Back in March I picked up the "Big Green Machine" - a Saturn Vue Redline in lime green (Xbox360 green?). Great car, and I upped the sound system with some serious amplification, speakers, and an Alpine 9847 head unit.
That was back in sunny California, and I 'm now in the dead of winter up here in Bellevue, Washington.
The other morning I went out to the car and started it up. I went to poke through the radio stations and the Alpine power-cycled on me! Everytime I hit a preset, or the source button, it would power off, then power on again. Aargh.
A few minutes later, after the car warmed up, i tried it again and everything was fine. Weird.
I figured that since metal expands with heat, it contracts as well, and perhaps there's a connection in there that contracts just enough to be faulty in cold weather. Nice quality job there Alpine!
I am working this theory through my head as I drive my son to school the other day. It was cold in the car again and sure enough pushing buttons power-cycled it, but jiggling the head unit from the corners kept it running. Once again, weird.
Then I remembered that the head unit has a detachable faceplate. I popped it out and breathed hard on the connector in the back, popped it back into the dash . . . and it worked like a charm.
McGyver strikes again.
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