Radio not turning on in the cold

[WoodsyBrown]

Heading into the second winter with my BS and already seeing a lingering problem supposedly "fixed" last year. Whenever it's cold out (around 40deg or lower" my radio generally won't turn on during startup, and will remain off sometimes up to 20 min or more later.

I'm talking no screen, no sound, phone showing no connection available, and even USB ports dead. Seemingly as I get driving and the cabin warms up the screen will turn on and all associated functions resume. This has me thinking it's related to cabin temp and possibly a bad electrical connection that's shrinking/swelling with the temp difference.

Last year I brought it in to the dealer towards the end of winter for this problem, laying out exactly what was happening and that they probably need to get the car in first thing while it's cold to see the problem, but they just said it needed a software update (I checked before bringing it in and none were available) and handed it back. A couple days later temps dipped low again and sure enough the radio wouldn't come on in the morning, and I couldn't get it back in before it started getting warmer in the morning again. First morning below 40 this year and it's back to its old tricks.

I've checked battery voltage several times on cold mornings before starting the car and they've all been nominal, so not thinking it's a battery issue. Software totally up-to-date. I haven't seen any mention of this exact issue on these forums, though I've seen people mention their radio black out and shut off mid-drive and pressing the power button and playback control to reset the radio (no dice with my issue) so I'm hoping someone might see this and share a similar experience and maybe a fix.

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[coopny]

I searched for TSBs and there are none. If I had to guess, I would guess the SYNC3 APIM has a bad cold solder joint. You can read about someone having a similar issue in an F-150.

Similar issue in a Ford Explorer, APIM was the culprit.

If you're within warranty I'd take it to the dealer. They may have to park it outside for some time (to allow the car to cool down) in order to reproduce the issue, but I'd call and describe the behavior to them and see what they say.

 

[Bucko]

I searched for TSBs and there are none. If I had to guess, I would guess the SYNC3 APIM has a bad cold solder joint. You can read about someone having a similar issue in an F-150.

Similar issue in a Ford Explorer, APIM was the culprit.

If you're within warranty I'd take it to the dealer. They may have to park it outside for some time (to allow the car to cool down) in order to reproduce the issue, but I'd call and describe the behavior to them and see what they say.

Or, video it yourself on a cold morning, then show it to the service manager.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Heading into the second winter with my BS and already seeing a lingering problem supposedly "fixed" last year. Whenever it's cold out (around 40deg or lower" my radio generally won't turn on during startup, and will remain off sometimes up to 20 min or more later.

I'm talking no screen, no sound, phone showing no connection available, and even USB ports dead. Seemingly as I get driving and the cabin warms up the screen will turn on and all associated functions resume. This has me thinking it's related to cabin temp and possibly a bad electrical connection that's shrinking/swelling with the temp difference.

Last year I brought it in to the dealer towards the end of winter for this problem, laying out exactly what was happening and that they probably need to get the car in first thing while it's cold to see the problem, but they just said it needed a software update (I checked before bringing it in and none were available) and handed it back. A couple days later temps dipped low again and sure enough the radio wouldn't come on in the morning, and I couldn't get it back in before it started getting warmer in the morning again. First morning below 40 this year and it's back to its old tricks.

I've checked battery voltage several times on cold mornings before starting the car and they've all been nominal, so not thinking it's a battery issue. Software totally up-to-date. I haven't seen any mention of this exact issue on these forums, though I've seen people mention their radio black out and shut off mid-drive and pressing the power button and playback control to reset the radio (no dice with my issue) so I'm hoping someone might see this and share a similar experience and maybe a fix.

Hi there! I can look into your Bronco's radio concern on my end. To get started, could you please send a private message over with the name/location of your local Ford dealer and your Bronco's VIN?

 

[Bucko]

Hmmm. I had a similar issue with a Pioneer I had in my Ford F-150. Bought it because I thought having a rear camera on screen would be nifty, plus Sirus was offering a 5 buck a month deal.

After 3 months, the volume knob stopped functioning, the power went on and off causing me to loose presets and setup, and the Sirus signal would cut in and out in my area. All this happening with Florida's first cold snap last week. Out came that radio, and back in went the stock Ford radio, tried and true for over 185K miles.

Seems all the bells and whistles these modern radios have just add to failure prone potential.

I still have a pocket 7 transistor radio from my youth, and that works like a charm. No headset jack though.

 

[WoodsyBrown]

I searched for TSBs and there are none. If I had to guess, I would guess the SYNC3 APIM has a bad cold solder joint. You can read about someone having a similar issue in an F-150.

Similar issue in a Ford Explorer, APIM was the culprit.

If you're within warranty I'd take it to the dealer. They may have to park it outside for some time (to allow the car to cool down) in order to reproduce the issue, but I'd call and describe the behavior to them and see what they say.

Thanks for the info on the related issues, seems to be the likely cause. I took it to a dealer and explained what was going on and even had a video prepared in case it wasn't cold enough to trigger the issue, though unfortunately they didn't end up watching it. They plugged in a scanner to check for codes or software updates to the APIM and found/installed an update. No dice though, if anything since then it's gotten worse. Before, the SYNC system would come on by itself once the cabin warmed up after driving a while. Now it seems I have to warm the car up, park it, cycle the key/door/locks a few times over to get it to turn on.

Here's a video I put together before the software update, for those interested.

 

[Rogerthat898]

If there is an electrical connector loose or corroded somewhere the cold weather could play a role in making the connection worse.

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