View Full Version : Poor sound from radio
raymondbreen
03-03-2004, 09:28
Hi Guys,
Got the stock radio in my tdi cupra, and its stereo fm reception is terrible. Unless I am within a couple of miles of the radio station it appears to switch to mono and the two joined circles disappear from the display.
I have changed the settings under programming so mono is on manual and have messed about with the lrn mode with no luck.
Any suggestions?
badlydrawnbanan
03-03-2004, 09:42
Hi Ray, I have a Leon Cupra to and the fm reception is indeed sh*t it loses the stereo signal constantly and the station completely alot of the time ! I have to keep hitting the RDS button to get the station I listen to (Virgin as im in London area) back I dont know that theres a solution to be honest but Ill mention it when my car goes in for its 10,000 mile service soon. If you come up with anything let me know
:cheers: Mark.
raymondbreen
03-03-2004, 09:44
thanks mate, if it continues i am seriously considering getting one of the blaupunct dab radios, can get rid of the cd changer too as it supports mp3's.
Hi Ray, I have a Leon Cupra to and the fm reception is indeed sh*t it loses the stereo signal constantly and the station completely alot of the time ! I have to keep hitting the RDS button to get the station I listen to (Virgin as im in London area) back I dont know that theres a solution to be honest but Ill mention it when my car goes in for its 10,000 mile service soon. If you come up with anything let me know
Get an aerial signal booster. Got one in my kit with face plate etc when I fitted my Pioneer, but it'll still work with the standard unit. My whole kit cost £15 from www.icecavern.co.uk, but I wouldnt expect the booster to be more than a tenner on its own
raymondbreen
03-03-2004, 10:03
Russboy,
Cant find anything on his site regarding fm booster, but ive found one from http://www.sceniccaraudio.co.uk/Manufacturer.asp?ManufacturerID=175, that the sorta thing you are talking about?
My post on there http://www.icecavern.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=539&hl=
and they say to search for Nexxia on the site. Would prob be worth buying the whole kit for the sake of £15 in case you ever upgrade.
Morning all! I too have a case of sh@t radio reception!! Has anyone fitted the signal booster yet? Does it make a difference? Is it easy to fit?
cheers :thumbup:
raymondbreen
22-03-2004, 11:14
Hi Sam,
It makes a big difference, rather than getting patchy stereo reception even relatively close to the station, i have rock solid stereo reception from miles away.
Only problem I had was figuring out how to insert the power connector into the iso block, turns out that you just need to pull out the yellow guide until you can slide the power connector in, then close it up and it keeps them all in securely.
Takes all of 5 mins now, as one of the other guys mentioned small teaspoons are ideal for removing the radio from the surround.
Cool! Thanks for the reply Ray. Would you recommend one in particular? I have found the following:
http://www.sceniccaraudio.co.uk/Manufacturer.asp?ManufacturerID=179
http://www.incarexpress.co.uk/focus.php3?partno=PC552
Cheers
Sam :cheers:
raymondbreen
22-03-2004, 11:26
yea, both of them are identical to the one i got, see which is the cheapest and order it :)
Another bit of advice, unplug the iso block rather than try and mess about with it still plugged into the radio, pretty obvious i know, but with my first attempt i left it attached and it was a lot more awkward to work with as teh cables are very tight.
Thanks Ray! Just a quick question, how does the power lead of the amplifier connect to the iso block then?
raymondbreen
22-03-2004, 12:07
Its pretty difficult to explain, but basically the iso block has 8 or 10 terminals on it, that connect into the back of the radio. Some of these are empty, so you just have the plastic socket with nothing else in the hole.
You will see when you look down an empty connector a stub or key that is sticking out, this is to keep the wire in place when its in the iso block. It is shaped like a key, with high ridges and low ridges.
When the key is set fully into the iso block, the high ridges are inside the terminal slots, so in effect holding in the wiring, but u can move the key, so the flat side appears and this is how you insert the power cable.
It sounds complicated, but in practice its very easy, all you need to is slip the key out of the iso block enough so the flat area appears, then insert the power connector, then slide the key back in. This will lock the connectors in place.
If the key does not go back in, then its likely that the power connector is the wrong way around, so just flip it around and that should fix it.
I get what you mean. Many thanks Ray!! Right, I will order one now. Watch this space.......
raymondbreen
22-03-2004, 12:12
not a prob mate, glad to help out :)
Quick question, is there an easy/cunning way to remove the stereo or do I have to trek over the my local SEAT dealer?
raymondbreen
25-03-2004, 09:33
Quick question, is there an easy/cunning way to remove the stereo or do I have to trek over the my local SEAT dealer?
