2014 Citroën C8 RT6/eMyWay – black screen, failed microSD recovery / USB firmware install

[simmoinard]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to repair the RT6/eMyWay unit in my Citroën C8 and I would appreciate some advice before trying anything else.

Vehicle: Citroën C8
First registration: 02/07/2014
Engine: 2.0 HDi, 120 kW / 163 hp
VIN: VF7**************[VIN obfuscated, can be read by forum staff]
Head unit: Magneti Marelli RT6 / eMyWay / RNEG2

I have been able to read the original internal microSD card on a PC. From the files on the card I found:

VER:RNEG2.70.D.1
SUBVER:2.70.1

I also found:

VER:BSP_PPC-SECT83#BSP_PPC_6.2.70.10:project:SECT39#1

and another system file contains:

RNEG2009_EUR_2_70

So as far as I can tell, the RT6 was originally running firmware 2.70.D.1.

Original problem

The RT6 no longer boots correctly. The display remains completely black. At some stages the CD mechanism repeatedly makes a seek/"rewind" noise as if the unit is trying to boot and restarting. Immediately before my latest recovery attempt, the unit had become completely inactive: black screen and no obvious activity.
The original microSD is still readable on my PC and I can access its different partitions and files, but the RT6 will not boot correctly from it.

Recovery attempt

I fitted a new blank microSD card inside the RT6.
I then prepared a FAT32 USB stick containing RT6 firmware 2.80. The files were directly at the root of the USB stick:

Application
Data_Base
db_dwnl_ppc
SIRF
UPG
BootRom.sym
CD.inf
Config.inf

Config.inf reports:
VER:RNEG20XX_3WC_2_80

I connected the USB stick to the original USB port and started the car with the engine running.

The USB stick immediately showed activity. During the attempt:

the USB LED kept flashing on and off;
the RT6 fan ran occasionally;
I could hear the CD mechanism starting from time to time (every 15min), suggesting that the RT6 was rebooting;
the USB activity would then start again;

I let this continue for approximately 1 hour 50 minutes because the USB stick was still being accessed, but it never completed.

I eventually stopped the attempt.

When I removed the new microSD and checked it on my PC, nothing had been written to it at all. No RT6 partitions had been created and there were no files on the card.
After reinstalling the original microSD, the RT6 returned to the previous behaviour: black screen and the CD mechanism repeatedly seeking/"rewinding".

One point worth mentioning: during the USB recovery attempt the three Fakra antenna connectors (blue/grey/white) were disconnected. The main power/Quadlock connector was connected. I am also not completely certain that the display/LVDS connector was perfectly seated, so the black screen during the recovery attempt may not itself be significant.

My questions

• - Is 2.80 suitable for rebuilding a completely blank microSD when the previous firmware was 2.70.D.1, or should I first recover it using 2.71 / another version?
  - Is there anywhere I can obtain the original 2.70.D.1 recovery firmware, or was this version never distributed as an update?
  - Does the fact that the USB stick was continuously accessed but the new microSD remained completely untouched indicate a problem accessing the SD card itself?
  - Would you recommend trying the recovery firmware from a CD rather than USB in this situation?
  - Is there anything useful I should copy/save from the original microSD before doing any further recovery attempts?

I still have access to the contents of the original microSD and can provide file listings, configuration files or logs if useful.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[mickthemaverick]

I have moved your post here which is the best place to get some help for your issues.

[Paul-R]

If you have access to 2.71 I would use that first. You can always update later on if need be. I can provide a link if you need one. I wouldn't go to 2.80 first.

I don't have 2.70. I suspect that might have only been fitted at the factory. 2.75 might have been the same.

What exactly did you put on the USB stick? Was it the ISO or the contents of the ISO?

I wouldn't suggest the CD as a good idea if you suspect the reader is misbehaving.

[simmoinard]

Thank you Paul !

I would be very intersted with your link.
I did flash the USB key from the ISO (I did not copy Paste the files, I used a soft (Rufus) ) So it was the content of the iso
.

[Paul-R]

If you've used Rufus then you've made the USB stick bootable which is not what is wanted. Reformat the USB drive in FAT32 and then simply copy the files and folders from the ISO to the root of the USB drive.

Check your PM for a link in five minutes.

[simmoinard]

Hello Paul,
Thank you for the files !

