Hi. I've recently had my fanbelt replaced on my 1998 1.9TDI octavia, and "believe" that this has caused problems with RF interference on the radio while accelerating. Is this possible? It's not there when listening to a cd therefore is RF rather than power or speaker interefence. It's only there when using the engine with a load - if the clutch is popped or out of gear it's not there. I believe this implies that there is likely a problem with the fanbelt and alternator. Ideas on cause and how to resolve it? I really don't want to take the car back to the garage that put the fan belt in - it's the second time they will have screwed up working on the car. Thanks

Have you changed anything electrical lately? I would double check all the connections on the radio ,making sure the ground connection is getting through to the radio correctly.It is not unknown for the radio ground connection to be poor or missing,and the radio is getting a poor earth through the aerial lead ,where the aerial base is, causing interference. Try a short temporary wire from the radio chassis to the nearest car ground ( like a 10 mm headed bolt which screws into the car chassis near the radio). The other area to check is the aerial ,and its amplifier which is situated in the aerial base.I had a problem where water had got into the amplifier ,and all the AM signals were low or missing.Have you lost AM signals suddenly?.Remove the plastic panel near the hatch hinges,and slightly pull down the headlining to get to it. It is worth removing the aerial and base ,and remaking the aerial connections. I cannot see the fanbelt causing these problems .I suppose a faulty Alternator could cause these problems

Hope this helps

Edited 10 June, 200917 yr by AndyPandy

Bloody Mechanic.

Following a sudden loss of power on the A3 yesterday, i pulled into a layby and popped the hood - and right there in front of me was the MAF cable ripped in half by the flywheel. It had been reconnected after the fan belt replacement under the turbo output, rather than around, and it looked like it had been slowly been cut through.

Re-crimped it all, taped it all up, and it put it back in the right way - and the interference disappeared. Looks like the flywheel/engine was acting as an antenna for the MAF signals via the cut cable.

Ah well, problem solved!

I can see why you're p!$$ed off mate! I trust you can see why (esp with a diesel) we were mostly a bit mystified!