Hi everyone,

I'm trying to retro-fit a Columbus to my 2006 Octavia. It came from one of the ebay sellers, in case you're wondering. It's the second one of these I've had. The first one just didn't work at all, and I had to send it back for a replacement.

Anyway, it's almost working now, except for one thing - it flattens the battery!

When I switch off the unit, take the ignition key out, and lock the doors, something continues to run. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it makes an audible whirring sound. Maybe it's the hard disk spinning, or maybe it's a cooling fan. I don't think it's the CD/DVD drive spinning. This carries on constantly. Last night it almost drained the battery. It did the same thing today when the car was parked up at the office.

Anyone got any idea what's causing this. Is it a faulty unit?

Thanks in advance for all your help guys!

Some RNS 510 / Columbus units with firmware version 26## are causing battery drain problems due to incompatibility with the cars Can Gateway. I think the solution is either downgrade the firmware version or replace the Can Gateway. I'm sure it's already been discussed on here somewhere, a search should throw up some info HTH

Edited 29 September, 200916 yr by Atty
spelling

Does the unit turn off when you pull out the ignition key? If not then you have a coding issue, Have you coded the RNS and the car using VAG-COM? That'd be a starting point before swapping a CAN Gateway.

Does the unit turn off when you pull out the ignition key? If not then you have a coding issue, Have you coded the RNS and the car using VAG-COM? That'd be a starting point before swapping a CAN Gateway.

The unit does turn off when you remove the key. Well, when I say it turns off, the music stops and the display goes out, so it certainly looks like it's turned off. But if you listen carefully you can still hear something going on inside the unit, so it's clearly still drawing power for something...

I haven't coded the car using VAG-COM - I don't have access. The ebay seller said that he coded the Columbus before he posted it (I gave him details of the car).

The Columbus unit has at least one cooling fan, I have had it run for up mto 5 mins after using Columbus for long periods, it should not run long enough to run battery flat though.

It is not so much the unit itself that drains the power. The problem with the latest firmware and a gateway older than rev L.

If the gateway is older than rev L, the CAN BUS will not go into idle and will stay awake. This causes the drain that flattens the battery.

Either downgrade the unit to an older fw or upgrade the gateway. (it is possible to upgrade the gateway by the dealer. However I dont know from what rev to what newer rev. And not all dealers (can) do this.)

To be fair to the ebay seller, besgu32, he's really trying to be helpful. He's also drawn my attention to the can gateway vs firmware issue, and has offered to find a replacement gateway for me.

At this stage I don't know what revision of the gateway I have, and I don't know what firmware the unit has. How do I find out? How do I find the "Testmode/Version info hidden menu" that simbo99 mentions?

I don't have the facility to do any coding, and I get the impression that I would have to do some of this if the seller locates a can gateway for me. Or can I get him to do all the coding for me before he sends me the gateway? Or does it have to be done in my car?

Perhaps I should just try the firmware downgrade? Is that the simplest solution.

Sorry if these are all silly questions...

Plug and play, they say? More like plug and pray!

Thanks for all your helpful comments everyone! Much appreciated.

Firmware downgrade is the simpest do it yourself way to get the system running flawless.

You can still upgrade it at a later stage after upgrading the gateway.

If you dont have access to VCDS, do it this way.

On this site you will find the different fw versions. (is a german site, but the fw versions are obvious)

FIRMWARE Update - so geht's...

OK, so I've spent all evening trying to downgrade to firmware version 1100, but I just can't do it. I can get a little way into the process, and then I get an error message that says:

SOFTWARE LOADING ERROR (010306)

I've tried downloading the disk image from two locations, and two different types of CDR, burned at the minimum speed and verified for errors before use.

Any ideas anyone? I'd be grateful if someone who's already done a downgrade could give me some pointers as to where I might be going wrong....

Could this be VW specific firmware?! I posted a link to 1100 on the 2664 fw thread & wega3k pointed out that it's just for VW units... Dunno if the error you've got relates to the error this fw would show...

Maybe try firmware 0904 that Mater posted a link to >> here << ? Even though the number is lower, it is newer than 1100. It's for Superb units but it worked ok on his & it's what I've got on mine atm too - no flat battery but no SDHC support.

Thanks for this. Sadly, I've tried it and it makes absolutely no difference. I'm not at all convinced that I've got the same problem as you guys. I suspect the unit is duff.

The unit makes a noise whenever it's powered up. It never stops. It's not the fan.

Stream back in, fascia refitted, given up.

I think I'll try for a refund from the ebay seller...what's my chances of that, do you think?

