Radio Reception

11-24-2003, 11:06 PM

topic says it all.... the stock hu is fine.. but with my aftermarket hu i get no am what so ever... and with fm, its mostly fine, but some of the stations located not as close get static depending on your location... this sometimes happens with all stations actually. Is there a simple way to boost the antenna? Do i need a new antenna? Thanks for any help

(i think this was posted before in the old forum, but i didn't see it transferred over here anywhere)

11-25-2003, 07:19 PM

i have that exact same problem. most fm comes in well except for 89x. am is nonexistent which was frustrating for the u of m v osu game last saturday!

11-25-2003, 08:12 PM

Yeah... it happens to me too... In some places of the city, I can get some stations, but not others... so I've had to drive around and program my HU to get them all.

Before the change-over, they said that it was a problem with the in-line radio antenna in the rear window... I dunno if anyone ever said how to fix it though...

11-25-2003, 10:00 PM

evil!! same problem i tend to get most problems with 89x...

11-26-2003, 08:07 AM

i think it has something to do with the main 89x tower being in canada. just a thought.

Aleromaster · 11-26-2003, 05:13 PM

My AM is fine, even stronger than the factory and my FMhas no change at all.

vulgar · 11-26-2003, 05:49 PM

not a canadia thing...got the same prob here in NY

12-10-2003, 08:03 AM

this was a topic on the old site...I guess there is a wire you can connect too...I have not done it..but it is supposed to boost your reception.

12-10-2003, 04:20 PM

I'm in windsor, right across from detroit, and even with the stock headunit sometimes 89x comes in lousy... I don't know why.. they need more power to their tower or something.. :P

Aleromaster · 12-10-2003, 04:56 PM

Most aftermarket radios now seem to have 2 remote turn on wires. 1 for the amps and one for the power antenna. I noticed that the cars that where done at circiut city where wired wrong and the antenna booster would not power up. Also I believe the AM is an internal antenna ( coil antenna) that is inside ofthe radios and has nothing to do with the antenna on the car.

08-07-2004, 01:27 PM

I have the same problem some channels that worked fine with my stock raido no longer come in at all and some of them come in all $hitty i had mine done at best buy.

jamcllw · 08-07-2004, 02:40 PM

You have to hook the blue antenna wire up to the wiring harness. I had the same problem with mine til I took it back apart and hooked up the power antenna lead. I guess since our antenna's are in the rear window that they have a booster that needs to be powered up to get good reception. Ohyeah after I connected the power antenna wire I was able to pick up stations in Columbus and Cincinnati and I live in Dayton.

08-08-2004, 01:52 AM

wait wait.........you hooked up the blue antenna wire coming out of head unit to ground, 12+, constant........i get nothing as far as AM, would like this fixed when listening to football games when I cant watch them.......

jamcllw · 08-08-2004, 10:42 AM

NO! There's a blue wire coming off your wiring harness that you buy to install you head unit. On it there is a blue wire that the instruction states is a power antenna lead. You then connect the blue wire coming off of you radio harness to it. That is the same wire you'd use for a remote turn on lead for an amp.

08-08-2004, 11:59 AM

so the same wire i use to turn on my amps i use for the power antenna, im pretty sure there is a seperate wire for power antenna, I am sure they probably both are a switched on after the ignition is turned on, I am going to give that a try and see if thats why my AM stations arent coming in.......

smokinAMD · 08-08-2004, 01:13 PM

You might want to try a different antennae adapter.

08-12-2004, 12:35 AM

jam was right........theres a light blue wire that you need to hook up to a remote turn on wire, anyone with this problem, its definately the fix.......i went from getting no AM stations what so ever, to getting them all and sounding almost as good as FM.......

jamcllw · 08-12-2004, 08:16 AM

your welcome

mikegett · 08-12-2004, 01:54 PM

the look of a car with a rear window antenna is nice, but it is just plain a bad design. the original cars (not just olds) had no booster (around '90). they soon realized that a booster was required but had alot of noise intered into the cars electrical systems. So every year the boosters get stronger and the noise supressors get bigger to accomodate. The toyota Sieanna van for 04 had multiple issues over this. That is the main reason you will start to see the small antennas (they look like xm's) on the cars. the good news is that when HD radio comes out, the antennas can get even smaller. Hopefully our next car purchase will have the issues solved and no more window antennas.

sound_xtreme · 08-13-2004, 05:41 AM

yea, alero's technically have power antenna's so you need to hook the power antenna lead up. you can also splice it right into the turn on lead(the red wire) either way works