[mikefern]

I've searched around but can't find anything on my issue. I'm driving around music from the ipod blaring and all of a sudden the audio goes out, total silence . Switch to radio, still no sound. I have to basically reset the car's computer by shutting off the car and waiting a good minute. This has happened about 4 times now...I've had the car 3 1/2 months. Suffice to say its an annoyance especially if I'm on the highway and don't want to pull over and shut down. Anybody else encounter this issue and have either a quick fix or had the dealer resolve it for them with satisfactory results

[VP Electricity]

That sucks, sorry to hear it.

I have not had this problem. It is mis-titled since it's an overall audio issue - if the radio is affected, it's not neccesarily an iPod issue. If you listen to the iPod most of the time, that might be why it only happens with the iPod playing.

it is either the head unit or the amp.

I know from personal experience in the E90 that the HU can lose F channels to the amp and keep playing the R channels. For this reason my gut says that either the amp is intermittent or the HU is not keeping the amp on with the remote turn on signal. Either way the dealer needs to deal with it. Since it is intermittent the dealer will first try to say that it didn't happen when they tested it, so you may need to escalate before you get what you need, which is first the amp swapped out, and then if that didn't do it, the HU swapped out to fix the problem.

Good luck!

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by mikefern

I'm driving around music from the ipod blaring and all of a sudden the audio goes out, total silence . Switch to radio, still no sound. I have to basically reset the car's computer by shutting off the car and waiting a good minute.

Shutting off the car and waiting a minute doesn't "reset" anything in the entertainment system that I'm aware of. Sounds like you're overheating the amp until the thermal protection kicks in and you have to wait for it to cool off before it resets. Don't bother turning off the car next time, just turn off the radio and let the fan run for a while.

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Sounds like you're overheating the amp until the thermal protection kicks in and you have to wait for it to cool off before it resets. .

Either that or the radio is actually shutting down completely after the delay...

[mikefern]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Shutting off the car and waiting a minute doesn't "reset" anything in the entertainment system that I'm aware of. Sounds like you're overheating the amp until the thermal protection kicks in and you have to wait for it to cool off before it resets. Don't bother turning off the car next time, just turn off the radio and let the fan run for a while.

Not sure if you've ever noticed. Shut off the car and pull out the key and reinsert within say 30 sec. and the car will "remember" the volume you were at. Say you go into the store for a couple of minutes and come back. You were cranking the volume before you went in, come back out and its at moderate volume. It kind of "resets". That's what I mean. That's what has to happen for me to get my sound back. Is this an issue that can be corrected or is it just a quirk with this car? I never heard of a car being able to sense an amp overheating.

[VP Electricity]

By the way, he's right - it's NOT a "reset".

If a control module becomes too hot, this control module switches off for up to 10 minutes to protect the individual components against damage.

Furthermore, the entire MOST bus can switch off for 10 minutes. After the control module has cooled down, it regains function!

If the fault ”Cutoff excess temperature” is stored in a MOST control module, the control module concerned and the head unit store the fault. The fault memory entry from the head unit is evaluated in the test module.

The head unit is only displayed if it has switched itself off due to excess temperature.

Top HiFi amplifier: Detection of excess temperature
The Top HiFi amplifier can only disable its own functions at high temperatures. If the customer is currently listening to music, the following fault pattern results:

Sound failure in the audio system.

The Top HiFi amplifier does not make a fault memory entry. The MOST framework remains functional. After the control module has cooled down, the Top HiFi amplifier regains function!

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by mikefern

I never heard of a car being able to sense an amp overheating.

Actually, automatic thermal shutdown is pretty common for amplifiers unless you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

[VP Electricity]

For aftermarket, because we never know what impedance these things are getting used with. For OE, usually heat isn't an issue... but maybe with 2-ohm speakers and ported woofers underseat, we are running into more impedance variation...

[mikefern]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

By the way, he's right - it's NOT a "reset".

If a control module becomes too hot, this control module switches off for up to 10 minutes to protect the individual components against damage.

Furthermore, the entire MOST bus can switch off for 10 minutes. After the control module has cooled down, it regains function!

If the fault ”Cutoff excess temperature” is stored in a MOST control module, the control module concerned and the head unit store the fault. The fault memory entry from the head unit is evaluated in the test module.

The head unit is only displayed if it has switched itself off due to excess temperature.

Top HiFi amplifier: Detection of excess temperature
The Top HiFi amplifier can only disable its own functions at high temperatures. If the customer is currently listening to music, the following fault pattern results:

Sound failure in the audio system.

The Top HiFi amplifier does not make a fault memory entry. The MOST framework remains functional. After the control module has cooled down, the Top HiFi amplifier regains function!

So it sounds like its just something that happens and I'll have to live with it every few weeks or so, rather than something that needs/can be fixed? Oh well, minor inconvenience...next time it happens I'll just wait and see if it comes back on by itself. Maybe the heat in the summer combined with my penchant for listening to music at max volume usually with windows open and no a/c to "help" keep the components cool. God knows if I kept the windows closed and max volume I'd be deaf, moreso than I already am

Thanks for the info all

[VP Electricity]

You know, just when I start to think I'm good at communicating...

IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN. IT SHOULD BE FIXED. IT INDICATES A BAD AMP OR A BAD SPEAKER OR A BAD HEAD UNIT.

[tintivilus]

Indeed... the no-audio in response to overheating (if that's really what's happening) is by design, but it probably shouldn't be overheating nearly as often as you seem to suggest it is.

If it were me, I'd start taking notes about how often it happens and how long you were listening before it cut out. In the non-logic7 loaner I've been driving I've listened with the volume up to distortion level for 45 minutes or so without the amp keeling over on me.

One of these comes in awfully handy:

http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+62.htm

[mikefern]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Indeed... the no-audio in response to overheating (if that's really what's happening) is by design, but it probably shouldn't be overheating nearly as often as you seem to suggest it is.

If it were me, I'd start taking notes about how often it happens and how long you were listening before it cut out. In the non-logic7 loaner I've been driving I've listened with the volume up to distortion level for 45 minutes or so without the amp keeling over on me.

One of these comes in awfully handy:

http://us.fluke.com/usen/products/Fluke+62.htm

Yeah it usually goes out after 30-45 min of driving at max volume...and the heat of the past couple weeks here in NJ probably explains its increased frequency. Anybody know if the fault stores any sort of error code the dealer could pick up on? I'm sure they'll try to say that they can't replicate the problem and won't fix it.

[SanDiegoBuff]

I've had a similar problem a couple of times when I get into the car to go somewhere and the audio completely cuts out.

-iPod is recognized, but if I switch over to it is jumps back to the radio.
-Radio 'works', but no audio at all.
-No door gongs.

I can turn off and turn on the car and nothing will change. Strangely though, when I open the door, eventually, I get a warped door gong and the sound comes back. It doesn't seem to be tied to restarts, or opening or closing the door, because it doesn't always come back when I open the door, it just randomly comes back at some random time that I open the door.