norspeed
Member
Radio reception bad, can only get one FM station, have replaced the aerial at the back but still the same, is this an issuse with the Fiat 500 ?
What is the fix ?
What is the fix ?
General Radio reception bad, can only get one FM station.
- Thread starter norspeed
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General Radio reception bad, can only get one FM station.
Hi,
Please define what you mean by "aerial".
The aerial base might have an electronic circuit as in the video above, it might corrode because of water ingress. Changing just the wire screwed in the aerial base won't help you at all.
Last edited:
norspeed
Member
Do you have a part number for the base unit with the electronic unit ?
Check this out: Eper (base unit: nr. 4)
Verify that it's actually your car model
If it's not, find your model, and look out for APPARATUS AND ELECTRIC CONTROLS
Also, if it's not the original head unit, you should know that the aerial base needs an "enabled" signal, as it has an integrated radio signal amplifyer which is switched off when there is no need for it. So in theory, the wire connection could be faulty, too, especially if the head unit was replaced. But the base unit going bad seems to be much more common.
Verify that it's actually your car model
If it's not, find your model, and look out for APPARATUS AND ELECTRIC CONTROLS
Also, if it's not the original head unit, you should know that the aerial base needs an "enabled" signal, as it has an integrated radio signal amplifyer which is switched off when there is no need for it. So in theory, the wire connection could be faulty, too, especially if the head unit was replaced. But the base unit going bad seems to be much more common.
norspeed
Member
I have replaced the aerial with https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/303764445484
I now have good reception on FM, but AM dosen`t seem to work, any ideas ?
I now have good reception on FM, but AM dosen`t seem to work, any ideas ?
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Who does use AM these days?
To my knowledge AM has a separate antenna.
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Greasytrucker
Established member
Op is in Isle of Man so it’s probably for Manx Radio which I believe still transmits on AM alongside FM. AM signals generally travel further so maybe he/she lives in a poor signal area?
norspeed
Member
It never used to have a seperate antenna for AM
norspeed
Member
Yes, Manx radio still uses AM, it is seperate from FM, ( different music ), Transmits Radio Caroline once a month,. and also transmits Radio TT during TT week.
Greasytrucker
Established member
Got you, i know there’s a lot trouble with aerial bases on Fiats but that’s normally related to DAB/FM. Do you get that horrible interference noise when you try AM? If so I’d probably go old school and fit some sort of suppressor like we used to years ago. The problem is modern aerials don’t really cater for AM as it is used so little nowadays
norspeed
Member
There`s no interferance, just no signal. ( you must be prety old if you remember having to put supressors on the alternator / distributor ).
Greasytrucker
Established member
Lol not that old, but always had classic Mini’s in the past so they were a must! It could be that the old base had a built in signal amplifier and the new one hasn’t possibly? You could try an inline pencil type signal amplifier, used to have to fit them in the old VW golfs if you swapped the radios as the signal was shocking if you didn’t
norspeed
Member
Not sure if the old base did AM, as i have only recently bought the car.
norspeed
Member
I will put it on the MultiECUScan at the weekend, and see what it says about the radio.
In former times, radios had a ferrite coil and a variable capacitator for AM reception, located inside the radio. But digital frequency selection and frequency synthesis eliminated the variable capacitator. ChatGPT claims that the ferrite coil is also gone and the amplifier circuit in the aerial is used for both FM and AM signals which I find astonishing. AM signals have a wavelenght of about 100 m.
Now if the AM doesn't work with the new aerial then maybe it's not an OEM part but an aftermarket item which does not support AM amplification.
Now if the AM doesn't work with the new aerial then maybe it's not an OEM part but an aftermarket item which does not support AM amplification.
norspeed
Member
I have toyed around with the original part of the aerial and tried to fix it, so will put it back on just to see if it fixes the AM problem.
Would be interesting to see a pic of the OEM aerial, was it contaminated by mould or corrosion? Did you clean it with some kind of electronics contact spray, isopropyl alcohol or destilled water? Isopropyl alcohol or tap water might be conductive which could lead to problems.
norspeed
Member
I could`nt see any problem with it, but i did bend the contact up to meet the aerial base, a bit to see if that was the problem, i haven`t put it back on yet to see if that was the problem.
