Automotive audio system

An automotive audio system is provided such that system controls, either push-button keypad or rotary switches, connect to an external interrupt pin of a microcontroller (25) capable of restarting the microcontroller from its halt or power-down state. A control activity results in the microcontroller (25) waking up from its halt state, monitoring the system control, and recording system parameter changes in a keep-alive memory. For example, the volume of the system can be changed while the system main power and functions are off. In another embodiment, the microcontroller (25) can be woken up in order to display time-of-day information while both the audio system and the automobile are turned off. After displaying the information or changing the system parameter, the microcontroller (25) returns to its halt state in order to conserve battery power. When the audio system is fully turned on, the most recent parameter setting that was recorded is used to initialise the system. Thus, a user can ensure that audio volume is not too loud prior to powering on the audio system.