The radio in our '97 M3 is requesting the code everytime we turn on the car. We have the code and enter it, but can't imagine what we are doing to cause this. Any ideas?
Scott, It sounds like it is losing power whenever you shut the car down. So, it thinks it has been disconnected and then reconnected when you start up again. So it asks for the code. I would say look for a loose power connection to the radio, but it seems odd that it occurs each time you start the car. If it was a loose connection, it should be a more random occurrence. Could you have a problem with the ignition switch that cuts residual power to the radio when you shut the car off? You haven't had to do any re-wiring in the area have you? How about a weak battery? How long has it been doing this?
I'd put my money on a loose connection. A radio has two power leads: one which is connected all the time to power the station pre-set memory, the security code memory etc; the other runs through the ignition switch and powers the rest of the radio. If the first one is disconnected, you could have the symptoms you are experiencing. Hopefully its just fallen off the back of the radio and can easily be reconnected.
Thank you for the replies gentlemen. Loose connection sounds like the problem, since there has not been any other electrical issues, and I have not done any other work which may have started this. Last evening we took the M3 out and did not have to enter the code so some random event is causing the loss of power.