Poor Radio Reception 2014 Fabia elegance

[stevensmith91]

The radio reception on my 2014 Elegance is very poor compared to my last 2010 Fabia Sport which received Radio 2 virtually everywhere .

Even travelling up and down the M6/M74 where you would expect the radio reception to be consistent it fades out , can anyone suggest a way 

to resolve this issue or where to start looking 

[Simoneale1973]

Check that the windscreen has the extra aerial up the middle? It's a very thin faint black line!

 

I've heard that some windscreen replacement bods have been replacing screens with ones that don't have this aerial, and even if they do, some companies forget to connect it!

[rum4mo]

I'm not trying to be silly, but is this not more to do with one car had AM/FM only now this later car has DAB as well, and it is the DAM signal that is being lost?

 

Edit:- I find that when over in the East Neuk of Fife, driving my wife's 2015 Polo with DAB 2nd generation, the traffic reports cover only Newcastle area, so much for progress!

Edited 25 January, 2020 by rum4mo

[stevensmith91]

2 hours ago, Simoneale1973 said:

Check that the windscreen has the extra aerial up the middle? It's a very thin faint black line!

 

I've heard that some windscreen replacement bods have been replacing screens with ones that don't have this aerial, and even if they do, some companies forget to connect it!

simon it does have the original windscreen which does have the black line up the centre but also has a roof mounted antenna  

[stevensmith91]

1 hour ago, rum4mo said:

I'm not trying to be silly, but is this not more to do with one car had AM/FM only now this later car has DAB as well, and it is the DAM signal that is being lost?

 

Edit:- I find that when over in the East Neuk of Fife, driving my wife's 2015 Polo with DAB 2nd generation, the traffic reports cover only Newcastle area, so much for progress!

No DAB on the radio just FM and AM the same as my previous 2010 Fabia Sport so i think its an antenna problem 

[dancingbear84]

The black line is a diversity aerial, not 100% sure I understand how they work even after reading Wikipedia, but it is a secondary aerial for the radio.

i woul remove the head unit and check that they’re connected to the back of the stereo correctly personally. You may already have done that though.

If they are then i would guess a break in a cable, or a defective head unit (unlikely, but I think there is some amplification circuitry built in, when I replaced the HU in my mk1 I had to get an amplified aerial adaptor) if you know anyone who has, or have 2nd vehicle, with a similar HU see if swapping them makes a difference 

[rum4mo]

There should be a preamp module located somewhere towards the rear of the car, maybe even within the hatch for hatchbacks, for VW Group saloons they tend to be located within the C pillars area at the side of the rear window, some on one side and others on the other, normally AM/FM on the LHS side of saloons.

 

If you remove the radio and find the aerial is still plugged in okay, maybe consider finding a cheap AM/FM car aerial that has the correct connector, and plug that in temporarily to confirm if it is an aerial problem, then take it from there, ie if it is an aerial issue, locate the preamp and check that it is still plugged into the "front to rear" lead and also plugged into the rear window or roof mounted aerial - or do these cars have bespoke roof mounted aerial with a built in AM/FM preamp?

[Simoneale1973]

On 25/01/2020 at 19:22, stevensmith91 said:

No DAB on the radio just FM and AM the same as my previous 2010 Fabia Sport so i think its an antenna problem 

Mine's not DAB either, but I have the 'Diversity Aerial' in my windscreen and the normal Roof mounted jobbie.

 

I just know that it can cause reception problems if not present or connected!

[CS45]

On 25/01/2020 at 16:50, stevensmith91 said:

The radio reception on my 2014 Elegance is very poor compared to my last 2010 Fabia Sport which received Radio 2 virtually everywhere .

Even travelling up and down the M6/M74 where you would expect the radio reception to be consistent it fades out , can anyone suggest a way 

to resolve this issue or where to start looking 

Also check that both of the fakra leads are connected at the rear of the head unit. The two plug into a little plastic piece. Once when I was using an aftermarket unit, I only plugged in one Fakra lead while I waited for a double to single adapter, which affected the signal.