Chinese 8" Satnav/entertainment centre

Hi
I have, fitted into my car, a permanently installed 8" Chinese Satnav with entertainment system.

The satnav program is Primo 2.4(ver9.6.13.267029) running with the diMka WA_P172 skin.

The satnav unit is connected with a permanent +12V supply and also +12V accessory supply. This voltage is supplied from the radio and is present when the radio is turned on, which in turn activates the satnav system.

Everything works perfectly so long as i turn off the satnav and radio before i remove the ignition key.

If i turn off the car and remove the ignition key first then the next time i turn on the car and the radio i find the satnav system is locked and will not power on. The only way to solve this is either by a hard reset of the system or removal of the satnav program card.

All the above only happens if i turn off with the satnav program running, in all other situations the system reboots correctly.

Bit of a long shot but can anybody suggest the reason that this is happening?

Instead of just turning off things, a proper save folder will be created if you exit the program through the program. Try it this way. See if it helps.

You're quite right, if i exit the program properly then it carries on working correctly, but, if i forget and just turn off the ignition and withdraw the key it will not reboot without either a hard reset or removing the SD card.

I have been looking further at my problem.

If i exit through the program then the satnav program closes down and everything is fine.

If i remove the ignition key while in the satnav program then after a delay, to allow the accessory voltage to turn off, the complete system turns off.

When i next turn on the device powers up with the satnav screen showing when i last incorrectly turned off. It allows me to exit to the power down screen. If i then press exit the exit screen shows and tells me it is turning off. And that is where it stays. It seems like it cannot find the exit command. If i then turn the ignition off the device powers down but when i turn on again the device is locked.

I'm just trying to help. But here's what happens. When a person exits the nav correctly through the program, a proper save folder is created. The proper save folder is paramount when starting the nav the next time. This is where all your options are kept by the program. If you improperly exit a proper save folder cannot be created. So the next time you try to start the program, the program "reads" the incorrect save folder and uses that as the primary guide and picks up where you last left off. That might account for the problem you're now having. Wait for the program to properly exit and let your device return to its menu before turning it off. I hope this helps.

I think iGO is detecting that the power is removed and is attempting to shut down, but is interrupted by the device suspending, this could result in it freezing. Look in the sys.txt at the [interface] shutdown_time option, if it's not 0 then change it to 0 and try again.

This will stop it from shutting the device down.
I had a similar problem with a mio device where it ended up "stuck" needing a device reset.

Thank you for your replies
Chas521 you are absolutely correct, if i exit from the program correctly everything works fine. The problem only happens if i, in my haste, turn the car off with the program still running. At this point all voltages are still present and do not turn off for a further 30 seconds.

When i then turn the ignition back on igoPrimo is still running and available for use. But, when i try to close it the exit screen shows and the program hangs. If i then turn the ignition off and then back on the screen remains blank and i have to do a hard reset. Could it possibly be related to Fatboyfuns answer?

Fatboyfun I have no [interface]shutdown_option in my sys.txt file but i have Primo-sys.txt lines.......posted by nabi ,29 August 2010,a note against this option saying "now fixed in 22Jul2010".

Add this to the sys.txt

[interface]
shutdown_time=0

Of course Fatboyfun could be correct. Do what he suggests.

Hello Fatboyfun, thankyou very much for your reply and my apologies for my late reply.

I have tried your suggestion but unfortunately it did not yield a cure.

Thinking about what is happening, the entertainment/satnav device is supplied from two voltages. a) +12V permanent supply and b)+12V accessory voltage, that collapses about 30 seconds after the ignition is turned off.

If i remove the ignition key whilst the satnav is functional then after 30 seconds the screen goes blank. When i turn the ignition on again the screen comes up with the satnav as it was before the last switch off and still fully functional.
I can then proceed to exit from the satnav program, as usual, and it goes as far as displaying the exit screen, and saying the goodbye message. Here is where the system freezes and it seems that it is trying to close down and return to the entertainment menu but it cannot find the closure instructions.
Could it be that the satnav program, when executed, is running under the permanent +12V supply but all paths to it are stored under the switched +12V supply and thus when this closes down the exit path, created when starting the program started,has been lost.

Your thoughts on this will be welcomed, but if this is the case then i fear it is working as intended and i will have to follow chas521's instructions.

It might be the device shell isn't running after the suspend with iGO active, so the device has nothing to show and appears to freeze.
I'm sure one of the skins gives the option to run an app on exit, running the exefile that starts the shell could work

Thanks for all your help.

I am going with it as it is and hope i always remember to exit correctly.

Franka, I've had a thought reading a few of your posts. What car is the unit installed in? Did you install an aftermarket wiring harness before installing the unit? Lots of cars (especially Volkswagen) require an extra wiring harness to convert them to the more standardized aftermarket wiring configuration. If you did not install an aftermarket loom, it's very possible the wiring configuration is wrong.

I have a very simple suggestion to test this theory. I would switch the accessory 12v and constant 12v, on the head unit wiring loom. The easiest way of doing this is by snipping both wires and installing bullet connectors on the two (now four) wires. Remember to put the male connectors on the non-live side. Alternatively, you can pop the wires out as the ISO plugs are designed to allow them to release, however I prefer bullets as they are just so much quicker and easier. Some aftermarket wiring looms actually come pre-fitted with bullet connectors so you can do just this ( [Please Register or Login to download file] ), so please don't be alarmed about fitting them, they're very common.
I find popping wires out of ISO plugs a nightmare, however if you don't want to cut the wires, you can pop them out by sticking a thin flat headed screwdriver through the plug side and levering them out.

To explain in more detail, these units will ONLY run when both are detected (so if one is cut, the unit will power down) however, the device has a permanent live which is powering the internal memory and controls the suspension mode on the WinCE. The accessory live as you put it, otherwise known as ignition live, merely powers the simple functions of the device e.g. ON/OFF, DVD Mechanism, Memory Card Readers, WinCE power itself etc, ie, when you turn your key to the first notch you will often hear the Mechanism spin-up. One way I can prove it, when wired up correctly, if the WinCE board crashes in a way that turning the ignition OFF won't fix, then you will have to cut the main power by removing the fuse from your fuse box. Pressing the hard reset button merely cuts the line between constant 12v and the unit, which will clear the internal memory, but will not reset the WinCE side of the device as it will continue to draw power from the accessory line which is still live.

Give it a try, post here how you get on

Hi Skezza

Yes the device is installed with a custom loom supplied with the device. The B+(permanent+12V) is supplied from a permanent live within the fusebox. The switched live comes from the radio "Entertainment Remote Enable Signal" and with the radio ON it supplies a +12V signal and with the radio OFF is at 0V. If the ignition key is removed without turning the radio OFF this signal will remain at +12V for 30 seconds then drop to 0V.

How much memory does the device have?

Another thought is the device is running out of memory at resume when primo is running and shuts down background tasks, ie the device shell/menu, so when you exit primo nothing is there to fall back to. And Chinese devices usually don't load the wince desktop by default.

If it retains settings and radio presets when the ignition is off then it should be wired correctly.