2017 Tundra Radio Intermittent - Relay Problem

I wanted to post this for posterity so that hopefully people don’t have to go through what I just went through trying to fix the factory radio. I’ve been and EE for almost 25 years and this electrical stuff really bothers me.

I have a 2017 Crew Cab. The radio started to turn on seconds or minutes after the truck was started. It seem to almost always turn on in ACC mode, but then once the truck was started it would wait for a while to turn on. This happened for several months. Then it started to turn off and on during driving or not even turn on at all. It was highly intermittent which made it really hard to troubleshoot.

I first blamed the radio itself and did all of the things recommended in the forums. I reset it, updated the firmware, disconnected the battery, removed it and tested it, checked the fuses and connections and wiring etc. None of this fixed the problem.

I downloaded the schematics for the truck and traced the various connections to the radio. I found that when the radio didn’t turn on, the side view mirror adjustments didn’t work either. Hence, the radio was not the problem, it was the entire circuit that was dead.

I then traced the entire ACC circuit on the schematic and narrowed it down to three things.
1. The “ACC Cut” relay that opens the circuit when the truck is starting. See J53.
2. The “ACC Relay", see DD, which provides the battery voltage to the ACC circuit.
3. The computer that controls the ACC Cut relay. It provides a ground to the relay coil.

Without going into too much more detail, I was able to find some misinformation on the location of the ACC Cut relay and removed the glove box. Turns out is not on that side of the truck. Its actually just to the left of the steering column. Its a brown relay and very easy to find and easy to access.

I pulled the relay out of the socket and tapped it a few times and shook it and then put it back in. I looked into ordering another one, but it hasn’t given me any grief since.

The Relay is a Denso 90084-98032. If it does happen again, I’ll replace the relay first.

If that doesn’t fix it then I’ll try the ACC Relay next.

The key here is to check if your other accessories don’t work when the radio is dead.

So far so good.

 

Interesting. I'm having some issues w/my own HU, and I doubt that's the issue, but I'm willing to give anything a try. Thanks!

 

I have been having the same issue with my 2017 for years. I replaced the relay and now it is working perfectly. The new Denso relays are made in Thailand, BTW, whereas the original was made in Japan.

One note of clarification: The relay is behind the lower dash panel. To take it off you need to take out two 10mm bolts at the lower right and lower left. You will have to remove the driver's side kick panel (near the emergency brake) to get to the one on the left, but it is easy to do.

Many thanks to the OP for solving my radio issues!