Bolero radio problem

[The Plumber]

Me thinks I may have a fault with the radio or aerial but not something I have come across before. Generally I don't use a sound system but with intermittent cabin noises and a need for road and weather reports I've been listening to a local independent station for some time now.

Anyway about two weeks or so back I started to notice every few days the radio would loose the station, for example the station is on 96.9 then for no obvious reason I would be listening to static and the display would be showing 97.0 or 97.1 and the manual tuning graphic would appear. Also noticed on other occasions the station name would be replaced by the frequency number and again the manual tuning graphic would appear at the bottom of the screen, although I didn't loose the station on these incidents.

Thinking this could be a station issue rather than the Monster, for the last couple of days I have been tuned into a local BBC station instead. Unfortunately on the final leg of the home run tonight I got the static again. So now with two stations affected I am beginning to think my Monster may be slightly unwell :'( .

Has any one else come across this with a bolero installation?

Regards,

TP

[mannyo]

try disabling the local function in the setup menu and see if it makes a difference.

[The Plumber]

try disabling the local function in the setup menu and see if it makes a difference.

Hi mannyo,

Thanks for your reply; just had a look at the setup but couldn't find a local function disable. The closest thing I could find under the radio option is an RDS regional which gives me two further options of Automatic or Fixed.

edit; just looked at the manual the automatic selects the best frequency available while the fixed holds on to the selected frequency as long as possible.

What gets me though she's only been playing up for a short time and as far as I am aware I've not changed anything radio wise since I picked her up other than adding the independent station to the six station options displayed.

Regards,

TP

Edited 2 March, 2010 by The Plumber

[SWE_Yeti]

Hmmmmm "intermittent cabin noises" ...................

[Terfyn]

Get it swapped under guarantee.

My Bolero holds the station fine even when the frequency changes. Example:- Where I live R4 is on 104.0 but in Manchester it is 97.4 (or close) The change is seamless and it recovers OK even after going through 3 tunnels on the A55.

Removing the dash panels may cure some creaks and groans.

[Elcano]

Hello 'The Plumber' may i suggest you to check if the antenna is firmly in place onto its base.

it seem the antenna itself is screwed on the antenna base, if this is the case a loose contact could possibly give you the problems you are experiencing.

let me know

ciao

[The Plumber]

Hello 'The Plumber' may i suggest you to check if the antenna is firmly in place onto its base.

it seem the antenna itself is screwed on the antenna base, if this is the case a loose contact could possibly give you the problems you are experiencing.

let me know

ciao

Hi,

thanks for the thought, yes checked the aerial and it's secure and firmly screwed down. Also carried out a factory reset on both the radio and the Maxidot as there linked. Unfortunately I think without effect as the channel number and manual tuning graphic flashed up again today.

Also tried the CD player on the way home just to see if there was any unusual behaviour from that part of the system. Guess what I had a problem; one of the tracks stopped 3/4 of the way through and started again from the beginning, this happened just the once.

Beginning to think the stereo is 'junked' will book her in I think but I bet she behaves herself while at the dealers, always does :S

Regards,

TP

[grahamar]

Hi TP,

havent used the Bolero much yet in our Monster, but here are just some of my thoughts on Manual Tuning Mode and static you are getting.

Would seem to me that the Radio can't pick up the station, but what would make this intermittent....???.either the radio is at fault, or the antenna/antenna connection - or something else is interfering with the signal - like when you go into a tunnel, or a very powerful radio signal is swamping the bolero.

Interesting that the CD packed up after a while too. Could this be a "heat" type fault- i.e. when on long enough??

So I was wondering "when" does this fault occur from cold, or after a while, do you have a nice cosy cabin?

Could it be heat/cold related. Is it just a poor conection - did the garage unplug anything trying to fix your Dashboard rattles and then not seat the cables back correctly afterward???? Is it a movement thing, i.e does the radio loose station if

you are stationary or only on the move????

Hope some/any of these musings help in some way.

Graham

[sparky2]

Press and hold the 'setup' button when in radio mode and it will then display FM/AM press FM and the radio will show the signal strenth, you can fine tune the freq with the r/h knob to see if its off tune slightly, as you drive around see what happens to the signal strenth if its strong and the radio goes off it looks as though its a faulty radio. cheers - Stuart.

[The Plumber]

Just an update,

thanks Stuart tried checking the signal strength, which if I was reading it correctly was in some parts of the journey all over the place but I did not get a repeat of the problem.

Also had the dealer check her over with no fault found; been behaving all this week so will see how it goes.

Regards,

TP

[Freshacre]

Hi TP

Radio reception is an oddity at the best of times, and given that you are in a rural location, albeit not all the time, you might find that the reception varies according to your locality.

