Another phantom electrical issue?

[steveinutah]

Recently, my '11 SL has decided it should turn the stereo on when I start the car, even if it was off when we shut the car down. It seems to be happening because I have the stereo playing off a memory stick through the USB port, and doesn't always do it, but it's happening about 75% of the time now. It seems pretty damn inconvenient to have to unplug the USB if I don't want it to happen! And no, I haven't experimented to see if it's only on the USB or if unplugging it stops the problem.

Anyone had a similar issue?

[steveinutah]

Update. This DOES only happen on the memory stick. If I unplug it, the audio system stays off if it was off when I last shut down.

Has anyone else experienced this?

[Halwg]

No, but I'm going to try it on mine and see if it does it.

[steveinutah]

Thanks. Maybe this is a "feature" I'm unaware of!

[steveinutah]

It's totally random. Today it turned on twice when starting & didn't turn it on two other times. I guess I'll have to keep it unplugged - nice feature!

[tbolt]

Originally Posted by steveinutah

It's totally random. Today it turned on twice when starting & didn't turn it on two other times. I guess I'll have to keep it unplugged - nice feature!

Have you tried a different USB stick or re-formatting the one you have?

[steveinutah]

Originally Posted by tbolt

Have you tried a different USB stick or re-formatting the one you have?

No, but great thought. I'll throw some music on another (smaller) one and see what that does. Thanks.

[Qat]

I have experienced this with the iPod cable. If I have the iPod plugged in, usually when I turn on the stereo it will pick up on the song where I left off. Recently I've noticed that as I'm backing out of the garage I'll hear a soft 'bip' and when I put it in drive the stereo will be on showing the iPod mode and it has forgotten where I was in the playlist. I never seem to experience this if I'm pulling forward after starting the car (I always 'pull through' in the parking garage at work so I'm facing out of the spot). Tonight I backed into the garage to test if it will happen in the morning when I pull out.

[Orzel]

My iPod always starts where it left off, and I back out of my parking space (carport) every morning. Never had it get confused - yet. That's odd behavior. Have you recently updated your iPod?

[Qat]

Originally Posted by Orzel

My iPod always starts where it left off, and I back out of my parking space (carport) every morning. Never had it get confused - yet. That's odd behavior. Have you recently updated your iPod?

I've not updated the iPod in some time, probably more than a year. It is truly odd behavior. I messed up my test because, when I pull out of the garage forwards, I still have to back up a little before I can head down the drive (side entrance that really should have been front entrance). I am going to try turning on the stereo first, then backing out, to see if that makes a difference.

Another thought I had was that it's an old iPod - it may actually be old enough for the battery to completely, or mostly, deplete overnight. I do get the occasional "ipod not connected" message, which I'm guessing means the battery doesn't even have enough charge to register with the interface.

[steveinutah]

Using a different USB stick appears to have solved the problem. I switched from a 16 Gb to a 4 Gb. Don't know if it's the particular stick, the brand, the speed, or the size. Thanks for the suggestion tbolt!