I just got caught in a quick shower over the weekend and the sunroof was tilted forward and not open all the way. I had some water dripping in the car which we cleaned up promptly and water had dripped down the face of the radio and HVAC controls. It all got cleaned up but now the radio is trashed. It comes on and off when it wants to with or without the key in, none of the other controls on the radio work at all, just the on/off/volume ****.
Bear in mind this unit was not under water, it just got some water down the front face. It's been three days now and I had to finally pull the fuse to keep the battery from getting run down as the radio decided to come on some time in the middle of the night, all by itself.
Every car I have ever had was with a sunroof and sooner or later you get caught getting wet. This is the first time I have ever experienced this kind of trouble from a little water.
Any insight other than changing the radio, which itself is not an easy feat due to the thoughtlessness of those Mini designers. I have yet to do anything simple on this car.

Any ideas??

Thanks

Tom in PA

 

If everything else is running fine and you have no further glitches or battery drainage with the radio fuse pulled then I believe you solved your problem.

Replace the radio likely. Water + circuit boards do not mix, and even though it was only 'a little water' it was still enough to affect something on the radio's control circuit.

There are plenty of members on the board who have replaced their head unit with aftermarket. You could either go that route or try finding someone who is selling their used OE radio.

Not sure but you may have to have an OE programmed from the dealer for it to work. Might be cheaper to go aftermarket.

 

I would remove the fuse for the radio and let it dry out for a few days. If it does it again, then it's probably fried.

I have had to pull the toggle switch panel from the center stack once and it was fairly straight forward. It was a matter of getting the side tubes out of the way and then everything looked pretty easy to get to. Based on that experience a few years back, I would think getting to the radio would be fairly straight forward.

Most radios need a special tool to get to the side release tab, but that has nothing to do with thoughless designers, it's how it stays anchored yet flush with the interior trim.

 

Might have a K-Bus issue. Turn on your hazard lights and make sure the indicator on the dash comes on.

 

TGMEDIN,

If you want to swap with a new OEM, I just pulled mine recently, working just fine. I had a CD changer as well. Just shoot me an email and make me an offer.