Dasaita Head Unit just died ?

[MrPoopyButtOle]

Hi everyone,

I have ordered almost 2 years ago a Dasaita 9" Android 10 Head Unit (4G 64G Octa Core) for my 2009 Forester. Until yesterday the device worked fine, I really loved and enjoyed it, I was really impressed with it. The only thing I change I was the launcher and mainly used it for Google Maps, Spotify and Torque Pro.

Yesterday on my way to my mate’s, 50km on the way, the head unit just stopped working, I was just using google maps and listening some tunes on Spotify. (note: the screen was hot to the touch).

Since then the screen is totally black and the only thing that lights up when I turn on the lights are the side buttons. I tried to reset, the lights are flashing then nothing. No matter what the screen remains dead. Also I noticed my OBD2 adapter doesn’t connect automatically to the HU as it used to and I can’t connect by Bluetooth with my phone neither.

All this brings me to think that the HU is dead ????
I saw few videos and threads online with people having more or less the same issue… anyone got a solution or faced the same problem ?

Thank you for the help

 

[marchnz]

What steps have been taken to investigate

 

[gottahavit]

Hi everyone,

I have ordered almost 2 years ago a Dasaita 9" Android 10 Head Unit (4G 64G Octa Core) for my 2009 Forester. Until yesterday the device worked fine, I really loved and enjoyed it, I was really impressed with it. The only thing I change I was the launcher and mainly used it for Google Maps, Spotify and Torque Pro.

Yesterday on my way to my mate’s, 50km on the way, the head unit just stopped working, I was just using google maps and listening some tunes on Spotify. (note: the screen was hot to the touch).

Since then the screen is totally black and the only thing that lights up when I turn on the lights are the side buttons. I tried to reset, the lights are flashing then nothing. No matter what the screen remains dead. Also I noticed my OBD2 adapter doesn’t connect automatically to the HU as it used to and I can’t connect by Bluetooth with my phone neither.

All this brings me to think that the HU is dead ????
I saw few videos and threads online with people having more or less the same issue… anyone got a solution or faced the same problem ?

Thank you for the help

I'd pull the unit and check you didn't just lose you 12v or ground cable.

 

[MrPoopyButtOle]

I'd pull the unit and check you didn't just lose you 12v or ground cable.

Thank you for your answers.
So I have pulled the unit out and checked with the multimeter, I’ve got a good ground and I read 12V (from the harness adapter). These seems fine right ?!

 

[gottahavit]

I assume you've tried the reset button?

Does the Daisata have a detachable screen? On my joying I'd check the ribbon cable.

Next I'd attach the 12v and ground to an external source(got a battery charger around?)

If that all fails then I guess try to talk to the Seller.

 

[MrPoopyButtOle]

I assume you've tried the reset button?

Does the Daisata have a detachable screen? On my joying I'd check the ribbon cable.

Next I'd attach the 12v and ground to an external source(got a battery charger around?)

If that all fails then I guess try to talk to the Seller.

The screen isn’t detachable.
I got in touch with the seller and that’s his reply:
“1. Do you try to power off the device to check?
2. If you have power off and it still doesn\'t help. Please remove the power cable and then wait 3 minutes to plug it again.
3. After plug the power cable, wait 3 minutes, and then click the touch screen button to check whether you can hear the sound.
4. If you can hear the sound, you can check the 2 bands in the following:

https://image.pushauction.com/0/0/dce5012a-1758-4291-8a6d-52d646eb6789/d770b77d-524c-47b5-8e88-6454abf03318.jpg

Here is the video for you to check how to unplug one band:

you can follow it to check another bands.

5. If the step 4 don't help, you can check the unplug the core chip, and then plug it aigan:

6. If the step 5 don\'t help, please use the pin to press the RST after you reconnect the power cable. You should press the RST hole until you saw the button light is flashing
to check whether you can see the image now.”
I’ve followed the steps 1 to 3 and nothing happened, no sounds.
just got back from work and I’m gonna give a shot to no4, unplug the chip…

 

[gottahavit]

I would press the reset pin as the first step, but as long as they are helping you through it.

 

[jlbooth]

If the unit has HDMI output, I would suggest hooking up an external monitor. If you see a valid image on the external monitor, then most likely the problem is the LCD display in the head unit. If nothing is displayed on the external then it's likely the core board or some part of the mainboard which may have overheated. These units have many weak points that can render them useless.

I will share with you that I had this exact same unit as yours and the TFT board (it's the board that interfaces the LCD display to the mainboard) had a component burn up which left the screen dark. Dasaita provided a new TFT board which got the display working again. If you do manage to get the unit going again, never run the display brightness at 100% or you risk having the TFT board problem.

 

[jlbooth]

Requested moderator to move this thread to MTCD Android Head Units General.

 

[MrPoopyButtOle]

If the unit has HDMI output, I would suggest hooking up an external monitor. If you see a valid image on the external monitor, then most likely the problem is the LCD display in the head unit. If nothing is displayed on the external then it's likely the core board or some part of the mainboard which may have overheated. These units have many weak points that can render them useless.

I will share with you that I had this exact same unit as yours and the TFT board (it's the board that interfaces the LCD display to the mainboard) had a component burn up which left the screen dark. Dasaita provided a new TFT board which got the display working again. If you do manage to get the unit going again, never run the display brightness at 100% or you risk having the TFT board problem.

