(T) Connect Nav+ versus..........Me.

Hi Guys And Gals,

I'm having the usual fun with my Connect Nav +.........

Sat Nav arrow goes on holiday....
frequent freezing of the system....
CD's skipping......
Total Lockup.......
Buttons Sticking.....

And the list goes on! BUT.... I don't care! It's all part of the fiat experience and the car itself looks, drives and "handles" pretty good (for a jellyfish)

I have a more man-made problem.

After smacking the screen in anger at a 4am skip of my favorite song the screen backlight has gone off! I can still see the screen if i shine a torch onto it at the right angle, and everything else works ok (if not better!) but it just doesn't light up! I've tried to adjust the brightness but to no gain.

Turin Motors (Good Leeds Alfa/Fiat Indpendent garage) have said that it need to be exchanged for another one at an exchange price of..............£1800!!!!!! Bugger me.

Unicar in Leeds (Good Audio specialists) have said that they will no attempt a repair as Fiat will not release the part specs for them to use.

One suggestion was pull the stereo out, see who made it and try and find a relevant specialist to fix it and that brings me to my next problem.

1) How do i get the stereo out? I can see 2 holes at the top end...
2) Any ideas how to fix or get it fixed guys? I need it!

Any ideas are appreciated!

The Connect Nav realease keys are actually screws, they look to be about a M2 or M3 thread size (can check in a week when I get home).

The same has happened to my Abarth instrument cluster. I'd just take the unit out, take it apart, check connections etc - if it still doesn't work, it's either the TFT bulb or (in my case) the power circuit.

If you get it working, update the software too

I too are currently having problems with my Connect. Huttons FMA have sent it to a specialist in Dundee as recommended by Fiat technical apprarently. I do not have any numbers and they have had the unit too long now.

Update Guys,

I managed to very easily get the Connect Nav + out using two Single Din radio removal keys bent straight - i was bloody surprised that it worked!!!!!

I removed the full unit and seperated it into it 2 main parts - screen housing and main unit. No obvious loose/broken connectors. There are 4 wires that connect the screen housing to the unit, the phone (Left as viewed from the rear into the card slot) the right button panel wire and 2 unit to screen wires.

The 2 screen wires are paper thin and don't take a lot to damage. on examining them i found the larger one had been trapped between the units causing it to crease and break 2 of the filaments inside - a pair of scissors and a window scraper fixed that!!!!! - Master Bodgit rules.....
This looks like a design flaw with the routing of the wiring courtesy of the manufacturers - Magneti Marelli and Toshiba(screen) I'll let you know of it improves anything!!!

Anyway after all this fiddling, the screen still doesn't light up and there is no bulb to replace.......bugger.

Gaz - do you have the number of Huttons EMA buddy?

That's a brave effort so far
So, you trimmed back the ribbon cable with the scissors and carefully scraped off some insulation with the window scraper? I did something similar to a BMW check-control display last Sunday.

The screen probably has a fluorescent backlight? I was talking to a friend last night in London who obtained a replacement lamp for his Tablet PC and replaced it (much to my amazement). Seems the tubes are a common size/shape, so maybe if you can find yours, you'll manage to replace it.

Still wondering what is faulty though - I've never broken anything by hitting it. What else have you broken?

-Alex

Not a lot-ish...............

Never really got that angry until i started with the dreaded Fiat electrical probs - now at stress warp 10.......