Symptom
Electronics reset or reboot while driving
The radio restarts, the screen goes black and returns to its startup logo, the clock loses time, or several warning lights flash on together and clear themselves. Almost never a fault in the thing that restarted: a module reboots when its supply dips below the voltage it needs to keep running, so the useful information is what else happens at the same moment. Reboots when starting the engine point at the battery; reboots over bumps point at a connection; reboots at random with the engine running point at the charging system or a relay.
Also described as: radio keeps resetting, screen reboots, electronics restart, dashboard resets, infotainment keeps restarting, clock keeps resetting, ضبط ریست میشود, سیستم مدام ریستارت میشود, se reinicia pantalla conduciendo, electronica se reinicia sola, se apaga y enciende tablero, pantalla se reinicia sola, الشاشة تعيد التشغيل أثناء القيادة, النظام يفصل ويرجع, التابلوه يطفي ويشتغل, الشاشة تفصل وترجع
What this usually means
Almost never a fault in the thing that restarted. A module reboots when its supply dips below the voltage it needs to keep running, so the useful information is what else happens at the same moment.
The corpus's own rule of thumb sorts most of it: reboots when starting the engine point at the battery; reboots over bumps point at a connection; reboots at random with the engine running point at the charging system or a relay.
That first case is the commonest and the most misread. A battery that cannot hold voltage during cranking drags the whole system down for a moment, and the modules that reboot are simply the ones with the least tolerance. A radio that restarts every time the engine is started is describing a battery, not a radio.
The bump case is a connection, and it is found the way every intermittent connection is found — by wiggling the harness and connectors while watching a live value or a meter recording minimum and maximum. Earths are worth testing first, because a marginal earth produces exactly this and is cheap.
The random case with the engine running is charging. A failing alternator, high AC ripple, or a relay with resistive contacts produces dips that modules notice long before a driver does.
Do not chase the codes that appear. A module rebooting records faults describing conditions that did not exist, so clear them, repair the supply, and re-scan — only what returns is real.
Working through it
| What you find | Likely cause | How to confirm it | What fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reboots every time the engine is started | The battery — voltage dipping during cranking below what the module needs | Load or conductance test the battery, and watch system voltage during cranking. | Renew the battery and register it where required. The rebooting module is not at fault. |
| Reboots over bumps or rough roads | A connection — most often an earth, or a supply connector that moves | Wiggle-test the harness and earths while monitoring a live value or a meter on minimum and maximum. | Clean and remake the earth or repair the connector, securing it against movement. |
| Reboots at random with the engine running | The charging system or a relay with resistive contacts | Measure charging voltage and AC ripple under load. Tap suspect relays while the fault is present. | Renew the alternator or relay the measurements name. |
| Several unrelated warning lamps flash together and clear | The same supply dip seen by several modules at once — one event, many reports | Do not chase the individual codes. Clear them, repair the supply, re-scan. | Repair the supply. Only faults that return after clearing are genuine. |
| Only the infotainment restarts, everything else is stable | That unit or its supply — possibly a software fault rather than a vehicle one | Check whether a software update is outstanding, and whether an aftermarket unit is fitted. | Update or repair the unit. See the infotainment entry. |
| Started after an accessory was fitted | A supply shared with, or disturbed by, the accessory | Isolate the accessory completely and retest — not merely switch it off. | Rewire the accessory to its own protected supply. See the accessory entry. |
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Reboots every time the engine is started
- Likely cause
- The battery — voltage dipping during cranking below what the module needs
- How to confirm it
- Load or conductance test the battery, and watch system voltage during cranking.
- What fixes it
- Renew the battery and register it where required. The rebooting module is not at fault.
-
Reboots over bumps or rough roads
- Likely cause
- A connection — most often an earth, or a supply connector that moves
- How to confirm it
- Wiggle-test the harness and earths while monitoring a live value or a meter on minimum and maximum.
- What fixes it
- Clean and remake the earth or repair the connector, securing it against movement.
-
Reboots at random with the engine running
- Likely cause
- The charging system or a relay with resistive contacts
- How to confirm it
- Measure charging voltage and AC ripple under load. Tap suspect relays while the fault is present.
- What fixes it
- Renew the alternator or relay the measurements name.
-
Several unrelated warning lamps flash together and clear
- Likely cause
- The same supply dip seen by several modules at once — one event, many reports
- How to confirm it
- Do not chase the individual codes. Clear them, repair the supply, re-scan.
- What fixes it
- Repair the supply. Only faults that return after clearing are genuine.
-
Only the infotainment restarts, everything else is stable
- Likely cause
- That unit or its supply — possibly a software fault rather than a vehicle one
- How to confirm it
- Check whether a software update is outstanding, and whether an aftermarket unit is fitted.
- What fixes it
- Update or repair the unit. See the infotainment entry.
-
Started after an accessory was fitted
- Likely cause
- A supply shared with, or disturbed by, the accessory
- How to confirm it
- Isolate the accessory completely and retest — not merely switch it off.
- What fixes it
- Rewire the accessory to its own protected supply. See the accessory entry.
Codes that produce this symptom (5)
Listed with the codes that most typically present this way first — the likeliest place to start.
- P0560 System Voltage Typical of this code Moderate
- P0561 System Voltage Unstable Typical of this code Moderate
- P0685 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit Open Typical of this code High
- P0686 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit Low Typical of this code High
- P0687 Engine Control Module Power Relay Control Circuit High Typical of this code High
Information, not instruction
CarGeek is a reference, not a service manual. Its pages are written from public sources and from what other people have found, never from a manufacturer's own service information, so they can be wrong or incomplete for your particular vehicle. Some of what they describe carries real risk: high voltage, fuel under pressure, stored energy, hot and moving parts.
Have anything you intend to act on checked by a trained person against the manufacturer's own procedure for your vehicle. Nothing here replaces that procedure.
Others with this symptom
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What makes one worth reading:
- The car — make, model, year and engine. The same fault behaves differently on each.
- What you measured, not only what you replaced.
- What actually fixed it — or that nothing did, which is worth knowing too.
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