phatbox freeze?

[gimik]

my phatnoise system works pretty well (aside from the rare skip), except ever since i had it installed it will "lock up" after the car has been shut off for an extended amount of time--usually overnight, but sometimes it takes up to 48 hours.

when i come back to the car, both the red and green lights on the phatbox are solid and the head unit does not detect CDC1.  i let it be one time and they stayed solid for 2 days.  i end up having to unplug the cable from the back of the phatbox to "reboot" it.

i haven't tried updating the firmware, which is my next step, but has anyone had experience with this problem?

2002 a4 1.8T with symphony II/bose 6-disc in-dash changer..

thanks in advance,
greg

[A543]

If the lights are on all night, that is unusual.  The phatbox is supposed to detect when the ignition is turned off (through the headunit) and then shut itself down. Is your headunit installed correctly with both a constant 12V and a switched 12V?
Also check the contacts on the phatbox connector and cable to see if any debris is causing a short, or maybe a contact is bent.
You could try running a chkdsk and a surface test (non destructive) on your DMS. If the phatbox is attempting to write to the DMS and there are bad sectors, it might cause it to retry the write many many times and eventually lock up the unit.
Just some suggestions, hope one helps.

[Steveo369]

I was having a very similar issue with the PB in my 2000 A4 w/ the Symphony HU.  I would get the red/green solid about every 3-4 days, and the only solution was to unplug the harness.

I did some troubleshooting and swapped it with the PB unit in my gf's Jetta (Premium IV HU)

The problem persisted, following the PB to the Jetta, though it was worse.  It would enter that state almost daily.

I contacted the VW dealer that I bought it from, and they indicated that I could swap the unit basically no-questions-asked.  It's been a few days so far with no problems.  I think it may have simply been a defective unit.

If you bought the PB from an online VW dealer, you should be able to swap it out under warranty at any VW dealer local to you.  If your dealer's not familiar with the PB, this may be more of a hassle, but they're supposed to stand by the product, and since their techs typically know little about the product, their easiest solution is to simply replace it.

Hope that helps ya.
-Steveo

[gimik]

unfortunately i took a risk with my install that probably voids any warranty on it..  i had tested the unit for a half hour or so before permanently installing, but that wasn't enough time to see this lock-up issue.

basically i removed the aluminum housing and modified it to fit in my glovebox.  there was only minor handling of the PB unit itself, so i'm fairly certain the modification has nothing to do with it, but somehow i don't think the warranty disclaimer has any sympathy.

i'm hoping it's related to wiring, one way or another..

thanks very much for your replies.

[Terry_Kennedy]

unfortunately i took a risk with my install that probably voids any warranty on it..  i had tested the unit for a half hour or so before permanently installing, but that wasn't enough time to see this lock-up issue.

Well, a user on eBay is taking the VW "closeout sale" kits and breaking them up into separate parts (cradle + AC adapter; DMS; PhatBox and VW cable) and selling them. At $49.00 for a VW box and cable, it is probably worth it for you to just buy a spare. Here's the item: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7542296176

[gimik]

thanks for the heads up!