Loss of radio presets when starting in cold weather

[mothervanna]

I know it is hotter than blazes, but I have just gotten around to browsing this forum. Maybe someone else has had this problem. I bought my new '08 2.5i OB in December and when it was very cold, the car would start with some hestiation, but I wold lose all of my radio presets. It warmed up shortly after that and the dealer wouldn't look at it since I couldn't replicate the problem and SOA said I would have to wait until this winter to see if it happens again. Should I be worried?

[mslatfly]

Originally posted by mothervanna
I know it is hotter than blazes, but I have just gotten around to browsing this forum. Maybe someone else has had this problem. I bought my new '08 2.5i OB in December and when it was very cold, the car would start with some hestiation, but I wold lose all of my radio presets. It warmed up shortly after that and the dealer wouldn't look at it since I couldn't replicate the problem and SOA said I would have to wait until this winter to see if it happens again. Should I be worried?

I don't know this exact system yet. But, the only way I know that this can happen is by the voltage dropping too low during start. The usual causes are a defective battery, a defective starter, a defective charging system, or a bad connection in the starting system. None of these are problems that new cars have, unless you have a bad component. They are right though. It probably won't show up again until it gets cold enough.

Since this should be covered by your warranty, I would take it back and tell them to check the whole system out before the cold weather hits. Or, find a place you trust to check out the system, and show the results to the dealer, and insist that they fix it under warranty if anything is found wrong.

[Pdsr]

Originally Posted by mothervanna

I know it is hotter than blazes, but I have just gotten around to browsing this forum. Maybe someone else has had this problem. I bought my new '08 2.5i OB in December and when it was very cold, the car would start with some hestiation, but I wold lose all of my radio presets. It warmed up shortly after that and the dealer wouldn't look at it since I couldn't replicate the problem and SOA said I would have to wait until this winter to see if it happens again. Should I be worried?

I know I'm dredging up an old post, but I just started having this problem with my 07 OB basic. I've put a meter on the battery, it shows almost 14 volts static, only drops to about 13while starter is turning, and rises to 15 or better when charging. Any new thoughts on this?

[plain OM]

As noted, loss of radio presets is characteristic of the memory retention voltage supply to the radio getting too low, typically during a start.

Your Voltage readings are strange. With the engine off, the battery voltage should be around 12.7 V (fully charged). If it's at 14 V, it's way overcharged and there's good reason to suspect the battery condition. However, looking at your other readings, which are unusually high, I would double check the meter you're using. I suspect it isn't reading properly.

What type of meter are you using?

Also, the battery is connected to the rest of the car circuit by cables. If the cables or connections are bad, the battery voltage can appear to remain fairly good at the battery posts, but at the radio it drops off precipitously when the starter is working because of losses in the cables going to the rest of the car.

Turn on the dome light and then start the car. Does the light dim a lot when the starter is cranking, or stay fairly bright.

[subiefanil83]

I had this issue in my 07 Legacy. It seems to be a problem internal to the radio head unit itself. My dealer replaced the unit and I never had the issue again.

[Pdsr]

Originally Posted by plain OM

As noted, loss of radio presets is characteristic of the memory retention voltage supply to the radio getting too low, typically during a start.

Your Voltage readings are strange. With the engine off, the battery voltage should be around 12.7 V (fully charged). If it's at 14 V, it's way overcharged and there's good reason to suspect the battery condition. However, looking at your other readings, which are unusually high, I would double check the meter you're using. I suspect it isn't reading properly.

What type of meter are you using?

Also, the battery is connected to the rest of the car circuit by cables. If the cables or connections are bad, the battery voltage can appear to remain fairly good at the battery posts, but at the radio it drops off precipitously when the starter is working because of losses in the cables going to the rest of the car.

Turn on the dome light and then start the car. Does the light dim a lot when the starter is cranking, or stay fairly bright.

I'm using a 35 year old analog meter from Radio-Shack, so the readings are, admittedly, suspect and not extremely precise, but the minimal voltage drop during start made me think the battery and charging system were OK. I think you may have given me better insight with your reminder that conditions at the radio are not necessarily reflected by conditions at the battery. I will do some checking for corrosion at the battery connections, grounding sites, etc. I might check voltages and drop at the fuse to the radio and see if that differs from what I see at the battery.

Thanks for the reply!

[Dogma]

I'm having the same problem in an 07 LL Bean. It first happened a few months ago (not even that cold out), and has now happened twice in the last two weeks. Car starts and runs normally, but all radio memory is gone.

I'm curious how many people have found that it ISN'T the battery and that the radio needs to be replaced.