Clock not showing and stereo doesn't follow ignition

[Strutlur]

My daughter's Fiesta 2011 has an issue with the clock and the stereo.

First the clock:
It doesn't show either date or clock, and it's impossible to adjust. I get into the meny, but there is no reaction to the adjustments.
The clock shows up like this:

I have tried disconnecting the battery, touching the connectors, pulling the fuses, and even changed the display and the radio unit from another car. Still no change.
The display and the clock does not follow the radio unit, because it would normaly be possible to adjust the clock seperat from the radiounit. At least it appears so to me whn I connected the display without the radio unit connected... So where in the car is the clock actually then...?

The radio unit does not follow the ignition. It works like when it's no key in the ignition, like I turn it on and it stays on for an hour. I also have to turn if off manualy when I leave the car.
The power seem to be ok. Constant power is ok, and there is one wire that delivers power when I turn the key, and off again when I pull out the key. The rest I assume is wires to the display and the speakers.

The garage hesitates to work on it. I have searched the internet, but nothing like this issue.

There is also a load of codes when I read out. Not abel to delete them so they are constant. Some of them are dated in 2033, far in the future...
Most of them look like the Can-Bus needs a serious reset beyond disconnectiong battery...

What to do?

 

[Handy Andy]

This is telling me Fuses need to be checked.

Even replaced - this is a 2011 - fuses exposed to outside air in any winter or summer environment can't last forever. Even in the engine compartment

So be ready to pull fuses and don't be surprised to have a leg of one break off - then there is your clue - it just might need a new fuse - the old one corroded away.

Pull and reinsert of the fuses might make enough wiping action to make the connection work again so you get your keep alive memory working.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm bookmarking this for when my gremlins appear.

Phil Forrest

 

[Handy Andy]

There is also the unfortunate demise of many power supply units in simple ECM / Entertainment systems - their capacitors do age - and are less and less effective as used to hold a charge - trickle charge - so the system has power to "freeze data" and shut down - it does the shutdown process as a "write" to a block of cell memory that is Non-Volatile ram.

Kinda' like a watchdog - but as a method to protect settings - including ODO, Time - Date and Preset Stations.

How this works - it uses a timing "clock" that looks at two states - the systems own clock and an external power line - like a trigger - only it looks for the change - and also has a "reset" line from the system to force it to start recounting.

When its clock reaches a certain point - the status line from the system is looked at - if the system doesn't or has not responded - it "drops" and forces a reset of the system when you power it up next time.

This action is also what the watchdog does when the ignition is turned off - a timer function occurs, allow the lights, APIM and even Window controls and Radio to remain powered - then once the system doesn't see any action is "snoozes"

IF you leave a door ajar or the radio on - while inside the car even with the key in the ACC setting - the watchdog can put the car in a snooze mode.

Ok, if you can see the system work this way, then the issue of powering down and saving settings is easier to understand - which is what Sync and all the other sub systems attempt to do - even when the battery power is plenty enough to allow for longer "run time" - this prevents errors and corrupted data from getting stored and causing erratic operation.

So what does this have to do with Capacitors?

Plenty, they filter the power supply, keep the voltages smooth for operation, as they age, they become less like storage cells for DC power and act more like resistors - pulling power away from systems and placing a drain on resources and even allowing voltage surges to potentially damage the sensitive equipment they are supposed to protect from spikes.

We may be reaching the theoretical limit of lifespan cycles for some systems.

This includes automotive systems.​

A better explanation - is here