Dangerous B&O sound system issue

[TJE]

Yesterday my F150 Powerboost with B&O Unleashed triggered the same loud, uncontrollable static noise described in other threads. The sound was so bad we had to pull over and turn off the car for 30 minutes. Our ears are still ringing and we are concerned about hearing damage. Has anyone received resolution from from Ford?

Hopefully you get a different reply, but most (myself included) have gotten a "sorry we can't help because we can't replicate the problem" from our dealers. If you talk to Ford HQ they say they will contact the dealer in your behalf, who will again say they can't fix the problem because they can't replicate it. The Ford account on the forums may reach out, but it seems like it's just to make people feel like they are getting help, and not actually providing any. If you do a Google search, you pretty much find forum threads, and thats it. I have yet to hear from anyone who has taken theirs to a dealer and gotten anything out of it.

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[ZLF150]

This happened to be yesterday, second time overall. 3,700 miles on the truck now. 2022 lariat with the unleashed system.

Started the truck, plugged my phone into the USB to charge and heard a couple of loud pops from the speakers immediately but then no sound at all. Had a 10 minute drive in front of me so decided to just go for it without any radio. Had the wife, 10, 7, and 1 year old kids with me. My mistake was after driving for about 3 whole minutes I got impatient with no music going so I hit the FM button on the radio. Clearly a bad decision because it immediately started making this horrendous pulsating static sound paired with what sounded like a dog whistle. Sounded different than the first time though. The first time it happened it sounded like one of the videos that’s been posted here…really loud clicking and popping. Pulled the truck off the road into a parking lot and the wife immediately got the kids out of the truck. I sat in the truck for about ten minutes trying everything I could think of to make it stop. Starting, stopping, opening and closing doors, pressing all radio buttons…absolutely nothing would make it stop. My concern grew the longer it went on because I started to smell something getting very hot. What you would smell when electrical components are overheating.
Remembered reading this thread awhile back so pulled it up and read to pull fuse number 28 in the fuse box by the passenger floorboard so I did that and it immediately stopped. Plugged the fuse right back in 10 seconds later and the sound did not resume. Started the truck, CarPlay connected with no issues, queued up some Luke Combs and everything sounded normal….however my hearing was obviously very compromised at this point after sitting through that BS for so long.

Both times this has happed to me was right after startup and when CarPlay was connecting. This is obviously a huge safety issue and the hot electrical component smell concerns me. Plus I can’t understate how much watching my 1 year old cry and be scared to death of getting back in the truck pissed me off.

 

[Dave541]

Sorry to hear about this guys. Has anyone tried using just the Bluetooth for music? Or music apps? Pandora etc? I don’t care for CarPlay or Android Auto myself. Might be a work around until they get it figured out. Good luck.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

This happened to be yesterday, second time overall. 3,700 miles on the truck now. 2022 lariat with the unleashed system.

Started the truck, plugged my phone into the USB to charge and heard a couple of loud pops from the speakers immediately but then no sound at all. Had a 10 minute drive in front of me so decided to just go for it without any radio. Had the wife, 10, 7, and 1 year old kids with me. My mistake was after driving for about 3 whole minutes I got impatient with no music going so I hit the FM button on the radio. Clearly a bad decision because it immediately started making this horrendous pulsating static sound paired with what sounded like a dog whistle. Sounded different than the first time though. The first time it happened it sounded like one of the videos that’s been posted here…really loud clicking and popping. Pulled the truck off the road into a parking lot and the wife immediately got the kids out of the truck. I sat in the truck for about ten minutes trying everything I could think of to make it stop. Starting, stopping, opening and closing doors, pressing all radio buttons…absolutely nothing would make it stop. My concern grew the longer it went on because I started to smell something getting very hot. What you would smell when electrical components are overheating.
Remembered reading this thread awhile back so pulled it up and read to pull fuse number 28 in the fuse box by the passenger floorboard so I did that and it immediately stopped. Plugged the fuse right back in 10 seconds later and the sound did not resume. Started the truck, CarPlay connected with no issues, queued up some Luke Combs and everything sounded normal….however my hearing was obviously very compromised at this point after sitting through that BS for so long.

Both times this has happed to me was right after startup and when CarPlay was connecting. This is obviously a huge safety issue and the hot electrical component smell concerns me. Plus I can’t understate how much watching my 1 year old cry and be scared to death of getting back in the truck pissed me off.

Good morning. Can you please send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer? I would like to look into this noise concern on my end.

 

[TJE]

Sorry to hear about this guys. Has anyone tried using just the Bluetooth for music? Or music apps? Pandora etc? I don’t care for CarPlay or Android Auto myself. Might be a work around until they get it figured out. Good luck.

That's pretty much my plan if it ever happens again. At this point, I do know that if the volume ever stops working to either leave it alone, or immediately pull over and pull the fuse.

 

[Michael Gillmore]

I have a 2021 PowerBoost with the B&O sound system and about 2500 miles on the truck. A week ago I was driving and decided to turn the audio on. As soon as I hit the screen button for CarPlay the system went crazy and started blaring a horrible sound at full volume. Scared the @#$% out of me. It wouldn't respond to any controls so I pulled over into a parking lot. I figured if I shut the truck off it would at least stop - wrong. I turned the truck off, got out, shut the door, messed with the FOB and no change. I finally got back in and drove the 4-5 miles home with my ears plugged and steering with my knee as much as possible (got some really interesting looks from a few people on the way). When I got home I pulled the battery and it finally stopped after a minute or so. I reconnected the battery and as soon as I opened the door it started again. Disconnected the battery again and this time it took maybe 5 minutes to stop, maybe because of the aux 12V battery in the cab. It was dark out so once it finally stopped I just left it in the driveway. I can't tell you how loud it was - like military crowd control loud. The videos attached show it but I think it overwhelmed the mic on my phone and it doesn't convey it well. My ears were ringing for over two hours after my short drive home.

