Beantown Kman

Wondering if anyone else has had problems with their MXL2 shutting down and restarting while on track. My dash was installed by the shop that worked on my car over the winter. It worked fine during the first track event of the year back in April. At the subsequent three events (total of 7 track days) it developed the following problems.

Under very heavy braking the unit would shut off and restart. It was a full reboot. I only noticed because this dash displays a red screen when it first turns on. My SmartyCamHD also restarted with it. Lap times and video was stopped and then a new session started each time it rebooted. It only occurred under very heavy braking. And it happened fairly consistently.

I took the car into the shop and they made sure all power connections were secure. At my next event (last weekend) I had a different problem. The dash and camera never fully shut down and rebooted. But I kept noticing the screen I started the session with was switched to a different screen during my sessions on track. When I hit the “view” button on the dash to get back to my preferred screen the dash would skip past the next display in sequence to the one after that. I had to continue to press the view button in order to eventually get to the display I wanted. And then it would start all over again.

Yes, at this most recent event all software and firmware was updated to the latest versions as of May 29.

The shop/dealer has logged over 100 emails trying to deal with this. AiM has been trying to help but is unaware of any similar problems with other units. Obviously it's frustrating and dangerous as I'm fiddling with my dash and trying to stay on the pavement at the same time.

ProCoach

Track=#1

Dash=#2

Have had one MXG with this issue, but found wire connections suspect.

Matt Romanowski

I would say if it's totally rebooting, then it's a power supply problem. Not that you want to throw parts at it, but I would put a different dash in to see if it does the same thing. If it does, then I would change the 37 pin harness. If that doesn't solve the problem, then it's a power feed problem in the car.

The great thing with the new dashes, is that you can put an MXL2, MXS, or MXG in it's place and the wiring is the same.

Beantown Kman

Thank you Peter and Matt. It does point rather obviously to a wiring/power issue. Not really a problem with the dash itself. I have to wait and see how the dealer/installer wants to handle it. I'll be at the track again in a couple of weeks. I may try to find someone there who would be willing to swap dashes with me for a session.

Beantown Kman

My MXL2 problems have continued. I no longer have problems with the unit shutting down and restarting under heavy braking. That must have been a loose connection. Now the problem is the screen changes on its own while I am driving. I have three custom screens in my configuration that I often scroll through on track. The dash normally starts up showing whatever display I last used. But then it changes to a different display once I'm driving. When I try to switch back to my preferred display it jumps past the next one to the 2nd one. And so it becomes a frustrating and dangerous process of trying to get it to show the display I want while I am driving. Once I get there, the display soon changes, and the whole cycle starts over again.

I received a new "demo" dash from AiM and it is doing the same as my original one. Does anyone have nay clue as to whether this might be either software or hardware related? The only other thing I could change on the hardware side is the wiring harness.

One more question: It is my understanding that the name of each display should remain visible in the lower right corner of the display. This was you always know which display you are looking at. The label on my dash shows itself briefly when I change the view but then it disappears. Is this by design? I seem to recall this worked differently in an earlier version of the firmware.

wparente

I have had some of the problems you have had. The display switching isn't too big of a deal for me because I only have minor changes from display to display. I have on many occasions had the screen lock up which is resolved by cycling power, that however dose not help keep things together in the middle of the session. It could be spikes in my car's electrical system or it could be the dash, I'm not sure.
My biggest gripe is that many times I upload to the dash and oftentimes it remains in the old configuration. It is sometimes hard to tell if the custom sensors are actually configured as downloaded until the next download dump when you do not find the data you expect. To resolve this I now upload to the dash and then turn around and immediately download to confirm that it is configured as expected. I wrote some of this stuff off to me just not punching the correct buttons but it continues so it might be the dash.
Bill Parenteau

ProCoach

KMan, out of the four dozen MXL2 dashes I have already sold (plus numerous MXG and MXS), I have not had that issue. I think it's a hardware problem. Get your dealer to help resolve this. Not a good sign that there was so basic a connection issue for the power...

Bill, I think your config "not sticking" is perhaps your issue, but I don't know.

These are NOT simple units. None of them (Cosworth, Bosch, Magneti Marelli, RD2, AiM or MoTeC) are.

They ALL have processors, operating systems and many hardware/firmware/software interactions that could cause issues. They are small computers...

As a volume dealer at the track every weekend for a variety of these systems (and a user myself), best practices for connections, configurations, wiring, voltage supply stability, operation and integration with other accessories is KEY to having them work in the background.

My experience has been that by and large, these units (MXL2/MXG/MXS and C125/127/185/187) are very, very good, now that both companies have had a chance to issue f/w updates and software that plays reasonably well together...

Beantown Kman

Peter- Thank you for the feedback on this. I'll try to get the unit replaced. Sounds like the best option at this point.

ProCoach

Repaired or replaced. Let them decide...

Matt Romanowski

I haven't seen any units doing what you described (or heard about it). I can say the new units are a little more sensitive to incoming voltage supply and quality.

I'm pretty sure I know who your unit came from and they are a great supplier and very smart. I'm sure they will make it right. If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know.

wparente

Peter - I think your observation about the problem being me may not be to far from the truth. It seems the more I use it the less problems I have, imagine that!
One question I have is , is there a way to back up all data, profiles , sensor configuration, dash configuration and the rest with just one menu command rather than doing them individually, one at a time?
Bill Parenteau