Tesla head unit install (pre2016 LC) - first impressions and a couple bugs to figure out (2 Viewers)

[kcjaz]

The only issue with this approach for me is that my hotspot takes more than a minute (closer to 2) to boot (it’s hard wired for power and switched with the ignition) so entering my destination in Google Maps will be delayed if Internet access is needed at the time.

I’m just leaving the hot spot on all the time. It runs off its battery when the car is off. When I start the truck, boot up and Wi-Fi connect is pretty quick.

 

[greynolds]

I’m just leaving the hot spot on all the time. It runs off its battery when the car is off. When I start the truck, boot up and Wi-Fi connect is pretty quick.

No battery on mine - it's a MOFI 4500. It's one of those things that is what it is for now. I'm sure I'll replace it with something else once 5G is more mature and prices for similar mobile routers go down, but I'm going to stick with it for now.

 

[kcjaz]

I left my cruiser garaged and unused for two weeks which is its general use case as it is the road trip vehicle not the daily driver. I had it on a battery tender for the two weeks. When I started the truck the boot up took forever (which I expected) but ultimately it crashed. I heard a load pop on the speakers (like loose speaker or amp wiring), then the screen went black. Shut it off, disconnected battery, reconnected battery, started it back up and it eventually booted up to full function. Seemed like forever but was probably 5 minutes or so. The loose wire pops have me a little baffled as nothing seems loose and shaking the harness doesn't reproduce it. I've had that happed once before (so twice now) and it has been on startup with truck in park. Not sure the battery tender had anything to do with it or not.

 

[greynolds]

I left my cruiser garaged and unused for two weeks which is its general use case as it is the road trip vehicle not the daily driver. I had it on a battery tender for the two weeks. When I started the truck the boot up took forever (which I expected) but ultimately it crashed. I heard a load pop on the speakers (like loose speaker or amp wiring), then the screen went black. Shut it off, disconnected battery, reconnected battery, started it back up and it eventually booted up to full function. Seemed like forever but was probably 5 minutes or so. The loose wire pops have me a little baffled as nothing seems loose and shaking the harness doesn't reproduce it. I've had that happed once before (so twice now) and it has been on startup with truck in park. Not sure the battery tender had anything to do with it or not.

I have experienced the loud pop when the head unit reboots several times or so as well. It doesn't happen every time it reboots. I'm puzzled by the long boot times though as these head units should fully boot up in under a minute even if fastboot is disabled.

 

[kcjaz]

I have experienced the loud pop when the head unit reboots several times or so as well. It doesn't happen every time it reboots. I'm puzzled by the long boot times though as these head units should fully boot up in under a minute even if fastboot is disabled.

I thought the "fastboot" was for <24 hours of the truck being off but regardless, the boot time I saw was definitely longer than a "normal" not-fastboot.

 

[greynolds]

I thought the "fastboot" was for <24 hours of the truck being off but regardless, the boot time I saw was definitely longer than a "normal" not-fastboot.

Right, though it is configurable for as much as 48 hours (obviously still a lot less than a few weeks). So a fast boot means the head unit is ready to use in a few seconds, but even a full boot should have it ready to use in 30ish seconds. I‘m definitely curious why it’s taking so long to boot.

 

[kcjaz]

Just got to the lake and started the cruiser after sitting in the garage since Sunday so 5 days. It took 5 minutes to boot up. The initial splash screen comes on in about 10 seconds, it stays on for about 2 minutes, the it displays “Android”, then the top ribbon and screen controls come up with a black center screen. AC controls don’t work while it is this way. Google maps (my default nav) then comes up but just the logo. At about 5 minutes total, it all works. Also heard the “amp pops”.

It definitely didn’t take this long initially but I wasn’t leaving it sit for a week either. As long as it eventually boots up and then fast boots every start when I’m using it , I can live with this. Don’t really have a choice.

 

[linuxgod]

Just got to the lake and started the cruiser after sitting in the garage since Sunday so 5 days. It took 5 minutes to boot up. The initial splash screen comes on in about 10 seconds, it stays on for about 2 minutes, the it displays “Android”, then the top ribbon and screen controls come up with a black center screen. AC controls don’t work while it is this way. Google maps (my default nav) then comes up but just the logo. At about 5 minutes total, it all works. Also heard the “amp pops”.

