Long gone are the days when one has to be at home in front of a television to keep themselves informed and entertained. Nowadays, cars are equipped with advanced infotainment systems boasting a legion of features that enable us to keep ourselves informed and entertained while we are on the go.
A long drive can be boring if you are going alone and your car’s infotainment system doesn’t turn on. In this guide, we will take a look at the reasons why car infotainment is not working and how you can fix problems with the car infotainment.
Infotainment System Fails to Turn On: Reasons & Solutions
If your car’s infotainment system is not working or the sound coming out is blown and distorted, then read below to know the main reasons. Here are the common problems with the car infotainment and steps to take when infotainment is not working:
Overheated Amplifier
Turning the volume of the recorder too high, fluctuation of resistance or lack of airflow causes the vehicle amplifier to overheat causing it to enter into the protection mode.Hence, the infotainment system fails to turn on.
In the protection mode, the amplifier shuts down to safeguard the amplifier or other components of the infotainment system from any further damage. Excessive overheating can cause the valves and fuse to blow up. Hence, you should make sure that you allow the amplifier to cool down before using it.
Also, make sure that volume levels for audio is between 75 and 105 decibels and does not exceed the standard.
Power Source Failure
The car’s infotainment system is connected to a power source. A malfunction in the power source of the car can also cause the infotainment system to fail. Some of the common reasons why the infotainment system won’t turn on because of the power source failure include blown car fuse, wiring issues, blown valves or lack of power to operate the system.
To troubleshoot the power failure, switch off the vehicle’s power supply. Test the wire fuse with a multimeter by placing the multimeter on the fuse’s metal cover. If the multimeter displays a reading, the fuse has not exploded; if the device does not display a reading, the fuse has burst implying that the radio ground connection has a fault, such as rusted or loose wires, which can be repaired by reconnecting or replacing the ground.
Antenna Damage
A broken or damaged antenna is also one of the common problems with car infotainment system. If the antenna is broken or damaged, the radio won’t be able to receive the signals or stations’ frequencies. In addition to this, if you use an antenna that is too long or short, you have to use an “antenna tuner” to tune the antenna to attenuate the reactance and make the antenna compatible at the available frequency.
To fix a damaged antenna, loosen the antenna’s bolt and remove the antenna. Remove any broken pieces or dirt, and reinstall it with aluminium foil. If the antenna’s mast is damaged, remove it, reattach the antenna, and wrap it in masking tape around the aluminium foil. If taping the antenna doesn’t solve the problem, the antenna must be replaced with a new one.
Dead Battery
Although modern infotainment systems are energy efficient, they drain the battery nonetheless. The louder you play the infotainment system, the more battery it will drain. If the battery is used beyond its capacity, it will die and stop functioning. It is also worth noting that idle batteries also die and then fail to operate.
To avoid this problem of a dead battery, you need to check the battery for a parasitic draw — when the battery gets discharged more quickly because power is being drained when the ignition system is turned on as well as when the ignition system is switched off. You can troubleshoot the parasitic draw by removing and replacing the fuses and negative battery cable.
This concludes our guide about the reasons why the car infotainment system doesn’t turn on and how you can fix car infotainment if the infotainment system is not working. If you are looking for cars with advanced infotainment features, check out this huge collection of used cars for sale in the UAE.
To learn more about automobiles and the automotive industry, stay tuned to UAE’s leading auto blog.
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