[Domin2000]

Dear All,

i have the following 3 randomly symptoms from beginning on March 2020:

1. When i insert my key to the car my CIC unit comes up and begins to display corrupt graphics (see attached photo ). Then it freezes immediately so you cannot use other functions any more. Only volume up + down works. After 1-2 Minutes the CIC reboots itself. The system is normaly up and running. Navigation and other functions works fine.

2. I insert the key to the car and the display stays black without booting up. You can only hear the radio and you can use volume up + down. Other bouttons dont work. After a few minutes it reboots itself and boot up normaly. Everything is going fine.

3. I insert the key the navigation is booting and shows loading circle. When it comes up and display the maps it comes to a freeze (somtimes with blue graphic errors) and reboots.

The strange thing is when it reboots after crash it works in 90% of all cases fine.

What i already did:
- Opened the cic unit and made an general look on it --> looks ok, no water or something in it

-Made an full backup on linux with dd from my hard drive in case the hdd has a failure. Backup went through without problems reading the hard drive. Maybe i will copy the image to an ssd if i get the cic stable.

- I boot the cic unit without HDD. Same behaviour as above. Booting without hdd the following functions won't work: Navigation and music from hdd.

- I replaced the IDE flex calble going from hdd to the cic mainboard. This does not help.
Made some diagnostic checks (some readings and even checking the cooler fan) with ISTA+ on CIC and CID -> Everything ok here.

Note: This CIC Unit is build 05.2009 with a donor vin and is activated with a CAN filter (hardware based emulator).
The cic worked about 8 years till beginning of 2020 without any problems.

In different forums users wrote about the following things:

- Replace the light fiber cable (orange one) which is connected to the cic unit
- CID video cable is corrupted? But it works and passes all tests with ISTA+ and after freeze it works normaly.
- Resold the chips on the mainboard? But isn't it a CCC problem?
- Diversity module problem which causes the cic to reboot because of a broken cable?
- Faulty CAN filter/emulator maybe causes this symptoms?

Any ideas? Please help..

[ccfj1]

Pretty sure that's the emulator mate.

I have one that does a similar thing (cid screen display problems, black screen etc), i don't use it any more, i just use it for bench testing, so not really an issue.

Firmware update the cic, patch it then use FStool to load a custom set of fsc, will work like OEM.

You could even script activate the cic to get you back working without the can emulator (albeit with caveats).

[Domin2000]

Originally Posted by ccfj1

Pretty sure that's the emulator mate.

I have one that does a similar thing (cid screen display problems, black screen etc), i don't use it any more, i just use it for bench testing, so not really an issue.

Firmware update the cic, patch it then use FStool to load a custom set of fsc, will work like OEM.

You could even script activate the cic to get you back working without the can emulator (albeit with caveats).

Hi, thanks for response! So you suggest to unsolder the HW Emulator from the CIC cable tree and start the CIC without this emulator and see if cic ist still freezes/reboots?
When ok then make an SW Update to latest version and activate it via script?
Yes, the cic is from 05.2009 and never been updated:

[ccfj1]

Originally Posted by Domin2000

Hi, thanks for response! So you suggest to unsolder the HW Emulator from the CIC cable tree and start the CIC without this emulator and see if cic ist still freezes/reboots?

Correct, you will loose the nav function but it will eliminate the emulator.

When ok then make an SW Update to latest version

Yeah, you need an icom a/b, but its worthwhile anyway.

and activate it via script?

Personally, i would not do the script activation, use FSTool and generate your own FSC and install, it will be more like oem then.

Yes, the cic is from 05.2009 and never been updated:

Good idea to update then, it should allow USB map updates too.

[Domin2000]

ccfj1

An hour ago i unsoldered the CAN Filter and removed it (see picture) , soldered the cables and put everything together:

The CIC starts normaly even with navigation option! This is strange. So it looks like the HW Emulator was not necessary to activate Navigation?

(History: In 2012 i bought a virgin CIC without FSC Codes in it. It was a CIC from a test car i think.
After installation i bought this emulator (picture) to activate the Nav option. This didn't help because of no fsc codes in it. So i searched in forums and find a guy from poland (i think patryk was his name) who installed some fscs with a donor VIN to my device.
Everything worked since then an and i did not uninstall this CAN Emulator. It remains behind my cic for all these years.


Currently no freeze and graphic failures in CID. A made a lot of tests by rebooting it manually (press power button 20 sec) then starts ignition on put the car key in and out and so on and drove a little bit Seems stable now.

But: It can also be an demonstration effect ;-) Maybe tomorrow the things changes ...i will write.

I hope the caouse was this faulty emulator as you described!

I have no ICOM cable (only DCAN for diagnostic but the guy from poland activated the nav option via DCAN cable) so i will do the firmware update here in my region for about 150€

[ccfj1]

Nice one, sounds like you don't need the emulator then.

Don't worry about the update if everything is working.

[Domin2000]

Originally Posted by ccfj1

Nice one, sounds like you don't need the emulator then.

Don't worry about the update if everything is working.

Update:

I finally made the CIC Firmware Update to the latest version with ICOM cable. The update process took about 2 h. This succeeded and now i have SAT View maps and can update map content via usb.





But

The CIC still freezes very often with this graphic failures. Sometimes you can only see a red screen (red screen of death) After a few resets the CIC works.
I think the CIC unit simply got bad after years of usage and i have to repair it by a service.
So the root cause is not the CAN emulator but its more like a bad connection of some component to the pcb board in the CIC.

Graphic failures and immediate freeze:

[Domin2000]

Update: CIC works now. The rapair service replaced the whole mainboard which contains cpu and ram to a new one. I payed about 190€ for this.

[jaykbe]

Hey.
Where did you get the board? Mine is doing the same, so i recon will have to change the board also.