It definitely didn’t take this long initially but I wasn’t leaving it sit for a week either. As long as it eventually boots up and then fast boots every start when I’m using it , I can live with this. Don’t really have a choice.

Needs a timed relay that turns it on and off every 12 hours. Or figures out how to modify the deep sleep settings… I’d guess it’s just part of the power saving configuration, like any laptop has

 

[greynolds]

Needs a timed relay that turns it on and off every 12 hours. Or figures out how to modify the deep sleep settings… I’d guess it’s just part of the power saving configuration, like any laptop has

It just shouldn't ever take 5 minutes to boot up, even if it's been off for a month.

@kcjaz - I'm not sure they'll be much help, but have you let EC Offroad know about this problem? You could also run this by Sergey on the Facebook group as he's generally pretty helpful even with people who haven't purchased his custom firmware. Just be aware that he's on vacation until September with poor Internet service while he's away, so responses may take a while (though he may respond before your head unit finishes booting...).

I continue to be happy overall with making the switch to the Tesla style head unit, but it sure would be nice if these things were a bit more stable like other Android devices typically are.

 

[kcjaz]

I emailed EC offroad and they said this can be caused by low battery voltage or too many apps installed. My battery is "good" according to my tester but was at 12.55 v after sitting a week off the charger. I did run my winch a little bit this weekend without the engine running and the long boot thing happened afterward several times. I drove it back from the lake this weekend (~125 miles) and its fast booting now. I'll see what happens after 24hours. I may swap to another battery just to see if it makes a difference.

Sergey is trying to help me. He doesn't think it is a battery issue. He checked the version of the MCU file and it appears correct but he suggests downloading a new file and loading it. He sent me a link to down load the file and says the file is the same for all manufactures (EC Offroad vs. Phoenix). The file name is RL78.bin. There is a Youtube video on how to do the MCU file upgrade. This makes me a bit nervous. I've emailed EC Offroad and asked about getting a new MCU file. We will say what they say.

Here is my system info, can anyone confirm the MCU version is the same?

Edit: if you have a Phoenix Tesla HU installed in a pre 2016 LC, please take this same pic and post. I want to compare. I think the “APPver” is the firmware. Sergey tells me EC Offroad’s firmware is the same as all other OEMs. I want to see what this screen looks like for a Phoenix unit.

 

[grinchy]

android. Phenomenal cosmic power. Itty bitty living space.
I’ve got one in my minivan, it works most of the time. Big difference was it’s a double din and cost $125

 

[kcjaz]

android. Phenomenal cosmic power. Itty bitty living space.
I’ve got one in my minivan, it works most of the time. Big difference was it’s a double din and cost $125

After I load some Russian files from Sergey on it, I'll probably have to think in Russian to drive...

 

[greynolds]

I emailed EC offroad and they said this can be caused by low battery voltage or too many apps installed. My battery is "good" according to my tester but was at 12.55 v after sitting a week off the charger. I did run my winch a little bit this weekend without the engine running and the long boot thing happened afterward several times. I drove it back from the lake this weekend (~125 miles) and its fast booting now. I'll see what happens after 24hours. I may swap to another battery just to see if it makes a difference.

Sergey is trying to help me. He doesn't think it is a battery issue. He checked the version of the MCU file and it appears correct but he suggests downloading a new file and loading it. He sent me a link to down load the file and says the file is the same for all manufactures (EC Offroad vs. Phoenix). The file name is RL78.bin. There is a Youtube video on how to do the MCU file upgrade. This makes me a bit nervous. I've emailed EC Offroad and asked about getting a new MCU file. We will say what they say.

Here is my system info, can anyone confirm the MCU version is the same?


Edit: if you have a Phoenix Tesla HU installed in a pre 2016 LC, please take this same pic and post. I want to compare. I think the “APPver” is the firmware. Sergey tells me EC Offroad’s firmware is the same as all other OEMs. I want to see what this screen looks like for a Phoenix unit.

