Head unit restart, gauge cluster oddness.

While driving on the highway this morning, the headunit restarted. When this happened, all the gauges for speed/RPM, etc. went back down to 0 for a split second and then came back. It did this twice. Then while idling at a red light, I noticed that the battery voltage needle was bobbing up and down instead of steady in one spot. I had to stop for gas and after that and restarting the truck the needle was steady and not moving. This has never happened before, and curious if this has happened to anyone else?

 

Bad battery?

 

Possible, but it's not very old.

 

OEM batteries are caca

 

2nd the battery.

Most odd electrical issues on these trucks on newer 2.5 gens are caused by garbage factory batteries

 

I have sworn by Interstate batteries for almost 20 years but I did get one that had a cell go bad within 6 months once. happens. I'd have the battery checked regardless of age and check that the alternator is pushing enough current. I had an alternator bolt back out once and it was two days off issues until i figured out the belt was slipping just enough on an old honda I had.

 

Assuming you haven't taken the dash apart, nor done any mods that'd be getting into the harnesses, it sounds like a grounding issue. Speedo and tach will drop to zero if they don't receive any messages from the CAN bus.

Before swapping the battery, go clean the cable clamps and terminals with water/baking soda and a brass brush. Lube 'em up with Vaseline for good measure when putting back on.

 

Well I have added some switches and things, but I'm confident in my wiring jobs. And none of that has been recent.

 

My radio freezes frequently, and my wifi when it’s turned on is unreliable at best.

I thought this was normal Toyota has my wife’s highlander does it as well. I’ll have to check my battery.

 

My 2016 has started doing the same thing did a new battery fix this issue?

 

I just had a similar issue. Used left turn signal to change lanes on interstate: Speedometer went to zero. Head unit reset. The little light on rear view mirror came back on (i usually hit the power button to turn it off) and my AUXBEAM lights turn off. (As if there was a reset)
The AUX beam system is stand alone on the battery. It's not wired into any existing circuit. Would lead me to believe a possible battery issue. (Or maybe BIG maybe alternator)
My voltage gauge has been ricking back and forth a little bit over the past few weeks.
I will test it with a voltage meter, but that's the limit of my knowledge.