New firmware causes MCU to reboot frequently due to aftermarket audio?

[EVTechPioneer]

I installed firmware version 2018.4.1.ec044c8 last week and ever since, the MCU has been rebooting every 15 minutes. I got so annoyed with that problem that I ended up calling the service center over the weekend. I was told to ensure the energy saving was disabled and the other checkbox for 'Always connected???' was checked and then I was to delete all the NAV entries and trip settings and then do a soft reboot. Unfortunately, the issue was not resolved and so, today, I called the service center again. The Tesla rep checked with an engineer and came back to tell me that me that something was 'falling out with Spotify' based on the information that was seen in the logs and that's what is causing the MCU to reboot every 15 - 17 minutes. When I told the rep that I had an aftermarket audio system and I hadn't been listening to the OEM stuff, he thought, perhaps, that was the root cause of the issue. I plan to take the car to the service center one day this week so they can troubleshoot the issue and determine the root cause.

Is anyone with an aftermarket audio system experiencing a similar issue? Prior to installing this latest firmware, I never had any issues with my Tesla. This problem is driving me crazy!

 

[fabricator]

So considering this is a software issue and it started right after an update, there is no other question. Any aftermarket system would get it's signal AFTER the factory amplifier. Which insures that communication between the MCU and amplifier are uninterrupted. All data functions exactly as it does from factory. We integrate into the Tesla system by talking the Hi-level analog audio signal after the amplifier that would run to the speakers. This is not a data signal. Which means, never could that somehow affect the way the radio works or functions. It's always easy to place the blame on something else, but this one is open and shut. If others are not having the same issue, I would assume the firmware update did not fully take, or was corrupted upon install. I assume, they can roll back the software and reinstall.

 

[arcus]

I assume you have an USB stick with hi-res music connected. Have you tried to remove it, then do a full reboot (with brake pedal pressed)?

 

[EVTechPioneer]

I took my car to the Rockville service center yesterday morning. One engineer told me that, based on the log information he was seeing, there had not been any reboots of the MCU since I had last spoken with the service center. That was quite disturbing to hear because the MCU had consistently been rebooting every 15 - 20 minutes and in fact, it had rebooted twice on my way to service center and yet, the Tesla logs did not reveal that fact.

What did the service center do while the car was there? They staged the latest firmware i.e. version 2018.6.7ffa6f7 to my car for me install later that day, but I ended up installing it within one hour and since then, the MCU has rebooted itself 3 times. Right before I went to bed last night, I deleted a single Nav entry that I had, cleared Trip A and Trip B settings and then forced a reboot. I don't know if that will make a difference with the latest firmware, but I will continue to monitor things.

I was not told anything conclusive except that my car had aftermarket components such as a very high-end audio system and extra batteries that could be the root cause of the problem.

I had a very interesting conversation with one of the staff and at times, it sounded like an interrogation. Basically, I told the gentleman that I was going to update the TMC thread to see if anyone else could provide some insights and surprisingly, that was viewed as a threat. I clarified that I was not out to get Tesla and my purpose was simply to get others to chime in to find a solution to my problem. It was strange to hear "Did you tell your insurance company that you have aftermarket components in your car? No Sir, you did not". That was bizarre because the folks there are extremely courteous and the service provided in the previous two times I was there was good. In fact, this gentleman seems to be the ultimate professional. Anyway, after I took my time to explain to him that I was an ally of Tesla and not the enemy, he was more at ease. I guess there are quite a few people who want Tesla to fail, but I'm not one of those. I really love my car, but when this issue surfaced over a week ago, I think the right decision was to contact Tesla and then ask on TMC if anyone else was having a similar issue.

As for the USB ports, I typically charge my iPhone and occasionally my Astell & Kern SP-1000 DAP. I don't connect any USB sticks with hi-res music to the USB ports. The majority of the time, I stream hi-res music from my SP-1000 to the Mosconi 8to12 DSP where I have 4 presets with preset 1 being assigned the OEM setting which I occasionally use to listen to the radio. Most of the time, I'm on preset 4 listening to hi-res music.

The service center advised me not to connect anything to the USB ports for the next few days and I intend to follow their directions.

 

[andrewket]

As you know, you and I have practically identical audio systems in our cars. I have not had any issues like you’re describing.

I cannot pathom how the audio components could cause the issue. There is a chance, I surpose, that the additional batteries could be causing some kind of electrical issue, but I would expect these issues would have manifested much earlier than now.

Since they’re not seeing the reboots, perhaps it’s really just a screen issue? Are you seeing the tesla logo during boot, etc? I’d capture it on video.

A

 

[Cirrus MS100D]

Any chance the install may have caused a wire/cable to work itself loose? As andrewket said, maybe it’s not actually rebooting but loosing some sort of signal?