Steve

Get the 1024 firmware if you can. That will solve the problem.

The reason you can't downgrade is because your unit (which i think is done by default) will have an option inside that stops you downgrading the firmware.

You can enable the firmware downgrade if you can get into the test menu.

1100 software will not work on 1Z0 units. Neither will 1164

0904 will work but only if you were running version 1004 or 1024 before hand. This basically reflashes the unit to give you the functionality of Superb 3T0 units.

It is not newer than 1100 (this was an upgrade to the 090x software that came out with the new superb) however it is newer than 1024 despite the lower number.

Where are you located as if you are near to me i can help.

Carl:thumbup:

You can always force the Columbus/RNS to do the firmware change, also a downgrade.

Put the CD/DVD in and push:

Setup, eject and info buttons and it will change the firmware, even if it is older than the existing.

Sorry I didnt read this before you changed back.

Thanks for the recent comments.

Just to confirm....

I looked at the hidden test menu before I started, and it showed that downgrades were allowed, and I'd already discovered the setup, eject and info button trick just in case.

I did manage to 'downgrade' to 0904. It went right through the install procedure with no error messages, and the unit 'worked' fine afterwards - apart from the battery draining problem.

I can't get into the hidden test menu anymore, strangely.

Thanks for the offer of help Carl. I'm a long way from you unfortunately, in Wales.

Do you still think its worth giving the 1024 firmware a go? Any idea where I could download it?

There's only one good thing to come out of this. Guinness have just delivered my certificate for the world record for taking off the fascia and top cubby box in the fastest time .

It's a torrent file so you will need something like Limewire or Bitorrent to download it.

1024 Firmware

It should work as i haven't heard nor been able to find anyone who had a problem with 1024 firmware.

Just a point on the Battery. Once it has been drained you need to take it off and connect it to a stand alone Battery Charger (Halfrauds do them now for about £39) leave it a good 18-24hrs and see if you still get the battery drain issue.

Reason i say that is the car (unless you drive about 1000 miles) will never charge the battery fully which could be what the problem is with 0904

My advice would be recondition the battery (if you havent already done so) get it tested to make sure it's still ok and try the 1024 firmware.

The reason you can't get into the test menu is because with newer firmwares (2664 included) you either have to enable the test menu in VCDS or Modify the firmware to do it for you when you install it.

HTH

Carl:thumbup:

On this page you can get the different fw without torrent:

FIRMWARE Update - so geht's...

Hello again everyone.

Well, thanks to magic62 and Mater I have sucessfully installed FW 1024.

I'm not yet sure if the battery is draining. Time will tell...

What I'm still not sure about is whether the unit is supposed to shut down immediately when you turn it off, either by using the power button or by removing the key. When I do this, even with the 1024 FW, the unit still continues to make some noise. Looking on some other forums, people seem to be talking about a sleep mode. How long is it supposed to take before it goes to sleep? Am I right in thinking that the battery drain issue is caused because it never goes to sleep?

And another question...when you get back in the car and turn Columbus on, should you always get the Welcome on board screen? I'm not sure I've been getting it, other than when I first plug the unit in... Not sure yet if my recent FW downgrade has changed this though....

Thanks all!

Steve

The HU will go on for a couple of minutes, depending on how warm the unit is.

There is however a difference between the HU turning off and the CAN-BUS going into sleep mode.

After 266* with an older gateway the problem was that the CAN-BUS didnt go into sleep mode and drained the battery. It was not so much the HU that stayed on.

I checked the unit after changing my gateway with VCDS and after taking the key out, it only took a couple of seconds for the CAN system to go into sleep mode.

Dont have a problem with a flat battery anymore, after changing the gateway.

Only a unit with the 266* fw and a newer gateway will start up everytime with the startup logo. Before it only started up once in a while, couldnt find a relation to when or why.

After the 266* fw starting up is faster, this probably because of the unit has to start everytime you left the car for a longer period.

Update:

I've been running FW 1024 since Sunday afternoon with no hint of a battery drain problem. Previously you could tell that the battery was struggling after a few hours of the car sitting still. So, thanks to you guys, I think I may have sorted it.

So the lesson for anyone else in this situation is:

1. Don't be fooled into thinking that installing Columbus is plug-and-play

2. If you've got an older car, then don't try upgrading the firmware unless you're prepared to upgrade the can gateway module.

3. FW 1024, from FIRMWARE Update - so geht's... does not cause the battery drain problem.

4. Get help from Briskoda, but you've already figured this one out if you've got this far!

Thanks again to everyone who posted on this thread.