poor radio reception in the city

[Luciefusion]

Does anyone have any issues with poor radio reception in the city? Ive had my citigo 3 months and the radio reception is very poor. In the city and areas it should be good it crackles and looses reception and in the rural areas i have hardly any reception at all - this is the same for all bbc channels and other local stations.

 

[Markyg]

There is a known fault with the base of the aerial on the  VW trio. I've had my car done but I thought it was fixed on newer models.?? My thoughts, take your car back to the dealers.

[Luciefusion]

Perfect, thats what i needed to know. I will take it back

[Citigouk]

We had our only warranty claim based on this kind of fault, the skoda dealer replaced the Ariel base unit and it fixed our problem.

 

Reading online many Up!, Mii & Citigo's have this issue.

 

If your dealer in Cardiff plays dumb  try Ipswich Skoda (long way away) but they are aware of the problem

[g6zru]

We had our only warranty claim based on this kind of fault, the skoda dealer replaced the Ariel base unit and it fixed our problem.

 

Reading online many Up!, Mii & Citigo's have this issue.

 

If your dealer in Cardiff plays dumb  try Ipswich Skoda (long way away) but they are aware of the problem

The aerial base problem is not confined to the CitiGo derivatives. It affected my Yeti and as it is a common part across the VAG range it probably affects many models.

 

Fred

Edited 27 December, 2015 by g6zru

[trooperj3]

I've just has the aerial base unit replaced under warranty too on my Sept 2015 Citigo. Intermittent radio reception on radio 2 and radio 4. Varied from very clear and crisp through to no reception at all, sometimes happening within only travelling a few metres. Dealer needed proof as the radio reception was good in the workshop. I saved some footage from my webcam and that was good enough to get the aerial base replaced. It was only done today but so far it seems to be a lot better.

 

trooperj3

[Markyg]

Apparently they fit a new and revised part now.

[Fusioncrust123]

I'm having the same issue in my 14 reg Citigo that I've had for a few weeks. I'll book it in to get it looked at soon. Does the new revised part solve the issue and stop it reoccurring? I've heard others have had the Base replaced only for the issue to resurface a few months /years later. Is it water ingress that caused the issue and is there anything I can do to stop it happening after they fit a replacement?

Cheers

Martin

[Fusioncrust123]

Apparently they fit a new and revised part now.

Any part number or further info on this so I don't get fobbed off? Anyone had a new revised aerial base fitted that can confirm that it is a new revised part?

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[trooperj3]

My Citigo is only 5 months old and I had the aerial base replaced about a month ago. There was an improvement in reception which has now gradually deteriorated. I listen to radio 2 & radio 4 which should be good reception in most places, but it is still intermittent, crackles and fades far too much to be acceptable. I will take it back in to have it replaced again. They did it whilst I waited last time, took about 45 mins but I had to wait 7-10 days for the part to come in.

[Fusioncrust123]

Thanks for the info, mine will be booked in soon. The parts guy said he would order a Base in and then if it was that I wouldn't have to wait for the part. Seems from all the tales on here that it will be the aerial Base though. Hoping that as mentioned in a post above the replacement part will need a new/improved version that does the job and stays that way!

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[g6zru]

My Citigo is only 5 months old and I had the aerial base replaced about a month ago. There was an improvement in reception which has now gradually deteriorated. I listen to radio 2 & radio 4 which should be good reception in most places, but it is still intermittent, crackles and fades far too much to be acceptable. I will take it back in to have it replaced again. They did it whilst I waited last time, took about 45 mins but I had to wait 7-10 days for the part to come in.

If it only took 45mins I doubt if it was replaced. As I understand it a lot of trim and the headlining has to be removed and replaced.

I've had similar problems with both my Yeti and my wife's Mii Sport.

 

Fred

[FLAPPERJACK7]

Take a good look at the rooflining afterwards. The aerial base can be fitted by a hooligan dealer technician without removing the headlining but may crease the lining.

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[SJRT]

I had the aerial base replaced about a year ago at the 10k service which improved things slightly but they refused to do it again at 20k as they said signal strength was OK in the workshop.