Mine is obviously 2016+, but I'll try to remember to get a screenshot of mine later today and let you know how they compare. Sergey seems to be a really good guy - if he can help you, he will. I'm still having the problem with random reboots mostly shortly after a quick boot is done - I need to ping him about that to see if he can help fix it.

 

[kcjaz]

Here are some videos of the Tesla unit boot up. I set the reboot timer to 8 hrs last night so I could test/video it. 2.5 ish minutes and no speaker pops. I soft booted it after which took only 1.5ish minutes. I could easily live with this if it only happened once a week when I started the vehicle and then drove it every day over the weekend. It’s when it was hard booting every time this weekend that it got really annoying. Also you’ll notice in the video at the top ribbon in the bottom HVAC controls show up on the dark screen first but the center is black. What should happen is the home screen should come on first. Then the NAV app. But for whatever reason the home screen doesn’t come on first it stays black and then Google attempts to start. Serge reinstall the firmware and he sent me a download of the stock or I guess Chinese made What should happen is the home screen should come on first. Then the NAV app. But for whatever reason the home screen doesn’t come on first it stays black and then Google attempts to start. In the second or soft boot video the sequence was correct but the video stopped short is it appears o
Bluetooth connection to my phone stops my video.

Sergey is suggesting that I just reinstall the firmware and he sent me a download of the stock or I guess Chinese made firmware. He says the EC off-road firmware is no different from Phoenix or other OEMs that make these units. EC off-road had told me they make their own firmware or at least tweaks to what they get from the Chinese factory.

 

[greynolds]

Mine is obviously 2016+, but I'll try to remember to get a screenshot of mine later today and let you know how they compare. Sergey seems to be a really good guy - if he can help you, he will. I'm still having the problem with random reboots mostly shortly after a quick boot is done - I need to ping him about that to see if he can help fix it.

So mine are definitely a bit different, but we have different head units on different gen LC’s and I have Sergey’s firmware, but this is what I have.

 

[kcjaz]

So mine are definitely a bit different, but we have different head units on different gen LC’s and I have Sergey’s firmware, but this is what I have.

View attachment 3107990

Thanks. Yeah. I really need to see this same data for a Phoenix unit with original files.

 

[kcjaz]

Hey @greynolds, do you happen to have the system info (pic?) from before you installed Sergey's firm where? Just curious what all changed. I'm assuming the MCU file is different for you because of the 2016 vs. 2013 differences but I'm guessing. I'd really like to understand what Zhi Fang (actual manufacture of these units) installs and what packagers lin Phoenix and EC Offroad install or maybe change. Sergey could tell that my MCU file name/version was correct yet its different from yours, so Zhi Fang seems to me setting these up by vehicle type and model year differences to some extent.

I sent EC Offroad the videos of my unit rebooting and they at least have replied acknowledging something isn't right. They asked for the pic of the system info and say they will look for updated files. We will see.

 

[greynolds]

Hey @greynolds, do you happen to have the system info (pic?) from before you installed Sergey's firm where? Just curious what all changed. I'm assuming the MCU file is different for you because of the 2016 vs. 2013 differences but I'm guessing. I'd really like to understand what Zhi Fang (actual manufacture of these units) installs and what packagers lin Phoenix and EC Offroad install or maybe change. Sergey could tell that my MCU file name/version was correct yet its different from yours, so Zhi Fang seems to me setting these up by vehicle type and model year differences to some extent.

I sent EC Offroad the videos of my unit rebooting and they at least have replied acknowledging something isn't right. They asked for the pic of the system info and say they will look for updated files. We will see.

Here you go:

 

[kcjaz]

Here you go:

View attachment 3108517

Thanks. The only difference seems to be APPver which I assume is Sergey’s firmware.

 

[greynolds]

Thanks. The only difference seems to be APPver which I assume is Sergey’s firmware.

As a software developer (but firmware / Android isn't my wheelhouse), I find the userdebug and test-keys stuff mildly amusing, but I would honestly prefer to see production versions in use. They're probably keeping costs down by using questionable development / test licenses.