| · Why do the visuals disappear every time I put it in the car? |
| · Why is the stereo image of my MP3 messed up? |
| · I get a 'pump' error when I try to upgrade my player firmware. |
| · I get a Windows Installer or MSI error when I install Emplode. |
| · I'm having trouble with my tuner module! |
| · My tuner gets terrible reception, but the extension cable is fine. |
| · My tuner doesn't tune in the correct frequency increments. |
| · When I pause/un-pause, or sleep/wake the player, it starts in a different part of the song. |
| · Why don't fast forward and rewind work properly? |
| · When I pull the power, sometimes it plays a different song when I start it again. |
| · I can't perform an upgrade, install a logo, or install a kernel when the player is in the docking sled. |
| · Why did my player suddenly start freezing at the boot-up logo screen? |
| · Why isn't the headlight-sense dimmer working properly? |
· Why does my player think it's at home when it's in the car?
(Entry last updated on September 17th, 2007)The player uses a small switch on the AC adapter jack to determine whether it's running on home power or car power. On some players, this switch fails, causing the player to think it's either permanently in home mode or permanently in car mode.
Usually, it sticks in "home" mode, so you'll probably notice this when it happens the first time because you'll nearly have a heart attack when you start up the car and the volume will be at maximum (home 0db setting). You will also notice that the player doesn't shut off when you turn off the ignition.
Some things that you can check to make sure that this is really your problem:
- In the car, there should be a "Fader" option in the "Sound" menu. This option will not be present when the unit thinks it is plugged into its AC adapter.
- In the car, you should have a "Dimmer" option under the settings menu if your player is a Mk2 or a Rio Car. This option will not be present when the unit thinks it is running on AC power.
One other thing... The Hijack kernel has an option to force the player into AC or DC power mode. Make sure you haven't accidentally set this option, or did it on purpose and forgotten about it.
There is also a chance that either a diode or a transistor in your player has been blown by applying incorrect current to one of its DC inputs. Please click here for more information.
If your player has a faulty AC sensor switch, then contact support to have it repaired.
To repair it yourself, you must be able to completely disassemble the player as described here, and, as usual, be really good with a soldering iron (or more importantly, good with a desoldering tool, since you have to remove the old connector without damaging the motherboard). The replacement part is Digikey part number SC1153-ND, Switchcraft part number RAPC722, RS Electronics part number 286-8779, and in Germany, Reichelt part number HEBW 21. Note: Switchcraft item NOT VERIFIED yet, order at your own risk.
WARNING:
Do not attempt to do any soldering on the player unless you have experience with soldering delicate surface-mount devices. There is a real possibility that you could permanently ruin the unit if you are clumsy, if you use too much heat, or any number of other mistakes. You're better off contacting support and having them do it for you.
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There is a temporary software-only work-around to this problem, but it requires that you have a tuner module installed in the car. You can install a recent version of the Hijack kernel and use its "Force AC/DC power mode" feature in conjunction with the tuner ID setting as follows:
If you own an original factory tuner module, set its ID selector wheel to some number from 1 through 5. Then go into Hijack and set "Force AC/DC Power Mode" to "If tuner=1, Force DC/Car". If you have selected a different number, then of course use that number. If you move the player between more than one car, set the tuner ID to be the same on all of those tuner modules.
If you own a PCATS tuner module kit, chances are you built it to the default specification without changing the hard-wired ID number, since the ID number is set internally with jumpers. By default, the PCATS kit is ID=3. So if this is the case, set it to "If tuner=3, Force DC/Car". If you have a tuner module connected to a home docking station, make sure to set the ID of that module to something other than what the car module(s) are set to.
This work around is not 100 percent perfect, though. When the switch is malfunctioning, the power control PIC still thinks the player is in AC/Home mode because the kernel hack can't talk to the PIC. So when you turn off the car's ignition, your player will still not drop into standby mode nor shut down completely. In some installations, this could potentially cause speaker-damaging "pops" if the player is still playing music when you pull it from the sled or re-start the ignition. So you have to remember to put the player into standby mode yourself before doing these things. You also have to remember to pull it out of the sled to prevent it from draining the car battery. So you still need to get the switch repaired as soon as possible even if you use this work around.
Other things that might cause the player to mis-detect the AC/DC environment:
- Problems with a resistor, diode, or 74LVX04 hex inverter IC on the mainboard, all associated with the DC power jack.