I replaced the mast with a longer spiral wound one from Halfords and it made a big difference, although still not as good as my previous Fabia or thei loan Rapid. You can check signal quality by holding down he Menu button for 10 secs until it beeps and then scrolling to Q.

I was surprised just how often the Quality is Mono or Poor.

[FLAPPERJACK7]

Compared to the rest of the Skoda range the Citygo radio and aerial are really basic. IMHO about as effective as 1990s technology. Usually in my experience if you lose LW and MW that's a good sign that the amplified aerial base is not fit for purpose.

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[Fusioncrust123]

I'll let you know how i get on after mines been looked at........ .

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[FLAPPERJACK7]

If you have vcds (vagcom) go to radio 56. Measured values find the measured value block that shows radio field intensity look at the value's whilst changing radio station's should be 40 to 60 if it's a really low figure like 2 or 4 or 6 then suspect the aerial lead or base or mast. You could also rule out the radio by running a small wire to the aerial connector on the back of the radio to the door pillar.

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[globalste]

On 13/03/2016 at 07:30, FLAPPERJACK7 said:

If you have vcds (vagcom) go to radio 56. Measured values find the measured value block that shows radio field intensity look at the value's whilst changing radio station's should be 40 to 60 if it's a really low figure like 2 or 4 or 6 then suspect the aerial lead or base or mast. You could also rule out the radio by running a small wire to the aerial connector on the back of the radio to the door pillar.

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this is a brilliant post, wish id seen this in the Fabia forum earlier

[volks2u]

I bought a 2014 Citigo and when I picked it up the radio was fine but now I get very poor reception so assume the base needs to be replaced. What I want to know is what do I replace it with since there seem to be numerous articles indicating ongoing issues. I have a 2008 Oct which I've never had a problem with. I did wonder about putting an aftermarket aerial in the plenum chamber since it looks a real Pita to replace the original. 

I never ceased to be amazed that certain VAG items I would have never expected to fail do....!

So is an Octy aerial base more reliable or is it the wrong "spec"?

[freemansteve]

Could it just be a contact issue caused by corrosion, or something working loose? 

 

I'd check that the co-ax was firmly attached in the back of the head unit, then look at the stub aerial. If nothing obvious is loose/corroded I'd probably see if a scrap parts guy may be able to help supply one off a wreck (I guess Up, Mii, Citigo are all the same, depending model year).

 

I'm not sure about a Citigo, but many of these stubby aerials are 'active' in that there is an RF pre-amplifier built into the base. If so, I suppose the circuit board may have died, but I'm sure it will be hard to fix, maybe needing the whole assembly.

 

It's hard to say if an aerial from a different car model will work, as there is some chance that the output level is not a good match for the head unit - the main problem will more likely be about mechanical fit.

 

The thing is the Citigo radio reception when everything works - at least on mine - is very good compared with other recent cars I've had. The DAB reception, often patchy in many places, also seems flawless. Which was a nice surprise.

[Tolpol62]

I'd be really frustrated if this happened to me; it's one of my favourite songs by The Jam.

[volks2u]

So last week I ordered a windscreen mounted aerial off Amazon: http://Eightwood 868mhz Antenna Fakra... and today I took the radio out. Noted that the aerial reception was affected when the original aerial cable was wriggled in the back of the radio. I connected the new aerial and reception seems to be fine with it dangling in the footwell! Not ideal but I need more time to figure out how to route it somewhere discreet - access into the plenum chamber (wiper/heater void) looks to only be via the cabling from the drivers side. I'm currently struggling getting the radio back in. Something is stopping it going the final 20mm. Hopefully I'll figure it out in daylight tomorrow

Not sure if I bought the correct aerial since I had to mod the new Fakra connection to fit over the radio's male connector which has a "stopper" on it but it works and wI'll be simpler than replacing the original aerial.

Hoping it is sorted tomorrow!

[volks2u]

Update. The radio works a lot better with the windscreen aerial connected but it isn't perfect. Currently it is dangling in the footwell. Need to re-route into the plenum chamber and install an new photo holder. Noted that the radio wiring makes it hard to put back together 'cos it seems to buckle-up behind the unit. Hence the need to feed a piece of string through to the footwell to pull the wiring back into the dash!