I haven't used my navigation for over a year, since the "enter" button will not register, right left, up and down, works great, but enter will make it jump to right left up or down, so I cant enter any address...
I tried spraying TV tuner cleaner, did not help.
Toyota Dealer is telling me it will cost $980 to replace control panel
There are actually 4 separate switches mounted on a PC board buried inside the controller.
I doubt if contact cleaner, applied from the outside, will reach them before evaporating.
If you have reasonable dexterity and can solder, you could attempt your own disassembly and repair, or attach wires to the "enter switch" terminals for an external switch (which is what I did).
There are actually 4 separate switches mounted on a PC board buried inside the controller.
I doubt if contact cleaner, applied from the outside, will reach them before evaporating.
If you have reasonable dexterity and can solder, you could attempt your own disassembly and repair, or attach wires to the "enter switch" terminals for an external switch (which is what I did).
There's no way contact cleaner will work without taking the entire assembly apart. The actual joystick is a tiny little thing under that big button. Even with the actual joystick taken out and in your hand, you'll be skeptical that any of your cleaner is getting down into it along the steel shaft. Apparently enough did to make mine better, but still not perfect. I definitely plan to do some type of hack to try to get the I Agree to clear auotmatically ... or at least an external switch/button as in the link above.
inov8, Once you take the assembly apart and are holding just the small circuit board with the little joystick on it, do you know if there is a way to order/replace just that piece without shelling out the $800 for the entire controller assembly? Mine won't register clicks in the 'Down' direction or 'Enter' very well. I'm not sure if contacts are worn within the joystick/switch that it is repairable? The external Enter switch & timer is something I want to do as well, but it won't restore my ability to press the down arrow direction. Thanks!
Do you think that you have used the joystick enough to have actually worn the switch out? That would (should anyway) take a lot of use. I have a remote control in my living room that is kind of special, in that it controls everything electronic, including all of my lighting. With use, the buttons become more and more difficult to operate, and eventually stop working. I pop the remote apart, down to the circuit board, and clean the contacts with contact cleaner (or rubbing alchohol) using a Q-tip. Put it back together, and it works like new everytime. Once or twice a year, for the last 3 years.
My money is on cleaning the contacts, if you can get to the circuit board.
Kelly
I disassembled my controller during 2005, so some of the construction details have been forgotten.
As I recall, the "joystick" is just a plastic actuator that contacts an array of membrane switches mounted on the small PC board, similar to a game controller, TV remote control, or inexpensive calculator keypad.
The small PC board can be removed for better access to the switches, but separate the pieces carefully so as not to lose the return spring.
My experience with membrane switches is that they deteriorate from environmental effects (such as cigarette smoke) rather than contact wear. With calculators and remotes, I have had good success with ordinary rubbing alcohol or contact cleaner applied with Q-tips.
The individual switches may be the semi-sealed type (similar to those used for the rest of the controls) like those visible on the main PC bard in the PDF file. If so, your options are to attempt to spray some contact cleaner into the switches,or find replacements that can be soldered to the small PC board. I doubt very much if you can buy only the "joystick" PC board from Denso. There is probably more than $700 of profit in the $800 replacement controller; they won't want to give that up.
Amazingly helpful information - thanks! I was going to try to figure out how to install another "enter" switch, and here was everything I needed to know. MOST appreciated!
You didn't say anything about the actual switch you added - did you have to do anything to de-bounce it? Where did you install it?
No de-bouncing was necessary; de-bouncing is likely built into the Nav controller.
This switch mounts in a 1/4" hole and will fit in the small seat heater control panel along the top edge. It's easy to route the wires under the console.
The Following User Says Thank You to inov8 For This Useful Post:
Just got back from Radio Shack - I have Toyota parts all over my workbench. They had a nifty little SMT pushbutton switch that actually fits within the "Enter" circle on the joystick, so I was trying to figure out a smart way to maybe put it on top of the joystick center, drill a couple of small holes through the top of the joystick, and then bring the wires down and around the circuit board to the solder pads. Is there a trick to separating the joystick top from the circuit board and switches underneath so I can see what's going on under there? The top didn't seem to want to come off even after I separated the circuit board from the plastic mounting frame, and I didn't want to force it... or is it all one assembly that can't be removed without desoldering pins 1-8?
You have taken dissasembly one step further than I did, so this is uncharted territory for me. Something has to retain the spring and actuator. If it's not the 3 screws that retain the switch board, then retainers soldered to the board seem the next logical choice.
I hooked the new "enter" switch to lands 5 and 8, and instead of "enter", it does "up and left." When the new button is held down on the map screen. the map scrolls NW, and menu selections do pretty much the same thing.
????
I'm pretty sure I didn't short 5 and 1, although I'll take it all apart again and check. Any other ideas while I'm in there rummaging around?
I would check with an Ohmmeter to see if you can duplicate the switch closure "map" in the PDF file. It is possible one of the other switches, or the electronics that decode the switch contact closures, are at fault. It should be impossible to achieve 2 actions with a single contact closure.
So I got extra ambitious and took the sucker completely apart, right down to the component side of the inner circuit board. The heart of the unit is a $5 mechanical navigation switch with a friction-fit D-shaft, and if the switch fails, replacing the entire unit for large bucks is just STUPID, not to mention wasteful. Denso really ought to sell that part separately - it would be trivial to put in a new one, and if something's going to flake out in the unit, that's probably first choice. I've looked around the web and haven't found exactly the same navigation switch (no visible part number, of course), but I did find one that's close. I'm going to see if I can do a little field engineering and swap it in for the old one when it gets here.
that's the little bugger I was talking about ... I hope you find something. IMO that joystick & NAV interface is as dangerous as anything else malfunctioning on a Toyota right now. Trying to click Enter on that nag screen without changing the language to French or ending up at the Top on English is way more distracting than entering an address on-the-fly. IMO it's way easier to pull my car in neutral if it should decide to make a run for it while I'm in it.
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