody got any thoughts on these problems, and do you think there is a chance that the problems might be related?

Thanks for reading this far.

Nick

 

[Wheelsnuts]

My Becker starts up almost immediately but turn instructions can be imprecise. Your two issues sound like an unfortunate coincidence but, with modern electronics, who knows? Sorry I cannot offer any practical help but good luck with getting it sorted.

 

[Rctaylor1966]

Hi Nick,

I have encountered the exact same issue with BMP telling me to turn left about 10 yds after I already made the turn. The strange thing is it ONLY seems to happen on certain junctions. I noticed it on a roundabout where I was taking the third exit. I did wonder if my GPS receiver was faulty but as other junctions work it wouldn't seem so. I think it MAY be related to some issue in their software related to conversion from left hand drive to right because when it prompts the turn its almost exactly where I would expect it to tell me to 'Turn left' if I was doing the journey in the reverse direction.

I have also noted it seems to assume coming off the Motorway at some junctions and back on again is quicker than staying on the Motorway (A329M heading over A4) so its not exactly perfect.

I also payed for the speed camera add-on but TBH I find in bleeps at times when it shouldn't and is more distracting than helpful so its turned off now. I use the 10mph over speed limit warning as its far more effective.

One other point to note. I plugged mine in last week (as I got a new laptop from work and wanted to get it set up etc) and it prompted me that a new firmware version was available. I went through the steps till it told me to reset the device. It been DEAD since then. USb doesnt find it, Car reports 'No module loaded' :-( Luckily Mercedes are covering it under their 2 year fitted parts warranty and I expect to get it replaced. BMP Support are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard, even after telling them exactly waht i did and what i had tried to resolve it (I work in IT Support so am not exactly a newby to these things) they respond asking me to try stuff I already tried and explained in detail.

In summary I wouldn't buy this 'add on' again, I like the idea of built in Sat Nav but NOT a Becker product, give me TomTom with HD traffic any day. Interestingly the guy I spoke to at Mercedes Service implied they are being phased out and he confirmed they have replaced quite a few on warrantly after 'firmware updates' screws them up.

When i get my replacement I will be making sure it has latest Maps and then i think i will leave it well alone

 

[Rctaylor1966]

Sorry forgot about it 'Initialising'.

There is an internal battery in the module which I think only lasts a few days so if its battery is drained you will see it start from scratch when car is started. Perhaps your previous one had a faulty battery ?

 

[nickpb]

I'm so sorry - I missed the email that told me I had a response, and haven't logged in for ages. Anyhow, thanks for your comments. Since my post, the gearbox has been fine (thank goodness) but the Becker still resets itself occasionally and is slow to change.

Like you, I would never buy this unit again - a stand-alone TomTom is a MUCH better tool, and with better support (Becker couldn't tell me how to get the traffic alerts that I had paid for, on to the replacement box, so I had to connect it to the PC and figure it out for myself).

Anyhow, I appreciate you replies.

Cheers,

Nick