HI everyone,


Well the cat is sort of refusing to go into storage.. as the onboard systems are going nuts lately.. this results in the radio being muted every 2 seconds or so for about .3 of a second..


this is when the car is cold and about 5 minutes after start. That "muting" goes on for another 5 minutes which either results in a full reboot of the entertainment system (and than its all fine again).. or it just disappears..


But the other day, the system rebooted, came back.. except for the monitor in between the dials on the dash.. which means.. I cannot read the time, burned fuel, miles, etc.. the dials themselves still operate and are lighted.. its just the mid-screen.. the center console screen comes back and works afterwards..

 

I would assume the general consensus here would be check your battery 1st and see what you get.

 

really? as this happens while the engine is running, while on highway or regular roads.. I would assume the engine would be capable of providing enough charge/voltage at 2kRPM..

 

This car needs a tip top battery. 100% of the time. Problems arise with the slightest voltage issues.

 

I've been through a similar episode just last year. The culprit was a set of loose ground connections under the dash on both the driver and passenger sides.
FWIW.

 

The code reader would tell you most likely that you have a sub optimal battery, lots of posts on this forum would refer to the battery as being the issue behind most control panel problems. I replaced my battery when the control panel would freeze or not come on, problem solved

 

+1 probably failing battery

A good battery is needed even when driving. (Alternators are great at recharging it. Also at making you think it's not the battery when actually it is.)

 

It does - but if the module that controls a function doesn't boot correctly because the battery voltage is low when you press Start, it can freeze and simply not work. It will stay that way until the car is switched off (and, in some cases, locked so that it goes out of 'convenience' mode) and the module gets powered down. So, low voltage on startup is the source of many problems, regardless of how high the voltage is when the car is running - by then, it's too late.

The convenience mode thing is the most annoying; the car leaves many modules powered up when you first switch off, so that they don't have to reboot if you re-start. It only powers them down progressively, as time passes and the car hasn't been restarted - full shutdown takes 30 mins. If you lock the car, they're all shut down fairly promptly. So, if something isn't working, you have to shut down, lock, unlock & restart - just stopping & starting won't necessarily do the trick, particularly with the major systems like the instrument cluster, the touch screen and the entertainment system.