Sansa Clip+ in car, launch Rockbox with ignition?

[a13]

Dear experts,

I believe the following problem to be basically hardware-related so I'm posting it here; if it's not I apologize.

I use my Clip+ in my car, plugged to the car's power. Until recently it worked such that Rockbox automatically turned on with the ignition, and when I turned off the ignition I had to turn off the Clip+ manually. Next time it again started automatically with the ignition.

Suddenly (and I don't remember any changes, neither to the way I plug it into the car, nor to the firmware or anything related) this doesn't happen anymore. When I turn on the ignition, the original firmware starts. For some reason, Rockbox seems to take over when I turn *off* the ignition.

I'm pretty sure I didn't use the "car mode" in Rockbox before, I've tried it as a substitute but if I understand correctly it never turns off the player, just pauses until restart. That's not bad but more often than not this means my Clip+ battery is flat the next time I use the car. In any case (to repeat this point), previously a completely turned off player would start Rockbox when the ignition voltage was applied.

The only explanation I can think of is that possibly it has something to do with me replacing a 500 mA USB socket by a 1 A socket in the car (not sure what I had previously installed but this could be the case - I unfortunately can't currently test that).

Would anybody know the reason for this change in behavior and possibly even a solution or a workaround?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Best,
A13

EDIT: Changed the title into something a little bit more descriptive

[saratoga]

if I understand correctly it never turns off the player, just pauses until restart.

No, it turns off the player when the car turns off.  If you're not using it, it'll run until the battery dies. 

When I turn on the ignition, the original firmware starts. For some reason, Rockbox seems to take over when I turn *off* the ignition.

The old bootloaders will boot into the Sandisk firmware if you plug into a USB port.  If you're running an old one, update. 

[a13]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure about the first half of it, seems a bit contradictory to me, but I will certainly update the firmware, thanks for the tip. Just out of curiosity, would you happen to have any idea why it worked basically for years even with the old firmware, until recently?

Much obliged,
A13

[a13]

Actually I have to say the problem persists even with the new Rockbox version installed. When I connect the USB plug, the Clip+ launches the SanDisk firmware, not Rockbox. Rockbox only launches if the USB is off.

Previously Rockbox seemed to have been able to tell the difference between the car connection (=> Rockbox, just for charging) and the PC connection (=> SanDisk, for copying files). This distinction appears to be gone.

[saratoga]

Actually I have to say the problem persists even with the new Rockbox version installed.

You mean bootloader right? 

Anyway, try and figure out what changed.  So far you mentioned changing adapters.  Perhaps that is the difference. 

[a13]

You mean bootloader right? 

No, I did mean firmware. I didn't realize the distinction; my apologies - you were right, my problem is solved, the new bootloader apparently does exactly what it's supposed to do.

Many thanks again,
A13

[batman52]

I just wanted to share the issue I encounter, that I had previously decribed here

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,39623.msg215786.html#msg215786

just to know if anyone else is aware of a solution.