Hello all,
I recently bought myself a long promised GTC on an 08 plate.
I am slowly working through some minor issues and am stuck on a lack of FM radio signal.
The AM radio (rubbish) and digital TV work fine and although there is an FM background hiss and some faint signs of stations, there is nothing listenable and no stations displayed.
I pulled the (factory) head unit and the antenna connections/cables were fine.
I also pulled the cover in the roof of the boot, checked the connections, pulled the amplifier/antenna box. I opened it up and there were no visible issues.
Is this likely to be a head unit tuning issue or the box in the boot? (3W7 035 225C)
I have an old Nokia that transmits on FM, if I put it near the boot aerial, I get a good signal, as soon as I move it more than 30cm away, the signal dies.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
This is my first post so please go easy on me! :-)

 

Hello @Niko ,
Welcome aboard !

Do you happen to have Ross-Tech VCDS, as a scan of the vehicle systems would help in showing any faults.

Johnny

 

Hi Johnny,
Thanks for your swift reply. I've only had the car for 2 weeks so no code scanner yet.
Would the scanner be able to log an issue with the FM radiosignal?
Thanks

 

Yes, the RT VCDS would show any faults in circuits, or faulty antenna/antenna amplifier.

Are you 100% on the connection at the rear of the head unit, and not just that the plug end is seated properly, I had a gentleman from Florida who had the same issue, it turned out to be the vehicle side of the connection at the head unit, he replaced the connector and all was good.

BUT, I on the other hand had a different issue with the FM antenna connection at the rear of the Infotainment head unit, it turned out that the person whom removed the 2010 NAIM head unit I purchased, was not so careful in doing so, and actually pulled the head unit side of the connection (tan color iirc) out from it's mounted position, actually bending the mounting plate that is held in with one screw, he then pushed it back in place, I took the unit apart and found the broken connection of the wire at the solder point, I re-soldered and all is good.

Worth a look.

Johnny

 

Thanks for this Johnny,
I'll pull the head unit tomorrow and check again.
I just assumed that the cables coming out of the head unit ran continuously to the unit in the boot lid. I will check the other end of those too.
​​​Thanks
Niko

 

Agreed with the above, the FAKRA connection for the fm antenna on the back of the head unit is also very short, so can disconnect or break off if stressed. (I once broke the plastic connector when reinstalling the head unit, and had to make an extension cable as there wasn’t enough ‘extra’ length to cut/strip and attach a new connector plug and still reach. )