View Full Version : Radio reception problems
I have been having problems with the reception on the Aura radio with crackling and loss of signal. The Arua has now been replaced by a Kenwood unit and the problem is a lot worse.
I am thinking the problem must lie with the aerial or the aerial cable. Any suggestions on what I can do to improve matters as this is driving me nuts.
As far as Seat UK are concerned as long as the radio works there is nothing wrong so it is a waste of time trying to get them to do anything under warranty (they didn't cover other faults either including the bottom engine tray falling off and loose bits of trim)
Thanks for any help
Mark
solved on one car with a new antenna assy and 2 others had new aerial leads to cure it , if it helps
Cheers Flapper,
I will try my local dealer again to see if they can sort out the problems, if not it may be time for a trip down to Cheltenham to see you.
Mark
johnny_M
29-10-2001, 20:50
I have had the same problem, but i have just lived with it as i use cd's more than the radio !
Both with the Aura and a Kenwood !
let me know how you get on !
Cheers
John.
JonesDonhue
05-11-2001, 09:56
It is worrying to hear that Seat regard poor reception as "not their problem", this is my second car bought from new and I was hoping that my first experience with my 306XSi was a one-off. Peugeot (the manufacturer and EVERY dealer in the Southampton and Salisbury area) were crap, (I wish there was a stronger word I could sensibly use), the car was in and out of the garage 35 times in the first 18 months. 3 of those were to replace the stereo. The final replacement was due to poor reception on just Radio 5 live (well important station for the long trips up to Anfield), they finally gave up (engine interference was blamed) and replaced the standard stereo with a fantastic Clarion unit, under warranty (with no arguements - we just did not give up!)
I hope Seat dealers would provide the same response albeit without requiring you to take half your annual leave entitlement to sort it out!
BTW just took delivery of my Azalea Red 20VT and I can't begin to say how happy I am with the quality of the motor. Only one thing has gone wrong, the catch in the glove box came off, easy to screw back in properly. Done over 500 miles already (to 'Pool to watch the might reds stuff the mancs)
Absolutely fantastic !
:cheers:
LeeJ
I'm off to stare at the car for an hour (Sad)
dont tar us all with the same brush , have a nose round the dealer forum , i know there are good/bad out there , but someone will have an idea from your area ????
It's not the dealer I have a problem with, they do their best to help. It is Seat UK that I am not impressed with.
Mark
:rolleyes:
I have the same problem with the Aura- radio and found out, that changing the radio or addig extra antenna- amplifiers in the coaxial antenna cable makes no sense.
The problem is that the Leon- Antenna has an built- in amplifier! This amplifier gets the needed 12 volts via the antenna cable and the antenna-plug of the Aura-radio. Other Radios (Kenwood etc.) do not have such an 12volt output on the Antenna- plug. So the antenna- Amplefier can not work and the signal gets even worse.
Best wishes to England
Ingolf
johnny_M
06-11-2001, 17:32
Ah Ingolf your making sense !
Which Pin on the AURA ISO is the arial amplifier power connecter ?
I have an add-on amplifier, but it's quite long and bulky = lots of rattles !
Cheers
John.
Sorry John! I cannot help you at the moment because I have no manual to look it up. I would have to pull the radio out of itīs place and thatīs impossible because I had an bad motorcycle accident and cannot use my left hand at the moment.
For the antenna - amp.- problem:
I know that there are VW- adaptors available when you want to use another radio. These adaptors bring the 12volts from the seperate radio output to the antenna- cable.
Sorry for my English, but I do my best
Ingolf
johnny_M
06-11-2001, 21:34
Ingolf,
Sorry to hear about your accident, hope you get better soon !
I have an add-on amplifier, but was wondering if not having the one in the arial powered up could in effect stop the signal getting to the 'add-on' one so it would have nothing to amplifiy ?????
Anybody else confirm ???
cheers
John.
Think I have found the adapter needed for the aerial amp to work with a non Seat head unit installed.
Autoleads make the adapter, part no PC5-52 and I have ordered one in from Halfords. When it turns up I will re-install the Kenwood head unit and let you know if it makes a difference.
Mark
johnny_M
08-11-2001, 20:26
Mark,
Got one of them it works but the reception is still poor.
Nobody has come back about the built in amplifiyer, as it could impare the reception ?
john.
In a german Leon- forum I read, that the reception wit the original Volkswagen adapter is much better than the reception with oher adapters (Halfords etc.). The price for the VW part is 20 euro.
The best wishes from the rainy Germany
Ingolf
Hi John,
From what I have read the adapter 'should' power up the built-in amplifier however the poor reception good be down to the fact that the standard aerial may not be very good. I could try sourcing the VW adapter as Ingolf suggests (more money) if the Autoleads adapter does not help.
Another thought, anyone got a circuit diagram of the Aura radio, maybe it would be possible to figure out exactly how it powers the amp and duplicate the circuit necessary.
Mark
I had a problem with bad reception on my Ibiza. My dealer changed the arial and booster, now OK. Seat sent a note to dealers to say there is a problem with water ingress on the boosters and to replace if necessary. The new arial does look slightly different.
A way of getting around the power supply problem to the booster is to connect the booster power lead to the switched live feed from the ignition to the radio, then whenever the ignition is on the booster will be powered.
Another way is to buy an inline booster that fits into the arial lead before it plugs into the radio. A mate of mine did this when fitting a Sony head unit into his VW Bora as he had the bad reception problem. This curred it.
I had the radio changed in my previous car a VW Polo 16v, from the original Sony to a Kenwood CD Player. The radio reception was always poor, especially when driving with lights, indicators etc on. The weird thing was that when driving through a town, the radio reception would be bad UNLESS i had something with a large power drain turned on. I used to turn on the rear window heater to get good results. I know that the Kenwood unit was fault free 'cause I had it in my Mazda 323 Turbo before the Polo. I honestly think that the 'bee sting' type arials are shite. Also they have a huge cable on them which has to come right across the roof down the a pillar and into the dash.
Is everybody sure that it's bad reception and not electrical interference? try switching things on when you get bad recpetion.
biff