The next morning I pulled the fuse for the amp and took it to the dealer. They had it this whole past week and were not able to reproduce the problem despite driving it and cycling the sound system on and off many times. I made it very clear that this isn't just a weird problem, it's a serious safety issue. They didn't disagree. I requested that they replace whatever in the system was most likely to be the cause which I assumed would be the amp but who knows. They denied the request and said they couldn't do anything about it, so I just have to pick up the truck today. This really sucks because I don't trust it now. I'll have to keep the fuse panel cover off with some kind of handle attached to the amp fuse in case it does it again. It's not easy to get to and I need a quick stop option if it does it again. I'm also concerned that the speakers got damaged but according to the dealer they are fine. We'll see... This whole thing is just a totally unacceptable situation.

I just wanted to post this to document it in case it's not an isolated incident. The dealer said if it does it again to just pull the amp fuse and not disconnect the battery so they might be able to diagnose it. They think the overnight battery disconnect reset everything which makes sense but it doesn't give me any confidence in the thing going forward.

Today was one of those days. Started my 2022 Raptor with the B and O Stereo and the radio just went wild. Playing the loudest screaches and pops you have ever heard. The cabin of the truck started to smell like burning electronics as well. I Remember that smell from he good ole days when having a stereo loud enough where the whole block could hear you was cool. Anyways the truck would not shut up. I switched the ignition on and off multiple times and had to drive 4 miles with that awful noise on full blast. The tow truck is on its way but I sure hope they fix it and don’t tell me it they couldn’t reproduce it.

 

[thudnblunder]

This audio concern doesn’t sound like something we want you to experience with your F-150.

I see what you did there.

 

[Brad-C]

Yep - it's claimed another victim. Sorry to hear. I've said before I can understand why this is a tough one for Ford to root cause but the clock is really ticking for something serious to happen. Then the lawyers aren't far behind. Wish someone would get a real answer on this but all I see are "send us a PM so we can assist.." and I'm sure those all end up like it did for me. The warranty extension is a nice gesture but it won't do much good when someone totals their shiny new truck (hopefully uninjured).

 

[Snakebitten]

While the dealerships probably haven't seen or dealt with this at this point I am 100% convinced somewhere, someone at Ford is.

And I bet the response is under review and being formulated already. Without a crystal ball there's no way to predict when or what is going to be the remedy, but eventually this thread or one like it will finally have a post regarding.

If I had to guess there is either going to be a software TSB or a component recall with a VIN range.

 

[Brad-C]

Hope so - soon!!

 

[Snakebitten]

Sadly, it's not soon enough for anyone who's posted here.

 

[thudnblunder]

I’m not an expert on this. It I’m trying to think this through here.

My guess, based on the descriptions here are that the digital AMP receives some sort of input that causes it to crash and get get stuck in a loop making a repeating noise pattern.

What could cause this?

1) Issues with the SYNC4/head unit
2) Some bad signal handling/bugs in the amp itself
3) Noise in the connection between the SYNC4 and amp or ground issues?

Once it crashes, it’s no longer responsive to digital input - volume control etc don’t work.

What resets the amp?

1) Keeping the truck off long enough to cut power to the amp
2) Pulling the fuse for it
3) Pulling the power connector for it

What could also potentially reset the amp?

1) Switching to a non digital audio source like AM radio? Worth a shot but I don’t know if it would work.

I’m supposed to get my truck in another two weeks. I’m tempted to make a mini wiring harness with a remote relay to run power to the amp through so I can quickly cut power to the amp. I don’t know how many amps the amp pulls but something like this to quickly turn it off while in the driver’s seat would be good insurance.

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The long term fix is likely a SYNC4 firmware update and maybe one for the amp as well. Maybe a wiring harness change? Although the issue doesn’t seem to recur often enough for wiring to be the likely cause.

 

[thudnblunder]

I’m tempted to make a mini wiring harness with a remote relay to run power to the amp through so I can quickly cut power to the amp. I don’t know how many amps the amp pulls but something like this to quickly turn it off while in the driver’s seat would be good insurance.

Can someone please post a picture of the power connector that goes into the amp? If you know what it’s called and where I can buy male and female connectors matching it, it would help a lot.

Thanks!

 

[cyclone77]

....
1) Switching to a non digital audio source like AM radio? Worth a shot but I don’t know if it would work...

That's what's been working for me. I haven't had (so far) the unrelenting loud noise issue, but I've had the loud static popping noise briefly at start up, with unresponsive volume/no sound following the static pops. This is with the B&O Unleashed as well. The first time that this occurred I thought maybe the sound system's fuse blew. That's kind of what it seemed like.

So far the fix for me is to toggle to an AM station with the steering wheel button, and then the station quickly comes in as normal. After that if I go back and try the other sources everything works as it should. Very weird!

Like I said I haven't had the unrelenting noise issue yet, but I have scorched into my memory fuse #28 so I can quickly pull it if it were to occur lol.

Hope Ford comes up with a fix for this issue, and soon.

 

[thudnblunder]

So far the fix for me is to toggle to an AM station with the steering wheel button, and then the station quickly comes in as normal. After that if I go back and try the other sources everything works as it should. Very weird!

That’s a great data point and pretty easy to do.

Thanks for sharing!

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