I got two small teaspoons and slid them into the slots a couple of cm then wiggled the radio out using them, works very well :)
Ray, I have tried to fit the signal booster but have a problem. The instructions say to plug the lead into slot 5 on the lower of the three blocks. On the back of my stereo there are three parts to the main block. The instructions say to use the bottom bit if you see what I mean! This socket was empty, does this sound right?
raymondbreen
26-03-2004, 18:57
Hi Sam,
Yea it is empty mate(or was on mine), so all you need to do is to plug in the connector into the iso block at that connection, takes all of 30 secs once u get the knack of removing the iso key :)
Hmm, that is what I did and it has not made the slightest difference. Oh well, off to the stealership to see if they can help!! :(
raymondbreen
27-03-2004, 13:27
ah bugger, u deffo removing the key and then put the terminal into the iso block i take it? also can u pull the terminal out of the block, if so, it must not be in securely enough mate.
I can see a key that you mentioned. Is there a key on each slot? The cable plugs snuggly into the slot and won't come out so i assume it is in properly
raymondbreen
28-03-2004, 15:25
nope, just one key per iso block, sounds liek you have done it right m8, dont know wot the prob could be :(
OK so fitting the booster made no difference what so ever so i am going to have to take my baby to the stealership. I phones the guys there and told them about it and he said a booster will make no difference! What I am worried about is the grey cable that runs behind the dash for the autowindows which they will no doubt say is warranty voiding! Does anyone know what route the aerial cable takes to get to the bee sting in the roof?
raymondbreen
01-04-2004, 09:17
mm that sounds like crap, the booster does make a big difference to my reception but its still not ideal, switches to mono at the drop off a hat.
As for that extra wire, i doubt they will notice it, most dealerships are thick, is there no way u can disconnect it temporarily while you drop it off to them?
is there no way u can disconnect it temporarily while you drop it off to them?
No, that is the problem! It was such a bitch to run the cable from one side to the other and through the doors that I daren't try and disconnect it. If I knew where the aerial lead ran then I might be able to tuck the autowindow cable out of the way!
raymondbreen
01-04-2004, 10:44
ah bugger, tough one, be interesting to know what they actually do the fix the radio... mine still aint perfect, maybe if i book mine in , get it sorted then i could let you know what they do to fix it, then u could do it yourself without getting involved :)
maybe if i book mine in , get it sorted then i could let you know what they do to fix it, then u could do it yourself without getting involved
Are you planning on getting it looked at then? I was going to ask if your car was under warranty then I remebered the pics of your brand new Cupra TDi on the sooty website!! Bloody lovely car mate!
If you do decide to get the boys to have a look at it and hopefully sort it and grill them on what they did, I would be most grateful indeed!
many thanks mate :thumbup: :thumbup:
raymondbreen
01-04-2004, 10:54
yea, only had it a few months, i may get in touch with a dealer in manchester and see what they say. Yea, spot on car, thanks mate :)
I will let you know how i get on
You are a true gent!
Cheers Ray
My Leon was at the dealers this morning to have the poor radio reception looked into. They were going to remove the roof lining to check the cable but it turned out it was a dodgy external aerial! They have changed it and the sound is perfect! I can even get MW/AM which was just static before. Well chuffed that they did not spot my warranty voiding autowindow box! :thumbup:
raymondbreen
16-04-2004, 16:06
Ah excellent mate, i have booked mine into lookers, manchester a week wed to get it sorted out too.
My Leon was at the dealers this morning to have the poor radio reception looked into. They were going to remove the roof lining to check the cable but it turned out it was a dodgy external aerial! They have changed it and the sound is perfect! I can even get MW/AM which was just static before. Well chuffed that they did not spot my warranty voiding autowindow box! :thumbup:
Any idea how much it was? - mine's probably the same.. radio reception was ok... not great tho' until yesterday when i unscrewed it, then screwed it back up (just checkin like..!) and now it's static city!
> http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=44443 <
I didn't pay anything as it was done under warranty. I know they replaced the headunit and the external aerial. They said the problem was a break in the aerial. I had paid about a tenner for a signal booster which didn't work for me but other people have had more luck.
Sam
yeah, I guessed you didn't pay anything under warranty, just wondered if u knew how much it would have been! - (I thought that they just replaced the ariel)
did they say what part of the ariel? - I'm wondering if it's the sting, the base of the cable that breaks so easily?!
They said they replaced the external part of the aerial so I assume they meant the bee sting part. I didn't really pay much attention as I was so chuffed I could get Radio 4 now......joke!
Just in case anyone again is unsure of how to get the unit out of the dash.....
http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?p=458497#post458497
the credit card cut up trick is much easier than expected!
unfortunately it revealed to me that my connections are all fine - so thats not it.
I got Radio1 at home, then halfway up the road it died RDS couldn't find it at all - (or any other station)
then it got a bit better down the A1 at a different frequency (that I had to manually tune - cuz RDS is cack)
Then I completely lost it until I got to the car park at work, where it is now completely fine.
When it goes bad, I hear static and popping with a faint signal.
The really wierd bit is (cuz you probably like me are inclined to say it's the radio signal) - my FM transmitter for my Mp3 located IN the car (so in theory, constantly the same signal strength) but it also suffered the same fate....
odd.
The only constant things in this are the headunit and the ariel.