How to test USB socket data lines?

I've having problems with the USB A plug in connector in my car. I have a USB tester which shows that +5V is available at the socket output but how do I test if there is a problem with the data lines due a poor connection or other problems?

F22 Simpilot said:

I wasn't aware cars sent data to the USB connector. Just power.

If you Google USB Sniffer there are several. On the free side Wireshark can do it.

USBPcap

USB

USBPCAP and Wireshark. How to capture USB data and filter - How to capture USB traffic - YouTube

Many cars including mine use the USB socket for playback of music files from a USB stick. My car also needs the USB connection to update the infotainment software from a USB stick.

Steve C said:

Many cars including mine use the USB socket for playback of music files from a USB stick. My car also needs the USB connection to update the infotainment software from a USB stick.

Maybe test with some songs. ^^

Ghot said:

Maybe test with some songs. ^^

That's the problem since playback of songs keeps dropping out at random for several seconds

Steve C said:

That's the problem since playback of songs keeps dropping out at random for several seconds

I know this will sound weird.... try cleaning the USB stick's connector with Isopropyl Alcohol.
I had a problem where my USB Joystick had connection problems, and I solved it by cleaning it.

It didn't even look dirty, but I guess it was.

Apart from @Ghot's suggestion, probably not a lot else you can do.

I used to get issues with a usb cable in from a TV socket to charge a device, and when I investigated further, the tv socket was only intended for diagnostics and could not guarantee a constant voltage. In fact as I searched around web, it seemed this was more common than I would have expected.

I could easily see voltage fluctuations in a car being worse than one would get say on a pc. You might want to check the voltage under different situations e.g. engine on, off etc over a period of time to eliminate voltage fluctuation as an issue.

What car are we talking about? It may be an issue with the vehicles infotainment system software /hardware.

It's a new Kia Niro. I've now booked it in for a warranty job to check the USB connector and cabling since I've done all I can to clean the connectors.