[b5retrofit]

Ok, so as those of you with B5/C5's already know, there is some issue between the RNS-E unit and the clock in our cluster. Because of whatever the problem is, the clock is usually not correct. Now that the new US software displays the clock on the screen (as well as solves many of our old problems), this seems like a good time to figure out why this is as well as if and how it can be fixed.

Here are 3 observations I've made while looking into this:

1) The clock is always slow; it is never faster than the set time.

2) The clock is always off by multiples of 6, and usually by exactly 6 (6 minutes, hours, or days too slow; also sometimes 12 or 18, but never anything else).

3) In the engineering mode screen it shows the instrument cluster and RNS-E times and dates; the cluster is displayed with the correct time, the RNS-E is not (i.e., the correct time is apparently being transmitted to the RNS-E since it is shown correctly.. it just isn't displayed correctly).

If you have any ideas, any more info, or have anything else to add, please post it here.

With all of the other things we have solved by putting our heads together, I'm sure we can figure this one out, too.

 

[TeddyBGame]

has anyone tried unplugging their car battery at midnight to try and sync the cluster and RNS-E.

Per Dirk:
I bet the real solution comes down to loading some updated firmware on the cluster to work with the RNS-E (similar to how certain specific SAT tuners only work with the RNS-E). Just a theory.

.....and still we look for a solution....

 

[b5retrofit]

has anyone tried unplugging their car battery at midnight to try and sync the cluster and RNS-E.

Syncing it at midnight wouldn't do anything since it fluctuates all the time (sometimes it shows the correct time, then it shows the wrong time, then it will show the correct time again later, and so on...). While it would probably sync at midnight, it would lose time again.

Since the engineering mode screen already does display the correct instrument cluster time even when the RNS-E displays something different, I think there is going to be a fix for this other than software.

 

[schmoell]

For testing purposes I tried setting the time of the dashboard manually (pull left knob and turn left/right) while watching the RNS-E display time. As expected it works perfectly for the time in engineering mode while the regular time jumps in some multiple of 6h/minutes steps.

- Hendrik

 

[todd1010]

I'm wondering: Do people that get the CAN signals from the instument cluster have this same problem?

I know in my car which is a 2000 S4, I got the CAN signal from behind the head unit.

 

[TeddyBGame]

I'm wondering: Do people that get the CAN signals from the instument cluster have this same problem?

I know in my car which is a 2000 S4, I got the CAN signal from behind the head unit.

Todd,
do you have the clock issues / ETA in your 2000 B5 S4? If you don't...and it's because you have tapped into the CANbus behind your Sym I (lucky/rare that some have those two orange wires in the 20 pin connector...and some do not).

If no clock/ETA issues......than I bet we could spend some cycles in the Bentley manual to trace where those wires go....with hopes of finding some sort of CAN-bus controller. Which gives us some hope!

In not...then we are back to square one. Maybe this is something that can be addressed with the VAG-COM....as we've all expressed our experiences with the "6 hour delay" in the ETA clock.

Thanks guys!!
-ted

 

[b5retrofit]

Ted, I get my CAN signals from the Symphony harness, and I do have the clock problem, so I am assuming that does not matter.

There must be something to the fact that it is always slow in multiples of "6". I actually saw it do it yesterday; the time was 2:15 (on the cluster and the RNS-E), then it changed to 2:10 as soon as the cluster switched to 2:16. I'm going to go ask at my dealership if they can think of any reason why it would always be off by multiples "6".

Especially since the Engineering Mode screen shows us that the RNS-E is always receiving the correct time and date; its just a really weird problem.

 

[todd1010]

I'm wondering: Do people that get the CAN signals from the instument cluster have this same problem?

I know in my car which is a 2000 S4, I got the CAN signal from behind the head unit.

Todd,
do you have the clock issues / ETA in your 2000 B5 S4? If you don't...and it's because you have tapped into the CANbus behind your Sym I (lucky/rare that some have those two orange wires in the 20 pin connector...and some do not).


Thanks guys!!
-ted

I do get the wrong ETA in my car most of the time. When in a programmed route, it somethimes will be correct. But it does seem to be off more than its correct.

 

[NSX JR]

Has anyone tried just VAG coding the unit to make it think it is in a A3 or something just to see if you can fool the clock into working?

