antenna

[mbetti]

My 03 Turbo S has poor radio reception, Monsoon radio. Looking for any fixes out there to improve it.
Thanks,
Mike

[LadybugEwa]

check connections and grounding
I'm still trying to figure this out myself.
Check antenna wire-to-radio and antenna wire-to-antenna base
there's a grounding washer connecting the base to the antenna wire, it's a possible culprit, or your base might be corroded inside

[newbuggertwo]

inferior. I say this after 25 years in electronics, 15 of it for a high end 12V retailer where I managed the shop. Even the decent German ones aren't that good especially in fringe areas. I have a Honda Element with one, it sucks too. My Ford Ranger with a stock AM/FM only and a stock metal rod antenna on the fender kicked both the rubber antennas asses by a lot. I live outside of town by a lot and need every bit of gain I can get from an antenna.

To the original poster: We don't really know whats up. Was your reception ever good and now its bad? Did you buy the car new or used? My guess is you are talking about FM. AM is much more telling of the health of your antenna. If you get no stations or just a couple on AM and have lots of other noise like the engine ignition spark etc. thats an antenna problem for sure. Check the AM reception first with the engine off then start the car.

If you changed to an aftermarket radio and the installer did not connect the 12V wire to the antenna amp that would cause the problem. There is also a service bulletin that talks about rerouting the antenna cable down the left side by itself to lessen interference by adjacent wires on the right side, this helps AM the most. The antenna cable continuity should be checked as well. Good luck!

ET