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I am experiencing erratic behavior when I turn the radio volume knob. If I turn the volume down, it jumps up, and vice versa. It is similar to what is described in this thread: Volume Nob jumps volume around. It's not clear to me what the fix is. Is this a dust issue? If so, how do I clean this up?
It's the potentiometer in the knob that is dying. Since it's proprietary and was last produced 10 years ago you'll be the luckiest sumbitch ever to find a new replacement one, let alone open the radio and de solder/pin the new one.
I've owned two Fits, both had their knobs start to die in exactly the same manner. Even my old Pt Cruiser had it's radio knob die in the same way, it's just how it goes.
New radios aren't terribly expensive, and hey, Bluetooth audio/carplay or Android auto is nice.
I took mine apart when it failed in the same way. It is a very labor intensive process with lots of de-soldering and delicate parts. My fix lasted a about a year. The 2nd time, I replaced it as Red_05.
It is a digital mechanism that that uses brass fingers on the back of the knob to "skip" across lands on the PC board. I suspect the grease/lube becomes conductive and causes the erratic behavior. You can buy an aftermarket face plate to convert to double-DIN as I did.
Some pics for reference:
Front of PC board Back of PC board It was cheap and you get what you pay for. Wouldn't necessarily recommend ATOTO.
Alternatively, if you're happy with the stock radio performance you now have a good reason to add volume controls to your steering wheel, which I personally would prefer over any of the touch-screen radios I've had the (dis)pleasure of trying to use.
I guess I'll start searching the forum for a DIY radio replacement.
We had the same issue with our OEM radio, the volume knob determined what it wanted to do when turned. We replaced it a week ago, mainly to get Android Auto but toying with the idea of a backup camera. It does not seem needed, though, with the good visibility of the Fit.
There are Youtube videos on replacing the Fit radio, but it is really easy. There is one bolt holding in the radio from the bottom (but ours had already been removed, I assume by the previous owner). Once that bolt is out, open the upper glove compartment and there is a notch in the radio faceplate on the left that you can use with a pry tool to start removing the radio from the dash. It has 8 or so clips holding it in to the dash and it pulls straight out.
We had the same issue with our OEM radio, the volume knob determined what it wanted to do when turned. We replaced it a week ago, mainly to get Android Auto but toying with the idea of a backup camera. It does not seem needed, though, with the good visibility of the Fit.
There are Youtube videos on replacing the Fit radio, but it is really easy. There is one bolt holding in the radio from the bottom (but ours had already been removed, I assume by the previous owner). Once that bolt is out, open the upper glove compartment and there is a notch in the radio faceplate on the left that you can use with a pry tool to start removing the radio from the dash. It has 8 or so clips holding it in to the dash and it pulls straight out.
What dash kit did you use for that Atoto, and what model was it? Thanks in advance!
It is the ATOTO A6Y (lowest version 1GB + 16GB)(I think it is no longer in production) using the Metra dash kit.
These look intriguing, but I have not investigated. https://a.co/d/dMJUVjB
Touch screens are dangerous as hell...........takes your eyes off the road.........and the NUMBER ONE RULE on driving is ALWAYS KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD......
FWIW, it is hard to buy a new vehicle today without a touch screen. For me, I never have to touch the screen anyway since Google voice commands start audio, map directions, etc with the touch of a steering wheel button (I added steering wheel controls), but I get what you are saying.
I took mine apart when it failed in the same way. It is a very labor intensive process with lots of de-soldering and delicate parts. My fix lasted a about a year. The 2nd time, I replaced it as Red_05.
It is a digital mechanism that that uses brass fingers on the back of the knob to "skip" across lands on the PC board. I suspect the grease/lube becomes conductive and causes the erratic behavior. You can buy an aftermarket face plate to convert to double-DIN as I did.
Some pics for reference:
Front of PC board Back of PC board
@zcargo, I'm in the same boat as you were. I'd like to temporarily rejuvenate the volume knob while I price/spec out a replacement unit. I'm willing to disassemble, but is there any hope of getting contact cleaner in there without complete disassembly? Do you remember any particularly delicate parts I should watch out for? Your photos are the best documentation I've come across, but I wish I could see more of the process. Thanks for sharing your experience
@zcargo, I'm in the same boat as you were. I'd like to temporarily rejuvenate the volume knob while I price/spec out a replacement unit. I'm willing to disassemble, but is there any hope of getting contact cleaner in there without complete disassembly? Do you remember any particularly delicate parts I should watch out for? Your photos are the best documentation I've come across, but I wish I could see more of the process. Thanks for sharing your experience
I don't think contact cleaner would work. It would have to flush out all the old grease, plus you would have to re-add some kind of grease to replace the old, I suppose.
My biggest challenges were the desoldering of the larger metal part (pictured) that acted like heat-sinks and the small metal (maybe brass) fingers in the actual knob assembly after full disassembly. The latter are easily bent/broken while trying to clean them. It is not any type of potentiometer nor is it optical. The multiple spring-like fingers contact multiple contact lands on a circuit board to "count" the rotational movements of the knob. This is how it would work in my mind anyway.
If it helps any, the knob assembly must be desoldered from the main board before you can disassemble the knob to get to the problem parts.
I would be willing to bet that all these digital displays on cars have led to a massive increase in car accidents.
Taking your eyes off the road is the #1 cause of accidents.
I haven't seen any studies on that.
That's why a manual volume knob is the preferred thing......you don't have to look at it.........And the design of this radio is genius.....the volume knob is what you use the most.....putting it center stage so to speak is a great design.........
I will attempt to replace the radio with an OEM unit.......if it's available......I know it will cost a lot, but an accident would cost a lot more, depending on severity.......
I took mine apart when it failed in the same way. It is a very labor intensive process with lots of de-soldering and delicate parts. My fix lasted a about a year. The 2nd time, I replaced it as Red_05.
It is a digital mechanism that that uses brass fingers on the back of the knob to "skip" across lands on the PC board. I suspect the grease/lube becomes conductive and causes the erratic behavior. You can buy an aftermarket face plate to convert to double-DIN as I did.
Some pics for reference:
Front of PC board Back of PC board It was cheap and you get what you pay for. Wouldn't necessarily recommend ATOTO.
Do you have pics of the 'fingers'..........how hard was it on a scale of 1-10........I can solder.....
Cleaning the fingers worked for only a couple of months on my 2012 Fit and it was a real pain to unsolder the encoder intact. I ended up replacing the encoder which is a lot easier because you can cut the 6 mounting tabs and 3 leads and then unsolder them later individually after removing the encoder.
The encoder is an Alps Alpine part number EC40A1520403 and is in stock at Mouser as part number 688-EC40A1520403 Alps Alpine encoder for Honda Fit at Mouser
