Ok so some really off the wall shit has been happening in my car the past couple of days. It all began friday when i started up my car and the radio didnt power on as it normally always does. So i drive down the road a little bit.. turned off the car.. turned it back on again.. and presto, the radio came on. OK so i thought it was a fluke occurrence, but then again the next day the same thing happened... start car, no radio. But this time i decided to see if it came on by itself eventually, which it did.. about 5 minutes later. And it didnt appear to be 'impact triggered', meaning i didnt hit a bump or slap the dash board with my face to get it to come on.. it just sorta came on as soon as it felt like it. BUT, an hour or so later as i was cruising the freeway the radio just turned off and then back on again moments later, also not impact triggered.

( now keep in mind that the radio AND the display are BOTH cutting on and off together, like a short circuit.. but the fans/heater/temp control all still work and light up as they should. )

Well just a little while ago, as i left for lunch, i figured out where the problem was coming from... its my navigation unit plugged into the cigarette lighter below the radio! Funny thing is i have had this navi for quite some time, going on 4 or 5 months now without a problem. But all of a sudden if i unplug the nav, the radio comes on.. if i plug the power cord back into the cig lighter the radio turns back off again.. very interesting.

So, with that said, does anyone know why the hell this would be happening? Its obviously a result of too much current draw out of the acc outlet feeding the navigation, but why now? after all this time? has anyone else ever experienced something similar? o_O

Odd, maybe its time to replace some fuses?

Odd, maybe its time to replace some fuses?

replace fuses? well either a fuse is good or bad, so how could the problem be related to a fuse?
The cigarette light still works, as does the radio.. just not when my navigation is plugged into it. If fuses were blowing then things would stop working all together...

I'm betting there's a ground wire loose somewhere on the cigarette lighter. That, or possibly a wire between the cigarette lighter and the radio have rubbed and the radio is shorting out when juice is being pulled from the lighter plug. Real easy to figure out if it's really your GPS, or if it's your lighter plug... Turn on the radio and use the cigarette lighter (not the GPS, the actual lighter). If it still does this, then you've got a wire connection issue.

Could be anywhere in the harness, but I'd bet it's back at the fuse block, 'cause that's the only place where wires are free to move/rub a little bit.

edit: whoops! Just re-read your post. Looks like you've tried the cig. lighter already.

So, if it is really the GPS unit, then theres a possibility the wires in the power adapter are messed up a little bit or something, causing a short circuit, but I don't see how that's possible since the GPS still works. Do you have anything else that uses a cig. lighter adapter (try the air pump if you don't)? It may be a wire has frayed and is touching the wall of the lighter plug or something, causing a short, but the cigarette lighter itself doesn't come in contact with the walls to make it happen. I don't know how, but it's got to be something with the power adapter to the GPS unit.

bump for a sweet thread title

I'm betting there's a ground wire loose somewhere on the cigarette lighter. That, or possibly a wire between the cigarette lighter and the radio have rubbed and the radio is shorting out when juice is being pulled from the lighter plug. Real easy to figure out if it's really your GPS, or if it's your lighter plug... Turn on the radio and use the cigarette lighter (not the GPS, the actual lighter). If it still does this, then you've got a wire connection issue.

Could be anywhere in the harness, but I'd bet it's back at the fuse block, 'cause that's the only place where wires are free to move/rub a little bit.

edit: whoops! Just re-read your post. Looks like you've tried the cig. lighter already.

So, if it is really the GPS unit, then theres a possibility the wires in the power adapter are messed up a little bit or something, causing a short circuit, but I don't see how that's possible since the GPS still works. Do you have anything else that uses a cig. lighter adapter (try the air pump if you don't)? It may be a wire has frayed and is touching the wall of the lighter plug or something, causing a short, but the cigarette lighter itself doesn't come in contact with the walls to make it happen. I don't know how, but it's got to be something with the power adapter to the GPS unit.

Ill check into that. But I have used the cig lighter for other applications, such as my cell phone charger, and it doesnt mess anything up.. it only appears to be caused by the Navigation.... But the navigational unit itself works fine, no problems. Its a very interesting occurrence to say the least.. Im going to try replacing the power cord to the Navi and see if that helps anything...

bump for a sweet thread title

lol..
thanks man
=]

Another bump for a sweet thread title! Buggles f.t.w.!

Are you using those plastic quick connectors anywhere in your system? Ground?

http://www.wiringproducts.com/contents/media/t_tap_connector_big.jpg

I have had nothing but frustration working on cars where a prior owner has tapped wires with these.

did you say stock stereo?

I don't think he did. Never can be sure....

If it is a stock stereo, then it ain't what I said.

O/P. What happens when you plug your Nav into the outlet in the rear console?

I don't think he did. Never can be sure....

If it is a stock stereo, then it ain't what I said.

O/P. What happens when you plug your Nav into the outlet in the rear console?

Ok yeah.. sorry, it is indeed the stock stereo. Nothing about it is aftermarket and as far as i know i dont have any of those connectors from above anywhere in my car.

Also, when the navi is plugged in the rear outlet everything works fine. The problem only seems to be associated with the front outlet under the radio there...

Thanks for the update.

I'm still thinking some sort of connection problem with the stereo / HVAC plugins.

You don't say where you are located, or what year/mileage is your car, so no idea if you still have the bumper-to bumper warranty.

If you are out of warranty, there is a good DIY on the stock stereo RE/RE here: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/

Perhaps if you unplug all the connectors, check for good contact, and reassemble with some silicone di-electric grease.

Thanks for the update.

I'm still thinking some sort of connection problem with the stereo / HVAC plugins.

You don't say where you are located, or what year/mileage is your car, so no idea if you still have the bumper-to bumper warranty.

If you are out of warranty, there is a good DIY on the stock stereo RE/RE here: http://www.whatsmyip.org/ipodrx8/

Perhaps if you unplug all the connectors, check for good contact, and reassemble with some silicone di-electric grease.

Car: 2004 with approx 65k
Location: Greenville SC

Its odd that it would be a connection problem due to the conditions that cause the issue. Its definitely not impact triggered, and if i just leave the Navi plugged in, the radio will eventually come back on in its own time.

replace fuses? well either a fuse is good or bad, so how could the problem be related to a fuse?
The cigarette light still works, as does the radio.. just not when my navigation is plugged into it. If fuses were blowing then things would stop working all together...

Not 100% true, in most applications this is correct but I have run into problems before thinking the same thing. I had issues with something in one of my other cars, that me and everyone else stated that it could not be the fuse because everything was working fine... BAM! it was the fuse. Fuses don't cost much so trying that as an option is always viable.