AM Radio Reception

[Hoosier]

I have had a 330i for about 9 month now and have been having a problem I wonder if anyone else has seen (heard). When I purchased the car I had the dealer get the windows tinted as part or the purchase price. From the time I first picked up the car I noticed it had terrible radio reception. When I went back to the dealer they looked at me like I was nuts. They checked it over and said the radio was functioning properly. Later I convinced them to give me a different car for the day so I could see if all BMW's had bad reception or if it was just my car. Well, it definitely was just my car, the reception in the loaner was perfect. When I returned to the dealer, they admitted my car had bad reception before I said anything. Apearantly the radio had a diagnistic which indicates signal strength. While all the other cars were getting between 10 and 12 on a scale of 15, I was getting 3 to 7. The reason, according to the dealer, was due to the window tint. Their solution was to remove the tint from the rear window.

Has anyone ever heard of anything like this before? I have called several shops which do tinting and they have never heard of such a thing.

I want to get this resolved, but heir solutions are all unsatisfactory. They blame the tint people (Ziebart), but I paid BMW for the tint with the car, so if it interferes with the radio I think it is their problem and should do whatever it takes to resolve the problem. I am extermely disatisfied and disappointed with BMW. Did not expect this kind of treatment when buying a $40,000 car.

[Rossco]

I had a similar problem with my E36 window antena, only mine was causing problems with both AM and FM.
The problem with mine was the antena lead connection where it went into the antena amplifier.
The amplifier is fitted in the trunk under the parcel shelf on the E36, is possibly in the same place on your car.
All I did was unplug the lead give it a quick clean and refit it, the radio has worked fine since then.

One more thing my local BMW dealer told me that the window antena's have been optomised for FM reception as that is all they use in Europe.
Not sure if that is true or not. If your car was made in America it might not apply.

Hope this helps

Cheers, Rossco.

[the_communists]

I have had problems with a gradual (within 1 week) degradation of AM radio reception. Lots of crackling and whirring.

This happened about 18 months ago to my 2001 330i. I took it to the dealer, who them charged me $150 for electrical work and said nothing was wrong with it. Interestingly, I had good reception after I got it back. So, I reasoned it must have been a simply loose cable they removed during the diagnostics and reinserted and subsequently tightened.

Then it happened again a few weeks ago, and I was not going to pay the dealer to tighten cables. I read in this forum about the antenna amplifier and reasoned the connection to this box might be the problem. I removed the opera light in the left rear seat (tricky), then removed the panel (tricky) to expose the amplifier box. I removed the coaxial cable (it was not particularly tight) and reinserted it and used some pliers to tighten. I removed the other wire connections and reinserted. Reception is back now like new.

I imagine this must happen to other cars as well given enough time for the fasteners to come loose, and some possible oxidation over time of the contacts. So, I wanted to post this for others to see and ask if anyone has also had similar experience and fixed.

I have not precisely pinpointed the exact connecter, but suspect the coaxial cable connection leading to the radio since my reception went bad on all rear window antennas, and I could hear switching of the amplifier between antennas trying to get the best signal. Anyway, problem has gone away, maybe for the next 18 months.

[LJunderdog]

I drive a 1999 323i. When I accelerate, I hear a whir, which gets louder the more gas I give the engine. It is more noticeable on AM than FM. I am not sure what it is, but I just assume that the engine is causing some sort of interference with the reception, and that there is some sort of electricity going to the engine when acceleration.

It is not all that bad, but my family all drive Hondas.

If you are in the NYC area, try to get 1050 AM, ESPN radio. It comes in good to decent, on a 10 scale, 4-10. BMW, best I get is a 7, 2-7.

FM is ok, AM is more the issue.

Your thoughts?

[atann]

I just had a Sirius radio installed. Now I do not care about AM reception at all. Or most FM, for that matter, except for the local NPR station.

[Julia Robert]

Want to buy Best Car Music System.......! runaround







Jujia Robert

[Julia Robert]

Want to buy Best Car Music System.......!







Jujia Robert
http://jacob.bloggerteam.com/

[the_communists]

Not sure you get local traffic info on Sirius? Or, get reception in the mountains, with tall redwoods.

I have since every 18 months, when the reception degrades, had to remove the connectors and re-insert. A pain, but I am becoming an expert at it after 3 times.

[Tom Cruz]

Internet Radio is the Best option for AM Radio Reception............!








Tom Cruz
http://clearblogs.com/selfimprovementguide/