radio antenna

Radio reception improves greatly when I touch the antenna. I checked the grounding strap in the trunk and it's ok. Checked with dealer and a antenna can be purchased separately from the motor. Does anyone know if I should replace the antenna or is there a ground problem somewhere? Just purchased the car about 2 weeks ago with 90,000 miles on it. Best car I have ever purchased in the last 30 years!

Kind of depends on what is acceptable to you. Reception usually does improve when you touch any antenna. It could be the design and quality of the tuner. Hard call on this one???????

This is a hard one to call. Poor reception could be based on a number of factors, but the antenna isn't the likely culprit.

It may be the tuner (as the tuner does have chips that reduce noise and amplify the radio signal), but it is not like these chips are prone to breaking.

The best way to diagnose this problem is to drive around listening to different FM stations (noise does not affect them as much). Only if you experience noise on every station, no matter where you are, then you may have an issue with your car. Otherwise, it is more likely a problem with the radio station itself (doesn't have enough power through it's antenna for good reception in your area) or the environment around you that is causing some sort of interference/blocking the signal.

I hope that helps a bit.

HL

Kind of depends on what is acceptable to you. Reception usually does improve when you touch any antenna. It could be the design and quality of the tuner. Hard call on this one???????
Thanks for the reply. FM reception is fine, it's the am reception that I have a problem with.

AM reception is not really dependent on an antenna in modern audio systems. As long as there is a path outside of the sheetmetal. Some people feel that Delco tuners are excellent for a stock radio. They can vary in quality from one GM car to the next though. If radio is important to you, satellite is the way to go!

am, alot of times depends on the weather. so listen to you am on a clear night

Because AM uses the amplitude of the signal to transmit audio information, it is sensitive to many environmental factors.

Sometimes if you travel under a bridge, or near power lines, it can cause noise. If the reception is really bad on all AM stations, then you may want to look into it further.

HL

The time of day could make a big difference too. FCC rules say that most high powered AM stations have to switch to a low power backup transmitter shortly after nightfall.

We have a small local AM station, whose transmitter is 3.5 mi away, that plays good oldies and is already a weak signal. But after sunset, you can hardly hear it. So even the low power stations reduce at night.

Kind of depends on what is acceptable to you. Reception usually does improve when you touch any antenna. It could be the design and quality of the tuner. Hard call on this one???????

I dismantled, checked and cleaned, the antenna; still the same problem. But the radio (in am mode) works fine for the first couple of minutes after the car is started....then it looses reception. I believe, as Indy8 suggested, the problem is the radio itself. At night, when the dash lights are on, the radio heats up quite a bit - the front plate gets very warm to the touch. Some radio's have a fan which blow on a aluminum heat sink to keep the radio cool - maybe the fan doesn't work anymore. Other than taking the radio apart, I'll forget am radio and stick with FM or the CD player. Thanks Indy8.