Pants Radio Signal - Replace Aerial?

[Dancing Fish 0]

Hello,

 

The radio signal i get in my C is pants. Is this normal for a C?

 

On the presumtion it is not, i would have to replace the aerial and leads yes?

 

Ideally, the signal would be sooooooooo strong i could pick up Jazz FM in brighton!

 

What is the easiest way to do this. From knowing the position of the aerial (the roof at the back) it will probably be a nightmare no?

 

Isnt it cool how saying either yes or no, which are opposites, at the end of the sentence makes no difference at all!!!

 

DF.

[Phil K 0]

What condition is your areial in, has the rubber on it perished? Don't know how easy it is to do but do know that you have to get the base from VW as it is at a slightly higher angle than normal so it doesn't hit the tailgate when you open it...

 

HTHAB

[dr_mat 0]

Can you get a slightly shorter, but still standard aerial for the C? My original one is broken a bit, and the length of it makes the car look a lot like it should take 4AA batteries and have a switch on the bottom marked "on/off"...

[coolrado 0]

you say you cant pick up jazz fm i think that means its working perfectly :lo

 

is the power supply connected to the aerial :?: (single wire that is loomed up with the aerial cable behind the stereo) it should be connected to the electric aerial/remote out from the head unit

 

it is quite common for the amplifier in the aerial to give up i have heard of people removing the aerial and by-passing the amplifier in the base of the aerial which improves the reception but its still not perfect

[cheesy 0]

I had the same problem with mine, tried boosters just before u plug the aerial to head unit but didn't help

 

I bought a new base and replaced it and know i have tip top reception :D

[chris CORRADO 0]

is the power supply connected to the aerial :?: (single wire that is loomed up with the aerial cable behind the stereo) it should be connected to the electric aerial/remote out from the head unit

 

what colour is the wire from the headunit also can i hoot it straight to the BLUE amp remote wire coz i live near london and can't even pick up 95.8. LOL mines awfall...mind you i only have like the power cable and the speaker cables on the headunit not even the light dimmer or the *turn the key radio goes on wire* LOL can't remember the name

[Henny 0]

the wire behind the stereo for feeding power to the aerial amplifier is black... this should be connected to your blue wire out of the back of the stereo... 8)

[HiAsAKite 0]

My radio reception is pants too (my 18 year old GTi is far better..) ...rarely able to find more than one station at once (and usually that classic FM :( )..often can't find anything..

 

.. I suspect I have the same problem...

[dr_mat 0]

I can rarely find anything worth listening to on the radio, so I listen to the engine instead... :)

[HiAsAKite 0]

I can rarely find anything worth listening to on the radio, so I listen to the engine instead... :)

 

 

LoL..which is probably why I haven't fixed it..

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I don't know about the 16V and G60 aerials but the VR6 does not have a seperate earth for the amp. It's just a push fit connector with a sliding sleeve.

 

New aerials for the VR cost £54+VAT from VW (with mast) and is made by Bosch.

 

I find the reception is fine.

 

K

[dr_mat 0]

New aerials for the VR cost £54+VAT from VW (with mast) and is made by Bosch.

 

Which is why I won't be buying one...

[Kevin Bacon 5]

My dealer was so horrified by that price, he knocked 20% off for me.

 

I don't mind replacing parts. What I do mind is having to buy a complete unit for the sake of a 30p rubber seal.

[Dancing Fish 0]

I taped up that black lead cos i didnt know what it was.

 

Aerial amplifier power lead you say? Sounds quite important then!

 

What can i attach it to coming out of my stereo, some sort of power out I presume? How about just attaching it to the battery lead?

 

If I put 12v through it will i be able to pick uk Utah FM?!

[coolrado 0]

yes the aerial amplifier power supply needs to have a 12v supply.

dont connect it to your battery as it may cause a bit of battery drain.

if your stereo has remote out (for amp remote) or aerial out (usually for an electric aerial ) connect it to that.

if not, connect it to the ignition switched supply.

if this makes no difference the aerial amplifier may be knackered, and if you dont want to buy a new one you can try taking the aerial apart and remove the amplifier and connect the aerial directly i did this this afternoon and the aerial works very well without it didnt loose the signal at all over a 60mile journey. 8)

i also had a brand new vw caddy van this week and the aerial on it is quite similar to the corrado one just a bit curvier and its not amplified with the same length mast as the corrado might be a cheaper alternative :?:

[Henny 0]

I replaced my aerial with one from GSF while I was doing my rebuild as I was sick of not being able to pick up the radio stations I work for to make sure that they were working... :roll: :oops: IIRC it cost about £25 for the full amplified aerial, mast and rubber seal and was a doddle to fit.... the only difference is the angle that it comes out of the roof which may make it hit the rear window when the boot is fully open... this doesn't bother me as I have changed the mast to a billet aluminium one which is shorter anyway... ;) :lol: I still get a good reception with it though... 8)

[corradovr6sc 0]

Henny, how's the base of the aerial removed from the roof?

[Henny 0]

there's a nut above the head lining which holds it onto thru the roof skin...

 

You can take off the trim along the boot hinge which holds up the roof lining easily (it just pulls off....) and then gently pull the head lining down enough to get at it.... 8)

 

I found it was way easier to do if you drop the rear seats, take out the parcel shelf and kneel in the boot (with the boot open) then you can see what you are doing properly... 8)

[corradovr6sc 0]

cheers :)

[dr_mat 0]

Has anyone called up their local Vauxhall dealer and asked about the aerials from late Astras..? Being, as they are, identical to those on our beloved Corrados..

[Tattie 0]

Check out this page for aerials. The GTI flex 270 083 is a straight swap for the standard VW one

 

http://www.my-blaupunkt.com/acatalog/ww ... ls_20.html

[Kevin Bacon 5]

A worthy investment when changing out the aerial is 10 x new clips for the headlinging trim which you have to pull down, which usually means writing off the clips in the process :?

 

As DrMat says, there is also the Vauxhall option but not Vectras as they have intergral washer jets..... could be a good mod :lol:

[rradodth 0]

no no no, im an audio for specialist for halfords, whats this i hear about 50quid for an ariel??! talk about doing it the hard way!! the same thing happened on my c.

all i used is a new ariel amplifier/booster by autoleads (available from halfords about £8 ) plug it in, wire it up to your remote wire & bobs your uncle!

 

my radio reception is now perfect & spot on!!

[coolrado 0]

the problem with the aerial is that the amplifier circuit in the aerial base is packed in foam, great for stopping rattles but it also absorbs water after a while and knackers the circuit board.

 

while the external booster may work on some aerials it depends on how badly the circuit board has corroded inside the aerial base,

 

when i took my aerial apart i squeezed about a shot glass worth of water out of the foam, the cicuit may have worked again one it had dried out but as it would probably just get wet again i just removed the internal amplifier and wired the mast directly which works great

 

ive recently been told by a freind that has been a radio fitter for years and currently fits for a company used by halfords that the amplifier in the vw aerials hardly boosts fm reception at all and is more for AM and LW bands which are pretty useless anyway