There isn’t a HDMI output, is there another way I could hook it up to a monitor ???
It’s interesting what you’re saying about the brightness, I often had it on max during the day and my partner who had the car on the day the unit died told me that she had the car heaters on ( it’s cold in the part of Australia where we at) and noticed that just before dying the screen brightness went dim.
it’s really confusing right now as I can’t figure out what exactly is the problem.
I tried everything the seller suggested and nothing worked. How long did your unit last ? I’m just wondering if I should just get a new one but it is annoying as I only had it for 2 years and I got the top of the range (at the time) from them.
Thank you

 

[jlbooth]

Only other option I can think of is that there may be composite video out connections via RCA connections if it has those. Since you say it does not connect to your phone via Bluetooth, that suggests the unit is not booting up when power removed and reconnected. I would venture a guess that the coreboard has an issue especially if the problem was caused by a thermal issue. But that's only an inconclusive guess on my part.

Even when the screen was an issue the unit would boot up and it connected with my phone.

My unit lasted about 5 months before the screen problem. However it was in my second vehicle and it wasn't my daily driver, thus it probably wouldn't have lasted that long if it was being used everyday. Fortunately in my case Dasaita provided the needed replacement board at no charge under warranty.

 

[nxdesign]

The screen isn’t detachable.
I got in touch with the seller and that’s his reply:
“1. Do you try to power off the device to check?
2. If you have power off and it still doesn\'t help. Please remove the power cable and then wait 3 minutes to plug it again.
3. After plug the power cable, wait 3 minutes, and then click the touch screen button to check whether you can hear the sound.
4. If you can hear the sound, you can check the 2 bands in the following:

https://image.pushauction.com/0/0/dce5012a-1758-4291-8a6d-52d646eb6789/d770b77d-524c-47b5-8e88-6454abf03318.jpg

Here is the video for you to check how to unplug one band:

you can follow it to check another bands.

5. If the step 4 don't help, you can check the unplug the core chip, and then plug it aigan:

6. If the step 5 don\'t help, please use the pin to press the RST after you reconnect the power cable. You should press the RST hole until you saw the button light is flashing
to check whether you can see the image now.”
I’ve followed the steps 1 to 3 and nothing happened, no sounds.
just got back from work and I’m gonna give a shot to no4, unplug the chip…

From my teardowns of my MAX10 unit (Toyota Universal + PX6 + Car Play), you have a little driver board behind the screen. It isn't the same as the picture you sent as mine is a universal type unit. On yours all the buttons are off the big pcb board and the driver board is soldered onto that (so not physically removable without some soldering). But if the buttons light up then your unit is turning on somewhat. So what I can see from step 4: #2 is the ribbon connecting the screen driver board to the mainboard; #3 is ribbon connector for the lcd display panel, #1 is your CPU board. There's a photo translator app on google play if you want to give that a try with the labels in Chinese.

Best of luck with this mate. The HDMI out is a mini HDMI connector on the CPU board - see if you can get that to display something on a spare screen (on later units they just have a cable to that directly and they sell it off as having hdmi out). If it doesn't output anything then your CPU is potentially dead at this point. There is an STM32 microcontroller (i.e. the MCU) on the amp board and that can be powering up the button lights.

 

[jlbooth]

That "driver board" that @nxdesign refers to is the TFT board that Dasaita provided a replacement when my unit died. I could tell that my particular unit was at least booting up as I could see that it was pairing with bluetooth on my phone. I tend to believe OP's problem is either CPU or MCU failure - perhaps thermal related. These units don't provide adequate cooling.

 

[marchnz]

You're welcome to send it to me in NZ, I often get SOMs sent to me for repair and would be happy to look at your unit. Failing that, suggest warranty.

 

[MrPoopyButtOle]

From my teardowns of my MAX10 unit (Toyota Universal + PX6 + Car Play), you have a little driver board behind the screen. It isn't the same as the picture you sent as mine is a universal type unit. On yours all the buttons are off the big pcb board and the driver board is soldered onto that (so not physically removable without some soldering). But if the buttons light up then your unit is turning on somewhat. So what I can see from step 4: #2 is the ribbon connecting the screen driver board to the mainboard; #3 is ribbon connector for the lcd display panel, #1 is your CPU board. There's a photo translator app on google play if you want to give that a try with the labels in Chinese.

Best of luck with this mate. The HDMI out is a mini HDMI connector on the CPU board - see if you can get that to display something on a spare screen (on later units they just have a cable to that directly and they sell it off as having hdmi out). If it doesn't output anything then your CPU is potentially dead at this point. There is an STM32 microcontroller (i.e. the MCU) on the amp board and that can be powering up the button lights.

Thank you for your help mate !
I couldn’t find this hdmi connector on the board. The seller is telling me it’s probably the core board and said the shipping cost isn’t worth it to send it back to them. Is there a different way to check the display ???

 

[nxdesign]

Thank you for your help mate !
I couldn’t find this hdmi connector on the board. The seller is telling me it’s probably the core board and said the shipping cost isn’t worth it to send it back to them. Is there a different way to check the display ???

A dead coreboard will mean you have a shell of a unit. Can they sell you a fresh coreboard? Or even better give you a new unit at a discount? Who knows what else might have been damaged with the heat.

 

[marchnz]

Just an update on this. The unit was sent to me and received today.

The root cause was that the SOM was non-booting. Recovering the SOM via MASKROM has restored the unit.

The SOM has no additional heatsink or cooling, and this may have been a contributing factor.

 

[jreama]

can u tell me how do u fix it?? i also have same problem....?

 

[Aliancemenro]

Nothing worked after I did everything the merchant suggested. What was the lifespan of your unit? I'm wondering if I should just get a new one, but it's a pain because I just had it for two years and it was the top of the line (at the time).