I'm having some problems with radio reception in my Fabia Mk1.

 

I have an aftermarket Sony radio (just FM, not DAB) that I installed about 18 months ago that was working fine. When I installed it I purchased one of the connector kits from eBay that sorts all of the cable connections and had a signal booster that plugs between the aerial cable and the radio. It was all working fine until about 2 weeks ago when I came out a shop and found that I could not pick anything up on the radio apart from Radio 3 and one local station.

 

I've checked all of the connections, and replaced the antenna and signal booster with new units from Amazon, but the problem hasn't resolved. I can only think that the aerial cable has gone faulty somehow or for some reason.

 

Is there anything else that might be worth checking? I don't really like pulling the trim off as I can never get it back on, so not looking forward to attempting to run a new cable or install a new aerial\antenna. My local garage roll their eyes every time I rock up with my 20 year old Fabia (even though there's absolutely nothing wrong with it) and I'm not sure they would carry out things such as replacing the aerial cable or installing a new DAB aerial.

 

 

Ive seen the mast itself on the roof causing that problem but not on a Fabia - Swap it out for another and that way you can rule it in or out before taking the dash and trim apart !!

On 03/06/2021 at 18:31, SouthernSkoda said:

problems with radio reception in my Fabia

After some thought:-

1. I'd agree with @VanhireBoys that one likely issue is with the aerial. Likely enough that it's worth checking that it's properly screwed in first, and if that doesn't work, try a borrowed mast.
2. You mention having an aerial booster. Check that it has power! DAMHIKT!

I had a fairly similar issue and had to replace the radio base unit. Water can get in and corrode the contacts from what I have heard.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272282306722?fits=Model%3AFabia&hash=item3f654a48a2:g:WAIAAOSwvg9Xanmv 

Inside the original Fabia aerial is a small printed circuit with various components to amplify the signal.The power for this amplifier is supplied from the radio up the same inner cable that carries the signal from the amplifier to the radio. The voltage is not measurable,but can be seen on a oscilloscope as a trace. My car  is also 20 years old.  When faulty the radio  becomes less sensitive to find stations,and a lot of noise when the engine is running. Moisture gets onto the printed circuit shorting out the signal etc.I estimate I have changed the aerial base 5 times !. My setup is an original fabia radio,and original cable and aerial. If you have a booster fitted  and different radio  your  problems are not the same. A booster has a 12 volt +ve supply normally on a blue cable. I am not sure if you are using the original Fabia aerial or not? Be careful buying replacement aerial bases,some do not have an amplifier fitted.I have attached a photo of the inside a faulty aerial base showing corrosion.Hope this helps you

Check the fuses too.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I've tried replacing the aerial mast and the booster, and checked all the connections but no joy.

 

I've purchased a new aerial with leads for analogue and DAB (so I can upgrade to a DAB radio at a later date) and found a local garage that is happy to install the new unit and run the cables.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00LFHUWLY/

 

I'm hoping that I can power the new aerial using the blue power cable in the radio compartment..