Phatbox forgets current playing position when starting

[andycole]

Hi all

I have a phatbox which originally had Audi 5.01 firmware in it.  I moved it to my VW Bora and have applied the phathack and VW firmware V7.02.  This has fixed a lot of problems I had with the unit not being recognised by the head unit, but one problem still remains - the current play position is not remembered when everything is powered off.  The phatbox always starts playing from the start of the first playlist.

Anyone know of a fix for this?

Thanks

Andy.

[Terry_Kennedy]

I have a phatbox which originally had Audi 5.01 firmware in it.  I moved it to my VW Bora and have applied the phathack and VW firmware V7.02.  This has fixed a lot of problems I had with the unit not being recognised by the head unit, but one problem still remains - the current play position is not remembered when everything is powered off.  The phatbox always starts playing from the start of the first playlist.

Anyone know of a fix for this?

It sounds like the Phatbox is having power completely removed from it, rather than being told to shut down by the head unit.

When you turn off the car (with the Phatbox playing), does the red LED on the Phatbox stay on for a minute or so?

[andycole]

The red lights stay on for 30 seconds, I would guess.
Very occasionally, and I'm talking 1 in a hundred times, it will remember the position.

Andy

[Terry_Kennedy]

The red lights stay on for 30 seconds, I would guess.
Very occasionally, and I'm talking 1 in a hundred times, it will remember the position.

Are you using an "official" cable or a scratch built one?

I'm pretty sure that the Phatbox saves its current position in memory and not on the DMS. I'm basing this on it going back to the first playlist after disconnecting and reconnecting the power on my BMW Phatbox. I can't see why the other firmware versions would be different.

The Phatbox uses two different sources of 12V - one that's always on, and one that switches on and off with the car (possibly with delayed power-off as the car does a shutdown). Note that some car models may not use separate wires for these - for example, the BMW changer interface has only constant power, ground, and a bidirectional data line. The Phatnoise BMW adapter and cable route the constant power to both the constand and switched power pins of the Phatbox.

It may be possible that the switched power is turning off before the Phatbox has completely processed the "go to sleep" command issued by the head unit.

What happens if you either select a different source (for example, radio) on your head unit or turn the head unit off a few minutes before shutting the car off? On the BMW version (which is the one I'm most familiar with), selecting a different source sends a stop command to the Phatbox. Turning the head unit off sends a stop command followed by a shutdown command to the Phatbox (it takes a minute or so).  There has to be some command like this in all the different firmware versions, as otherwise the Phatbox would keep playing (silently) if you switched to the radio and back to the Phatbox, which would mean you'd be somewhere else in the song or even on a different track / playlist.

If you have a startup sound configured on the Phatbox, you can tell if it was in stop mode or completely shut down - if it was shut down, it'll play the startup sound when you power on / select it on the head unit. If it was just stopped, it won't play the startup sound.

[andycole]

Hi

Good questions.....Let's hope I can get to the bottom of it.
I'm using a custom built cable as I transferred the unit from an Audi to a VW.  The problems started after I switched cars.  First I thought all my problems were due to the cable but a lot have been fixed by changing the firmware to the correct VW one.  Just this position problem remains now.  I'll do the tests you suggested to see what happens.

I removed the startup sounds when I hacked the box and used a new DMS.

Thanks a lot
Andy

[andycole]

OK, I turned off the head unit while playing from the phatbox, left the ignition on (I was driving at the time!) and then after about a minute, turned it back on.  I got 'NO CD CHANGER' which is something it used to do a lot, but not so much since the firmware update, but is that significant?  It doesn't tell me if it's shutting down properly, does it?
I left the head unit on and pressed CD after about another minute and the phatbox played from the beginning of the first playlist instead of the last position.

Andy

[sbingner]

still sounds like you dont have the POWER line (6) connected like terry suggested... the ACC line ( should only have power when the head unit is on and playing but the POWER line should always have power.  You could always try connecting it to something that you know always has +12v and see if that fixes the problem.  Or you could test the leads coming out of your radio to see if it's supplying the power and your cable is just not quite right...

[andycole]

Hmm, a couple more days and it seems to have a mind of it's own.  This morning it remembered yesterday's listening position (typical, I wanted to listen to the radio to hear more about Michael Jackson).  I guess that if it is something electrical then it must be a dodgy connection which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

Andy.

[Terry_Kennedy]

Hmm, a couple more days and it seems to have a mind of it's own.  This morning it remembered yesterday's listening position (typical, I wanted to listen to the radio to hear more about Michael Jackson).  I guess that if it is something electrical then it must be a dodgy connection which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't.

I'm still leaning toward a problem with the 12V power to the Phatbox. If you don't mind digging into the cable (IIRC, it is a homemade one), you could find all the Phatbox pins that want 12V (both switched and unswitched) and [very important] disconnect them from the rest of the Phatbox cable and temporarily hook them up to an always-on 12V source. In my BMW the main battery is just across the trunk from the Phatbox, but there are probably some constant 12V sources you could use. Again, in my BMW there's a cigarette lighter socket in the trunk (it's for a Peltier Effect fridge that comes with the BMW, not for those cases when you feel the need to put the mother-in-law who smokes into the trunk).

[S80_UK]

I'm still leaning toward a problem with the 12V power to the Phatbox.

Me too...

Again, in my BMW there's a cigarette lighter socket in the trunk....

Note - some vehicles (Saabs I have owned, my Volvo and maybe others) switch off power to lighter sockets - so if using one as a test, then check it with a meter or some plugged in appliance first.

[crwalter2003]

Hi

Good questions.....Let's hope I can get to the bottom of it.
I'm using a custom built cable as I transferred the unit from an Audi to a VW.  The problems started after I switched cars.  First I thought all my problems were due to the cable but a lot have been fixed by changing the firmware to the correct VW one.  Just this position problem remains now.  I'll do the tests you suggested to see what happens.

I removed the startup sounds when I hacked the box and used a new DMS.

Thanks a lot
Andy

You could try picking up a cable on eBay. If the head units in your car resemble the ones in the U.S., then this should clear it up if it is a flaky cable. How is it connecting to your hu? Here, it goes through the CD changer cable. If that's the case, then all you need is the VW adapter cable, which is still available on eBay in the U.S.

VW Part # 000-051-592  (U.S. market)

This adapter cable will allow the use of the Audi Phatbox in VW Models.

This cable Mounts between the Phatbox & The CD Changer Harness.
[I picked up the CD harness for a MkIV Jetta on Ebay to hook up my pb on my 2006.5 MkV Jetta. The cable worked on my Premium VII w/ b/i changer/sat (with splitter from enfig.)]

This is the same cable that comes with the VW PB. There are currently two different dealers listing "10 or more" of these in their auctions. One for $24.95 U.S. buy it now price and the other $21.95 buy it now.

If the connections are different where you are, then this post is worthless you, however, it may still help someone else.