DAB radio not working

[Steve1969]

Hi 

Probably the question has been asked before ive just recently had a dash cam fitted only on the front screen not the rear its been hardwired what's happened is ive lost all Dab radio reception and the FM reception is not that good either, everything was working ok before i had the camera fitted any advice would be greatly appreciated 

[PetrolDave]

This has been commented on many times on here - the 12V to 5V adapter that powers the dashcam uses a switched mode power supply which is unshielded and generates a lot of RF interference which prevents the DAB & FM reception from working or being very poor.

[Obbor]

I've had one fitted, hard wired, for nearly 12 months with no loss of reception at all, used kit from Halfords and my mates son who works for Skoda wired it in with no problem. How have you routed the power supply? mine comes along the top of the windscreen just inside the head lining, down the nearside windscreen column and then into a live feed in the fuse box

[Steve1969]

Yeah that's what's ive done same has you just can't get no reception was wondering if the aerial was damaged in the rear screen,ive also upgraded my number plate bulbs to leds but i can't see them been the problem 

[ExSEAT]

13 minutes ago, Steve1969 said:

Yeah that's what's ive done same has you just can't get no reception was wondering if the aerial was damaged in the rear screen,ive also upgraded my number plate bulbs to leds but i can't see them been the problem 

How is it wired in though? Does it splice straight into a piggy back fuse? Does it go to to a secondary 12v socket?

 

If you can find where its powered from and disconnect the 12v there will be no EMF from the power supply anymore and then it shouldnt affect your DAB. If it does then theres a likelyhood theres been some damage.

 

Is the camera permanently powered? If its on a switched live then turn the radio on with the ignition off, does DAB work?

 

If there is a 12v-5v LEV transformer involved then where is it? Can it be shielded?

 

Narrow down your potential problems so you can make an educated decision. Best of luck!

[Steve1969]

Thanks for the advice i shall have a look and then decide

[ExSEAT]

2 hours ago, Steve1969 said:

Thanks for the advice i shall have a look and then decide

 

Come back after youve had a look if you need any more advice or ideas! 

[Steve1969]

I will much appreciated 

[Stonker]

When I first fitted my dash cam, I too had the same issue, it seems like some of the power supplies for dash cams are of a pulse operation to deliver the required power by a series of very short pulse's. However others do use a step down converter built in, it's the latter that are less likely to cause concern.

 

I ended up buying a pack of ferrite cores to try and suppress the emc then added about 6 of them along the power line from the fuse box, to the 12v socket adaptor where my power supply is plugged in. It sits in the little cubby by the right side of the steering wheel, I've added a few more on the power cable above the power supply and this has almost fixed the issue. 

 

Iirc it's a certain Tom Tom power supply that is recommended to use as it's not a pulsed supply. I didn't want to cause issues by using the wrong power supply, so stuck to the one that came with the dash cam. It's been going over 2 years now without any problems.

[Liger1956]

It sounds like the TomTom power supply is a very badly designed switching buck regulator. Linear regulators do not cause any electronic noise on their output to speak of but they can get very hot.

https://www.renesas.com/eu/en/products/power-management/linear-vs-switching-regulators.html