I followed your instructions and there is some improvement, but unfortunately the installation still does not complete.
When I insert the USB drive, the car displays “CRC media checking” for about 5 minutes. Then it shows “CRC ERROR ON MEDIA” and the RT6 reboots.

I also tried burning the same ISO to a CD. The CD seems to be correctly burned and I can see all the firmware files on it, but when I insert it into the RT6, nothing appears on the screen. After about one minute, the unit ejects the CD.

Do you have any idea what could cause this CRC error?
Thank you again for your help.

[EDIT] : I finally managed to boot on the CD, but I still have CRC ERROR ON MEDIA. Could it be possible that the file you sent me is corrupted ?

Best regards,
Simon

[simmoinard]

[SOLVED]

Hi everyone,

Quick follow-up to my thread: the RT6 is alive again! I'm sharing everything I learnt, since I lost a lot of time on details that aren't really documented anywhere.

**The car and the problem**
- Citroën C8, 2014, 2.0 HDi 163
- RT6 / eMyWay (RNEG2), original firmware 2.70.D.1
- Symptoms: black screen, CD mechanism making its "rewind" noise every ~10 seconds (the unit reboots in a loop)

**What did NOT work**
- Cloning the original microSD onto a new card: same loop.
- The original card was perfectly readable on a PC, and every file passed its CRC check (see the technical note at the end), except one file in the TurboBoot folder. Removing TurboBoot didn't help either. So in my case the old card could not be repaired: a full reinstall was needed.

**Tip 1 – "CRC ERROR ON MEDIA": it was Windows' fault**
Whenever you plug a USB stick into a Windows PC, Windows silently creates a hidden "System Volume Information" folder on it. The RT6 sees an extra file and the CRC media check fails (after ~5 minutes of "CRC media checking").
The fix:
1. Format the stick in FAT32 (mine was NTFS at first, which doesn't work either).
2. Copy the firmware files to the root of the stick (Application, Data_Base, UPG, CD.inf, Config.inf, etc. – not the .iso, not a sub-folder).
3. Open a command prompt as administrator and type:
rd /s /q "E:\System Volume Information"
(replace E: with your stick's letter)
4. Eject the stick straight away and do NOT plug it back into the PC, or Windows will recreate the folder.
After that, the CRC check passed immediately.
(I also tried burning a CD and got the same CRC error. I didn't investigate further once the USB method worked.)

**Tip 2 – "Error during flasher loading" right after "Disk check": try another firmware version**
With firmware 2.70 (the version matching my old install, given by Paul in PM), the sequence was:
CRC media checking → Flasher loading → InitSoft → Disk check → Error during flasher loading → reboot.
I tried the new SD card in several states (FAT32, fully unpartitioned) with cold starts: same error every time.
With firmware 2.86 on the same stick and the same card, it went straight through: "Keep engine running and do not remove media" → "FP in loader mode, flashing" → full install in about 20 minutes.
The 2.86 I used came from: https://psa-diag.fr/navigation.php?id=RT6

**The procedure that worked**
1. New SanDisk 8 GB class 10 microSD, formatted FAT32, with "System Volume Information" removed.
2. USB stick in FAT32 with firmware 2.86 at the root, "System Volume Information" removed.
3. Cold start between attempts: unplug the Quadlock for 30 seconds.
4. Engine running, plug the stick in, and don't touch anything until it's finished.

**After the install**
- The unit came up in Czech with a Peugeot logo (known issue: default configuration).
- I copied my old user_data folder (backed up from the original card) onto the user partition of the new card, removed "System Volume Information" from the 3 partitions, and restarted. A language option then appeared in the menus and I could switch to French. I'm not 100% sure the copy is what made that option appear.
- The logo is still Peugeot. It's cosmetic, and it can be changed with MiraScripts / DatExplorer (Vehicle_Brand: 1 = Citroën, 4 = Peugeot).
- The steering wheel controls work.
- Note: the firmware doesn't include the maps, so the navigation has none.

Big thanks to Paul for his files and his patience, and to everyone on this forum whose old posts helped me through this.

Simon

[Paul-R]

That's a great result Simon. It's interesting about the hidden files/folders. I've never removed them from USB sticks when updating maps and speedcams on an RT6 and SMEG+ system. But then I've never updated firmwares so maybe that's an important difference.