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[Golfbuddy]

Has anyone come across this problem? I get very poor MW and LW reception when the engine is running. When the ignition is swithched off there is no problem. I appreciate that I am in a poor reception area here in Cornwall and things are much better further up country but it still seems a bit odd that I can get virtually perfect reception when stationary with the engine not running but can't hear a thing when the engine is started.

[Kevin Wood]

AM radio is very susceptible to interference so it is likely that some system in the car is interfering with the signal.

Is it a pulse type noise? (regular popping in time with engine RPM)

If so, it could be an indication that you have ignition leads that are just starting to break down. It might be worth giving them a clean and a coat of "damp start" and making sure the metal contacts are a tight fit on the plugs and coil pack terminals.

Whining noises can be caused by the alternator.

If that doesn't cover it, is there an accessory (e.g. climate control) that you can track the noise down to? Fitting some suppression to the circuit at fault could help.

TBH, though, AM radio reception doesn't seem to be a high priority for car radios these days and most are pretty rubbish on those bands.

Kevin

[TheBoy]

Coming back from France during Euro 2004, I managed to pick up Five Live from around Troyes to Reims, albeit very hissy, on my standard CCR600

[ffcgary1]

I have had the same problem with my estate,poor radio reception on all bands but none at all on mw/lw.Depending on car /age  the antenna cable has a joint in the cable behind the passenger footwell kick cover/or driverside kick panal.check that it has not become  disengaged or broken.If the car is an estate again dependent on age could be the signal amp in the tailgate/or at the base of the antenna it's self.Some cars have the antenna built into the rear screen,identified by 2 vertical lines in with the heated rear window. Hope this is of helpPS.if all of the above fail to improve things change the antenna cable.If still no improvement then the sreen type antenna means that you have to replace the rear screen.
gary.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Cheap plug leads is also a common cause.....

[Golfbuddy]

Regular pulsing in time with the engine sounds about right, although it is at several thousand RPM so it sounds more like a prolonged, high pitched fart or should I say raspberry.

I will check the leads, I presume you mean the unit that plugs into the spark plugs? The last time I worked on a car was 20 years ago before I got a company car, in those days the HT leads poked out of the spark plugs and went to the distributor cap. My, how things have changed.

If this doesn't do the trick how do I fit a suppressor? What do I need to buy? and where do I fit it?

[sounds2k]

well assuming your profile info is correct, a 2.2 petrol doesn't have HT leads. It has a coil pack which is fixed onto the top of the spark plugs and connects to a low voltage connection from the ECU ...

[Golfbuddy]

I know what you mean by the coil pack, I took it off on the wife's Astra on the weekend to change the plugs. So the ignition leads attach to the coil pack? I suppose it's worth taking the thing apart and having a poke round. Anything that I should know? Do I need to disconnect the battery? Is there anything that could go wrong?

[TheBoy]

Regular pulsing in time with the engine sounds about right, although it is at several thousand RPM so it sounds more like a prolonged, high pitched fart or should I say raspberry.

alternator?

[Golfbuddy]

Regular pulsing in time with the engine sounds about right, although it is at several thousand RPM so it sounds more like a prolonged, high pitched fart or should I say raspberry.

alternator?

Is there any way of checking? I don't want to change the alternator if it's not that. I did that on a Marina years ago only to find out that my new battery was duff. Dohhh! New alternator sounds expensive.

[Kevin Wood]

well assuming your profile info is correct, a 2.2 petrol doesn't have HT leads.

Good point. Unlikely to be ignition then, or if it is, not much can be done about it.

It's unlikely to be a faulty alternator, it's just an electrically noisy component. It may just need a suppressor fitted to the terminals unless the brushes are worn and arcing a bit.

Could be the fuel injector pulses getting into it too.

I might be inclined to try an interference suppressor at the power connector of the radio first.

Does anyone else have this problem? Not sure I've ever tried AM reception in a car.

Kevin

[sounds2k]

I know what you mean by the coil pack, I took it off on the wife's Astra on the weekend to change the plugs. So the ignition leads attach to the coil pack? I suppose it's worth taking the thing apart and having a poke round. Anything that I should know? Do I need to disconnect the battery? Is there anything that could go wrong?

well I'd expect it's of the same design as those on my 3.2 ... which means it's a sealed unit - low voltage input via plug from ECU on the end, coils are sealed inside and are wired to the spark plug contacts. Unlike the earlier 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0 petrol engines which have the DIS pack (coils) seperate from the spark plugs and therefore DO use HT leads to connect the two ...

[Martin_1962]

If so, it could be an indication that you have ignition leads that are just starting to break down. It might be worth giving them a clean and a coat of "damp start" and making sure the metal contacts are a tight fit on the plugs and coil pack terminals.

Cheap plug leads is also a common cause.....

Coil packs on the 2.2

[Martin_1962]

I have seen similar problems and there are a couple of things to check.

Does heated rear window usage change it?

Is the aerial in properly?

I have had a loose aerial cable before lose AM but not FM. Only found it when I took the HU out to sell the car.

[Kevin Wood]

Yep. My next suggestion was going to be to check the entire run of cable from head unit to antenna / preamp.

My radio signal dies when the heated rear window is switched on. Probably a sign of a loose electrical connection in the HRW circuit or possibly a slight break in one of the tracks on the screen which is arcing.

Kevin