 

[todd1010]

I had an idea while on a road trip recently to see if the B5 clock would still exist if I changed the time format from 12hr to 24hr. I changed it and it still read wrong? BUMMER!

Anyways I did notice that when I programmed my destination route the clock displayed the correct arrival time for a while and then all of the sudden it seemed to just ahead about 6 hours.

Do you think that since "us" B5 guys are installing essentially a A6 RNS-E head unit. There's a difference in the way those two communicate?

Also as NSR JR suggested above. How would I go about changing the VAG coding to make it think its a A3? And why do you think NSX JR, that changing it to an A3 would fix it?

What's are the differences in the coding of the head units of an A3 and A6?

 

[NSX JR]

I tried coding mine for A3, and it still did not solve the problem.

What somebody needs to do is build a black box for us B5 and early C5 owners that filters out the clock signals from the CAN lines. That would allow all the other CAN functionality, but it would force the RNS unit to use the GPS satellites for the time and date. Then you'd just have to set your GMT offset and you'd always have perfect timing!

 

[todd1010]

Do ALL people that have the RNS in their B5 have this problem? I'm just wondering if people with later model year B5's that had to tap into the CAN signal behind the cluster is having this problem.

In my car I didn't have to tap in at the instrument cluster. Mine was at the head unit.

Is there a different place we could try an tap the CAN signals at instead of the HU or instrument cluster?

Another thought, has anyone tried to set their instrument cluster time six hours ahead? Just to see what the RNS would do?

 

[Steve Z1]

I just noticed in a friends Allroad, I think he has a 2005, the nav clock was in perfect sync with the dash. If this is old news please dis-regard, if not I guess it shows that maybe there is a potential solution out there.

Steve

 

[AudiA4B6US]

On the German boards they said that the A6 cluster must be at a certain software level to support the time/date signal the RNS-E uses. Forgot which version (D10?) but whatever version was used starting with MY 2002. The clock issue seems to concern only pre-2002 clusters (all B5 and pre facelift C5). I know. it's not really a help but those who tried to install a 2002+ cluster in a pre 2002 C5 said they got more new issues by doing so.

 

[NSX JR]

I dont think it has to do with the software, because I have an almost new '01 cluster with software D17 and I still have the clock problem. It can only be fixed by the '02+ cluster that has a different part number.

Can you elaborate on the additional problems that people have had by installing a new cluster into an older A6?

 

[AudiA4B6US]

It was mostly due to the CAN and some devices with changed signals. Some of issues were about Airbag signal inverted, the oil quality sensor had changed, ECU issues, immobilizer issues, DIS not working.

I don't know if you can babelfish those pages but there is an interesting dicussion on navi-forum.net with several links to other forums (all in German):
http://www.navi-forum.net/board/viewtopic.php?t=17318

 

[NSX JR]

That's what I was afraid of... those are pretty serious issues. I know that most of the pin assignments are the same on the pre and post facelift C5 clusters, but the acutal communication across the CAN networks changed significantly.

 

[Roberto]

B5 clock

I dont know if I'm missing the point here, but my clock works fine in my 2001 S4 Avant. When I got the unit I went into set up and set the Nav clock to -6hrs GMT. I alos notice in set up that its set to get clock info from satelites.
That may be key, as is the inst cluster is not able to provide that info because the firmware does nto support it, then for the NAV system to get its clock info from satelite only may be the solution? My clock in teh nav is perfect dead on all the time, my arrivaltime on the GPS also is straight on. I of course have other issues like my red DIS does not show any NAV info at all, and nothing I do seems to change that. Also my rear CDC does not work now with the NAV system.

 

[NSX JR]

Sounds like your CAN is not connected at all. This would explain your cluster display and the fact you are getting the time from GPS.

Does your unit power off and on with the ignition switch, and do the buttons illuminate with the rest of the interior lights?

 

[craigyb]

Sounds like we need a little module from Dietz that filters out the clock signals from the can bus, like the 1280 filters out GALA/speed pulse.

Any of these solutions would be acceptable to people with clock issues.

1. Filter out time signal completely - allow the RNS-E to use satelites.
2. Convert time signal to infotainment canbus compliant with RNS-E.

Maybe we should ask Dietz to provide a solution.

Who would be willing to pay for such a solution? the 1280 costs around 189 euros, such a filter should not cost any more as they have the hardware ready, it's just a case of reprogramming the PIC to filter out a different signal.

Craig