So - question. Does the loss of signal happen at the same place each time? Can you begin to predict where the signal will lose strength?

Second point. For some reason, in places where radio reception is marginal, the atmospheric conditions will affect the reception. This bit I don't understand, but it is implicated where a problem is intermittent.

I live in a place where there is zero TV, and almost zero natural reception. SOme days my car radio will pick up and hang on to a decent radio signal. Other days i get mush. In the house, i get no reception at all unless i hold a little transistor radio 5 foot six up in the air by the back door. No thanks - so i have to use Sky!!

G

[The Plumber]

Hi Freshacre,

I do have an area of weak reception going up or down the 'hill' onto the Wolds top, generally I get poor reception but I can still hear the channel(just) or the RDS switches to another station with better reception.

The problem I had for a couple of weeks or so was out of the blue and in random locations the channel would jump one or two points further up the scale which left me listening to static. For example 96.9 jumps to 97.0

This strange issue effected both a local independent station and a BBC channel. Although since last weekend not had a repeat of the problem.

Regards,

TP

[Llanigraham]

They weren't working on the local transmitter at the time, were they?

[The Plumber]

They weren't working on the local transmitter at the time, were they?

Yes that thought had crossed my mind, just the length of time that the issue was going on made me look at the Monster as the culprit. Maybe I was a bit hasty blaming her :wonder:

Thanks,

TP

[Freshacre]

poor Monster.

I hope you said "sorry"!!

[evan15281]

I've been having this exact same problem develop suddenly over last 2 days on my Octavia Bolero. Exactly as you describe. No obvious cause.

Did the problem ever recur for you?

[CFB]

just a thought...

is the touchscreen clean?

i have had similar problems getting my touchscreen phone to work sometimes.

as it sits in a pocket it picks up small particles of dirt which sticks to the screen.

on the phone this leads to the screen getting confused when i touch it to do something and not functioning correctly.

if there is dirt on the bolero screen, could it be affecting it in the same way.

and NO i am not suggesting your cars are dirty!!

[The Plumber]

I've been having this exact same problem develop suddenly over last 2 days on my Octavia Bolero. Exactly as you describe. No obvious cause.

Did the problem ever recur for you?

Hi,

no just had the issue for those two or three weeks and to be honest I'm still non the wiser as to the actual cause :wonder: Unfortunately I no longer have this Monster, decided to trade her in for a new younger model Although I'm beginning to wonder if she's stood me up before our first date

Regards,

TP

[g6zru]

just a thought...

is the touchscreen clean?

i have had similar problems getting my touchscreen phone to work sometimes.

as it sits in a pocket it picks up small particles of dirt which sticks to the screen.

on the phone this leads to the screen getting confused when i touch it to do something and not functioning correctly.

if there is dirt on the bolero screen, could it be affecting it in the same way.

and NO i am not suggesting your cars are dirty!!

Perhaps some of these http://www.firebox.com/product/2768/Touchscreen-Gloves?aff=1721&gclid=CKbMocjcj6cCFY9O4QodZC7Rag might help?

Fred

[big bad lew]

My Bolero radio has developed a fault, it illuminates but no sound and non of the controls opperate it either from steering wheel or manualy,it doesn't play CD's or connect to iphone.Its only 4 months old with 4000 miles.

[big bad lew]

My Bolero radio has developed a fault, it illuminates but no sound and non of the controls opperate it either from steering wheel or manualy,it doesn't play CD's or connect to iphone.Its only 4 months old with 4000 miles.

[Macdemon]

My Bolero radio has developed a fault, it illuminates but no sound and non of the controls opperate it either from steering wheel or manualy,it doesn't play CD's or connect to iphone.Its only 4 months old with 4000 miles.

Hi lew, this can be cured.

Look in the manual to see which fuse covers the Bolero, remove the fuse for 10/15 seconds then re-insert it and it will be cured.

Let us know if that works. :yes:

[oxo]

I have just started to have the same problem in my Yeti. It started after the NOX recycling unit failed on a trip through France at Christmas. After I got the car back from Skoda in Reims the radio will not hang on to a signal. By the way , thank god for Skoda recovery (RAC) recovered car , taxi, over night in hotel , hire car and repair of Yeti all organised over Christmas week seamlessly

[freedie]

Soft reset for the Bolero is to press and hold the Setup button. Hope it works for you?

[HolcombeChas]

Macdemon's  tip  for Bolero reset worked for me!!! The fuse I removed and replaced was F8 on the engine compartment fuse box.  The cabin fuse for the radio did not do anything.

 

Thank you!