Car-Phone Works But Not Through Speakers. Any Suggestions?

[XoneMark]

So I've got a 1995 e38 and the car phone still works, I just inserted a SIM card into the cradle and everything checks out. I can even use the handset to send and receive calls and messages but there's no sound when trying to go hands-free.

When someone calls and the radio is on, the radio goes quiet, but there's no ringtone. And if I answer the silent call, they can hear me, but I can't hear the caller through the stereo unless I use the handset.

Any clues on how I might troubleshoot this issue? (I know almost no one uses these car-phones anymore, but I do like the retro-cool factor )

[georgebest]

So I've got a 1995 e38 and the car phone still works, I just inserted a SIM card into the cradle and everything checks out. I can even use the handset to send and receive calls and messages but there's no sound when trying to go hands-free.

When someone calls and the radio is on, the radio goes quiet, but there's no ringtone. And if I answer the silent call, they can hear me, but I can't hear the caller through the stereo unless I use the handset.

Any clues on how I might troubleshoot this issue? (I know almost no one uses these car-phones anymore, but I do like the retro-cool factor )

Wow, I have never thought a 95 phone would still work...even if partially I have removed mine and put in a BT module instead.

[XoneMark]

Wow, I have never thought a 95 phone would still work...even if partially I have removed mine and put in a BT module instead.

It's probably country specific because South Africa (where I currently live) had digital GSM based handsets, while the US market had analog based phones which became obsolete when their networks were all updated.

[georgebest]

It's a mix now in the USA, Verizon still CDMA but T-Mobile & AT&T are the same as the rest of the world.

[Timm]

Check that the door speakers are the original double voice-coil types. These have a separate winding for the phone sound (each speaker has four connections). Quite often a previous owner will have swapped out the speakers to single-coil types.

[KinkedChrome]

I'm quite jealous of this. I would love to offer the car phone for use the one or two times a year I have passengers.

[XoneMark]

Thanks Timm, that's something I never would have considered. I'll definitely look into that.

[chrisn7]

I found this problem on my old 740. Check the phone module in the boot, and that the co-ax cable to it has not become trapped and squashed, which can easily happen. As soon as mine was released the phone worked just fine

[MKIVJZA80]

i'm jealous, wish we could get them to work stateside..

[XoneMark]

I found this problem on my old 740. Check the phone module in the boot, and that the co-ax cable to it has not become trapped and squashed, which can easily happen. As soon as mine was released the phone worked just fine

Thanks, chrisn7 Took a cursory look and couldn't find and issues with the cable, but I'll take a more thorough look over the weekend. I really hope the fix is as simple as that