15 - VBOX Mini Troubleshooting
My VBOX Mini does not pick up or lock onto satellites
Some modern cars are fitted with a special windscreen that cuts down the amount of UV (Ultra Violet) rays that will be transferred through the windscreen which help cut down on glare. These windscreens are called athermic, or UV Coated and will dampen/reduce GPS signals coming through the windscreen, so if you have an athermic windscreen, it means you will not receive the same quality of signal as you would do by taking the VBOX Mini outside of the car.
How do I know if I have an Athermic Windscreen?
You can either contact the manufacturer of your vehicle, or talk to the main authorised dealer who may be able to tell you. If you cannot receive a firm yes or no, then another way to check is to power up the VBOX Mini and hold it outside of the vehicle, receive a satellite fix and use the GPS diagnostic screen to see how many satellites you can see. Once you have noted this down, move the GPS inside the car and see if the GPS signal drops by 2-4 sats. If it does immediately then you probably have an athermic windscreen.
There is list of cars in the table below that we believe have had Athermic windscreens fitted throughout part of their history. Please note that manufacturers don't always use the same windscreens through the life of a car model, so even though a model may be listed below, it does not necessarily mean that the current model that you have may have an Athermic windscreen. If you are unsure, try the above test or talk to your car manufacturer/dealership.
Some vehicles which may have Athermic windscreens | ||
BMW 3 Series | Ford Mondeo | Renault Laguna |
BMW 5 Series | Fiat Multipla | Renault Clio |
BMW 7 Series | Mercedes W220-S Class | Renault Master |
BMW X5 | Mercedes Vaneo | Renault Kangoo |
Citreon Picasso | Peugeot 206 | Renault Scenic |
Citreon C5 | Peugeot 306 | Renault Espace |
Citreon Xsara | Peugeot 307 | Renault Megane |
Citreon Xantia | Peugeot 607 | Renault Safrane |
Ford Galaxy | Renault Traffic | Vauxhall Zafira |
If your car does have this type of windscreen you will need to use an external GPS antenna that magnetically fixes to the roof of your car. An external antenna is available as an optional extra - see the website for details.
If you still have reception problems:
- Obstructions to the open sky will reduce GPS performance. Try to ensure placement of the VBOX Mini is away from the windscreen edges so it has the widest view of the skies possible. With an external antenna place it away from roof bars and at least 10 cm way from any other roof mounted items.
- Driving in built up areas and close to tall trees reduces satellite reception.
- VBOX Mini may require a Coldstart - see here for more information on how to do this.
No data files are appearing on the SD card
Make sure you are using the correct type of SD card
Units running firmware which is older than 3.0.56 will only work with SD cards which are under 2 GB in size.
Units with 3.0.56 firmware or later will allow SDHC cards to be used as well as SD cards, so 4 GB cards can be used.
Note, SDHC cards larger than 4 GB will take a long time to initialise when inserted into the unit. For this reason, Racelogic recommend that the maximum size card used with the unit is 4 GB.
A 64 MB SD card can be used to log up to 50 hours of continuous data, so a card larger than 4 GB should never be needed!
Firmware versions are displayed upon power up. For upgrade instructions, click here.
If your VBOX Mini does not beep twice when you insert the card, then you may have to re-format the card.
Ensure that the card is of high quality from a reputable manufacture.
Drift angle displays when the vehicle is not drifting
- Values of Drift up to 10o can be expected on a normal corner without drifting.
Angle > 10o displays when the vehicle is not drifting
- Check the ‘Alignment’ of the VBOX Mini; see the alignment section of Setup Menu in this manual for further information.
- If the road has a severe camber / gradient this will slightly affect the Drift angle calculation.
- If you are in an area of poor reception quality then this will affect the Drift angle calculation.
The Drift angle reading appears too big or too small
- Check the ‘Alignment’ of VBOX Mini; see the alignment section of Setup Menu in this manual for further information.
- If the road has a severe camber or gradient this will affect the Drift angle calculation.
- If you are in an area of poor reception quality then this will affect the Drift angle calculation.
- If the Drift angle is consistently incorrect in good conditions then the YAW sensor may need to be zero’d, but this is very unusual.
To check whether you need to zero the YAW sensor:
Use the Yaw sensor diagnostic screen and sit VBOX Mini very still on a flat surface. The angle reading will change slowly over time. If the angle changes every three seconds or less, go to the Diagnostic screen, press and hold the RESET button for two seconds then follow the on-screen instructions. The process will take thirty seconds, during which the unit must be kept very still. If the sensor is subjected to a sudden movement, the procedure will be canceled.
Note: If you wish to cancel the procedure, press any key other than OK to return to the diagnostic screen.
The Alignment Bars are in the wrong position when VBOX Mini is held flat
If the horizontal and vertical alignment bars, which are used as a guide to correctly align VBOX Mini in the windscreen, are no longer postioned correctly when VBOX Mini is held on a flat surface, they may need resetting. To do this, hold the VBOX Mini very still on a flat surface when in this screen, and press and hold reset. The alignment bars will then be repositioned in the middle of the VBOX Mini display and can once again be used as a guide to VBOX Mini alignment.