Reboot sync?

[lzaffuto]

Is there a way to force a sync/radio reboot without pulling the fuse or the battery cable? Twice now my radio has gone to a black screen where none of the buttons are responsive and the power button will not turn it on or off. Based on a forum post elsewhere putting a CD into the system will enable you to use the radio again but SYNC and phone controls still do not work, and then it introduces the additional problem that the radio will not power off when you shut the car off until you pull the fuse. It's like the application that does the voice recognition and runs the SYNC system crashes, and it requires a system reboot to fix it. It seems like there should be a way to power it down without physically pulling the plug.

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[RubyRed15GT]

I found this in one of the threads.

Hold the next song bottom on the steering wheel and the radio power bottom at the same time.

 

[lzaffuto]

I'm going to try that next time, but if that doesn't work I've got an idea. Someone on the Ford Focus forums tied a switch they mounted in their glovebox to the fuse for SYNC so that it temporarily disconnects the power and forces the system to reboot. So I started searching for switches attached to a fuse and came across this:

http://www.quadratec.com/products/13029_200.htm

Basically the Jeep Wrangler has a dome light that won't go off if you have the doors off the car unless you pull the fuse. So an aftermarket company made a wiring harness with a switch you can mount that will turn off the connection. It just happens to be a 10-amp switch, the same as SYNC uses. If it keeps locking up on me I might buy this and mount the switch either in the glovebox or on the plastic panel covering the fusebox. Then I can report back (or do a DIY tutorial) for others having issues. I haven't seen much about this on this forum but it is all over other Mustang forums so I know other people are having the same problems.

 

[Lost]

I think you would be better off just wiring in a momentary off switch rated 10 amps into the sync feed wire after the fuse. You can find pretty small ones, and mount it somewhere inconspicuous.

 

[lzaffuto]

I guess I would have to pull the fuse box out to get to the wire for it? Or is there a place you can access it easier?

 

[Glenn G]

I Had this happen and Just pulled the battery cable for 30 seconds. It's a 10 mm bolt, literally took less time than writing this post.

 

[lzaffuto]

At this point I can pull the fuse even faster than doing the battery cable, especially since now I know exactly which fuse it is and have a pair of needle nose pliers in the glovebox just for the operation. What it really boils down to is that I'm just lazy, and it is frustrating that I have to do it at all. It's been a known issue for awhile and there have been several SYNC updates but still no fix yet.

 

[Glenn G]

Yesterday was the first time I had to do it since I got the car (August 07 2015) sucks that it happens so often for you guys. I was thinking it was not really an issue.

 

[lzaffuto]

Do you have an ipod? That may have something to do with it because it seems to happen when mine is plugged in and you first start the car and it immediately turns the ipod on and tries to access it.

 

[Troubleman313]

did pulling the fuse work? I get a grey screen now. Cant see anything. But all the sync commands and radio work.

 

[lzaffuto]

did pulling the fuse work? I get a grey screen now. Cant see anything. But all the sync commands and radio work.

It sounds like you may need to pull the headunit fuse. If you look on page 207 of the owners manual, the sync fuse is the red 10amp fuse location 32, the headunit fuse is the yellow 20amp fuse right above it in location 33. Make sure you leave them out long enough for the system to discharge (I slowly count to 15), if it only half turns off it could probably lead to weird results similar to what you are talking about. Good luck!

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