- Problems with Hijack's dock detection, which uses a loopback wire on the tuner pins to decide whether it's in a home dock or not. Make sure you're not having this problem, and check to see if the player works correctly with a stock kernel as opposed to a hijack kernel.
- Problems with a bad serial port driver chip, causing Hijack to be confused by random data on the serial port. Check to see if the player works correctly with a stock kernel as opposed to a hijack kernel.
More information on those problems can be found in BBS threads here and here.
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| · Why doesn't my player go into standby mode when I turn off the ignition? |
| · Why is there a 'thump' from my amplifiers when I turn off the ignition? |
| · Why doesn't my Rio Car work in my Mark 2 docking sled? |
| · Why is my docking connector loose? |
| · Why is my Mark 1 getting harder and harder to pull out of the sled? |
| · Why is my Mark 2 hard to pull out of the sled? |
| · Why is my warranty seal already broken? |
| · I get a 'hardware revision check failed' message when I try to upgrade! |
| · Why did ethernet and/or USB quit working after I upgraded the software? |
| · My tuner quit working after an upgrade! |
| · Why is the song count different when I shuffle? |
| · Why can't I figure out how to do searches on the player? |
| · I selected the correct title in a search, and pressed OK, but the song did not play. Why? |
| · Why does Emplode keep getting my tags wrong? |
| · Why can't I read the display in the daylight? |
| · Why am I having problems with my car alarm or my keyless entry system? |
| · My rotary knob is slipping on its shaft! |
| · What do the synchronization errors mean? |
| · The clock on my Mark 1 player does not work. |
| · The clock on my Mark 2 player does not work. |
| · The Mark (cancel) key on the Rio remote doesn't work all the time. |
| · Why is the Shuffle menu backwards? |
| · Why does my player say 'Waiting...' on the screen? |
| · Why does my player rattle when I shake it? |
| · I don't like seeing the circuitry when the sun shines on the player. |
| · I have database errors and all of my playlists disappeared! |
| · Why does Emplode say I have less disk space than I think I should have? |
| · Why does my player sound terribly distorted when I plug it into my home stereo? |
| · My remote control quit working! |
| · I have a Kenwood head unit, and its remote is controlling both players. |
| · Why doesn't Emplode work via USB on Windows? |
| · Why doesn't emplode work via ethernet on Windows XP? |
| · Emplode freezes up on 'Checking Disk Integrity'. |
| · I got an error message about 'e2fsck' at the shell prompt. What do I do to fix it? |
| · My docking sled's top edge is not 'bent'. |
| · Why doesn't my power antenna go up and down at the right time? |
| · The upper-left corner of my screen is cut off. |
| · My config.ini file went all goofy on me, and I can't edit my favorite visuals any more! |
| · My buttons and/or knob are sticking. |
| · What does the battery icon mean? |
| · I just tried to edit one of the visuals, and now my player locks up! |
| · There are glowing red lines on my display! |
| · My display has become garbled or dim. |
| · My display is blank! |
| · Why does my Mk2 player have poor stereo separation? |
| · Why doesn't my player play very high frequencies? |
| · Why doesn't the car player put out as much bass as my CD player? |
| · How do I stop it from trying to play a bad track? |
| · My player takes a long time to boot and says it is Building Music Databases. |
| · Why does it say 'No hard disk found contact support'? |
| · Some wires have pulled out of my docking connector! |
| · My handle doesn't snap back into place as well as it used to. |
| · My handle sticks in the 'open' position. Can I fix it? |
| · There is a gap between the handle and the fascia. Can I fix it? |
| · What is the proper way to remove the display board and the main board? |
| · Why can't I use USB after installing or upgrading Emplode? |
| · Why is my Mark 1 having intermittent power failure problems? |
| · Why are there pops, clicks, screeches, and stutters when I play MP3s? |
| · Half of my display is blank! |
| · In DC mode, player responds extremly slowly to button presses, and music skips. |
| · My Mk2's volume knob is being jumpy! |
| · Why do I get an error message about reiserfs? |
| · Why did my player wake up in the car and start blasting music all by itself? |
| · Why does my player start doing things all by itself? |
| · Why do my remote and front panel buttons only work intermittently? |
| · Why won't the tuner scan for the next station? |
| · Why did the tuner change stations on me? |
| · Is there a way I can test the player's hard disk for sector errors? |
| · Why does it always say End of Playlist? |
| · Is there a master parts list for the car player? |
| · What do the ide_data_test messages mean? |
| · How do I fix the Daylight Savings Time dates on the player? |
| · There are vertical lines on my display! |