 

[fabricator]

Any chance the install may have caused a wire/cable to work itself loose? As andrewket said, maybe it’s not actually rebooting but loosing some sort of signal?

Nothing from the screen is touched during installation. The only connection in the car that is modified or touched, is the speaker output out of the OEM amplifier. So nothing is unplugged or modified during the installation. And given that we know the issue surfaced right after a firmware update, it is in fact, most likely a firmware related issue. If it were a voltage issue from the battery, we would see a lot of other issues with other components in the car. Even the audio equipment is very sensitive to voltage. So we would see other things acting up. @andrewket also has the additional battery in the car. I would say it is firmware related. It would be to much of coincidence for something (including the MCU) to go bad after an update.

 

[andrewket]

The fact that Tesla isn’t seeing the reboots in the log is odd, though.

I’d force reboot it with the steering wheel buttons and see if they can ser that. If they can’t, then you know the logs are faulty too.

 

[EVTechPioneer]

Folks! The new firmware did not resolve the issue. The MCU reboots every 15-20 minutes. I'm not sure what to do as even the Tesla service center was unable to resolve the issue. It's extremely annoying!!! I got so upset today that I drove my ICE car today.

Why does the MCU keep rebooting?

 

[jeffro01]

You're likely going to have to disconnect your aftermarket audio upgrade before you'll get much further with Tesla, or any other automaker for that matter. I'm pretty sure, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, they can't deny you warranty work unless they can prove the aftermarket modification was the root cause. Considering you didn't experience this issue at all until a firmware upgrade means one of a couple of things. One, Tesla added some code that is somehow conflicting with the aftermarket system. This is unlikely though as there surely would be more reports of this. Something is defective in your MCU and the upgraded firmware exposed this fault. It sounds like to me that something is wrong with the SD card, or onboard storage, of your MCU and that's what's causing the reboots. It's as if the log space available to write to fills up, crashes the software which cleans up the cache a bit, rinse and repeat... I'm just spitballing here but it sounds plausible...

Jeff

 

[EVTechPioneer]

The MCU rebooting issue has been consistent, but, today, when I was driving from DC to Delaware, the MCU did not reboot until after a little bit over an hour, whereas it had been happening consistently rebooting every 15-20 minutes. What was different today? I noticed that there was a new firmware, but I did not install it until after I got to the Delaware. Also, I had charged the battery to 100% instead of the usual 90% since I was going out of town.
I was going to Delaware to get my "Lighted Rear Appliqué" replaced because, late last week, the last three letters in T E S L A had stopped working. After the new appliqué was installed, I started charging the car and I kicked off the install of the firmware 2018.6.1.641efac.

I am happy to report that I was able to drive close to two hours back to DC without the MCU rebooting itself. I hope the issue will not resurface.

 

[EVTechPioneer]

Ouch! The MCU rebooted an hour ago as I was driving home, but it hadn't done so all day. I drove about 150 miles today. I will take the car to the Tyson's service center next week so they can take a look at what's going on.

 

[BruceR61]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am still on 2017.50.3 and the Factory Upgraded Audio, and my MCU has frozen or rebooted about six times in the last few weeks after installing 50.3 - when it had NEVER done that in the 11 months beforehand.

 

[doubleohwhat]

Not to hijack this thread, but I am still on 2017.50.3 and the Factory Upgraded Audio, and my MCU has frozen or rebooted about six times in the last few weeks after installing 50.3 - when it had NEVER done that in the 11 months beforehand.

The MCU in my S consistently froze or rebooted at least once with every update for the past year.

Either they just have some clueless software devs (unlikely) or they're pushing the limits of what the MCU is capable of. Keep in mind that the MCU tech is from several years ago.

 

[EVTechPioneer]

After all, nothing has changed because the MCU is now rebooting every 15-20 minutes. The only change I made last night was that I reset the charge limit to 90% just as it was before I went on the trip this past weekend. I seriously hope the service center will be able to address this issue next week.

 

[drsaab]

I now have the latest software update with an aftermarket audio setup and no reboots. I don’t have the 12v batteries like you though.

 

[EVTechPioneer]

Remember I said the reboot issue did not surface until firmware version 2018.4.1.ec044c8 and I took delivery of the car in December 2016! Everything had been flawless for over a year. I really hope the service center will be able to pinpoint the issue this Friday and resolve it.

 

[andrewket]

Any updates on your issue?

 

[4SUPER9]

The central screen “rebooting” may not be actually a reboot of the processor, but just the screen, hence why TM cannot see any evidence of it.
Try a real reboot by holding down the two scroll buttons. See if that gets you out of this loop.

 

[markn455]

Version 2018.6.1 641efac was installed last week. My MCU randomly reboots since the update. I have deterred that it is rebooting about every two days since the update. It's not causing a problem anywhere I can see. Just annoying.