MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: sparksy on July 24, 2019, 09:01:34 PM
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Next door neighbor came over today to ask a question. He asked as he thinks I am an electrician who should know everything electrical why would this be happening.
I proved him wrong.. :D
He has a small apple FM modulator that he uses to play music from his Ipod to the radio in his 2007 BT50. Works well. But.
When he presses the next track button on the Ipod the indicators flash on the BT50. Not every time but when he showed me it did it at least every 3rd press and sometimes flashed only once but sometimes more than 4 times. The Ipod and FM transmitter run on its own battery so no power lead
Its got me stumped. Only theory is somehow the Ipod is transmitting a frequency that upsets the cars wiring. Canbus ???
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It's just warning you a crappy song is playing.....
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Or warning everybody else that the driver has just picked one of his favourite songs, so will be concentrating on the music, not the road ... ;D
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It’s apple, it’s had a bite outta it >:D
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Its just scary to think that something a simple as a Ipod player can mess with the cars electrics.
We were talking about it later about what if the ipod was closer to something like the ECU would it affect the engine.
Might be something in Jeepers love for old cars.
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so, the FM transmitter is plugged into a 12V socket and the ipod is connected to the transmitter via bluetooth?
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Does it only do it with the FM transmitter active?
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Google BT-50 Canbus problems .. Seems HID lights play up with it too .
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My first thoughts were if it’s a wireless thing could it have more to do with it interfering with the central locking?
But I have no idea.
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some FM transmitters (usually cheaper versions) have sometimes caused problems because they use too much power and apparently can conflict with the electrical systems of vehicles...
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so, the FM transmitter is plugged into a 12V socket and the ipod is connected to the transmitter via bluetooth?
No transmitter plugs into base of Ipod gets it power off the Ipod and its a FM signal to the radio. Theres no wires connected to the car.
Does it only do it with the FM transmitter active?
Yes. FM unit is transmitting signal which radio plays through a preset FM station.
My first thoughts were if it’s a wireless thing could it have more to do with it interfering with the central locking?
But I have no idea.
You and us as well. Seems to have no effect on the door locks when it does it. Just the hazard lights flashing but not the same number of flashes each time.
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I'd be calling ghostbusters! ;D
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I had a ranger (un-rebadged BT50)
When I installed the brake controller I ran the Erath direct to battery. This caused similar indicator flashing when locking the car. Also would do it a little later, presumably when the brake controller timed out and turned off.
Moving the earth to the grounding bolt near the battery solved it.
Has he installed anything with a direct earth to battery? (And the iPod is just a symptom and not the cause)
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I had a ranger (un-rebadged BT50)
Has he installed anything with a direct earth to battery? (And the iPod is just a symptom and not the cause)
No the car is 100% original. He hasnt installed anything at all. The Ipod just sits in the tray on the dash.
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As a fellow radio amateur and I discovered, some newer cars as well as enough cable to reach to the sun and back also have a wireless communication network. You may be interfering with that, if it exists in a BT50.
What happened in our case was that we were fitting snap on ferrites to try and get rid of some of the interference that the car was causing because he wanted to be able to at least listen to the amateur bands while he was driving. When we put a ferrite on part of the loom that was emitting LOTS of interference [1] we killed the brake lights and the cruise control. After speaking to the manufacturer we found out that we had suppressed the antenna for the cars radio network and that we were lucky that we didn't set off the airbags.
[1] We used a home brew sniffer that let us hear broadband RF from up close and personal.
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I'm pretty sure the only things that had canbus systems on 2007 were exotic and European?
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Possibly is it receiving a similar frequency to the key fob.
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Possibly is it receiving a similar frequency to the key fob.
We thought that but tried pressing the fobs buttons and they have no effect while engine is running. Also pressing button on Ipod has no effect on the central locking, engine running or not.
I think it will just be one of lifes mysteries.
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Possibly is it receiving a similar frequency to the key fob.
A harmonic maybe a long shot. FM band is 108-136Mhz, I believe remote fobs are in the 300 and 400 odd Mhz range??