Bad antenna reception???

[montjuic]

Greetings,
not to unearth a closed issue, but i've had the very same problem ever since i installed
my Clarion in the TI. Could you tell me exactly the colors of the wires--both the
power-on, antenna amp wire in the car and the wire you used from the aftermarket
radio. The sens. of the Clarion tuner is supposed to be excellent, but i can't get
my favorite jazz station now nor here my friend's radio show! If memory serves, the
power-on/amp/antenna lead is pin 16 on the BMW schematic.
thanks for the help,
B

[canadian_ti]

It's pretty simple to connect. On your aftermarket wiring harness, there is a blue wire marked power antenna. Chances are that you didn't connect it because you thought you didn't need it. You need to connect this blue wire on your aftermarket harness to the subsequent blue wire on the harness that came with your radio. After you have made thoses connections, it should activate the antenna amplifier that came stock with your car. If you have anymore problems, just ask me.

[SporTi]

Ive got the same problem BUT bought the car with a Sony headunit cd plays no radio reception. Found no power to the antenna. I got power to the antenna, but no change. Also, is the antenna amp part of it? It looks like these guys hacked up a multi-wire plug in the area below the antenna. I'm guessing it went to a factory amp?? It's a 97 Sport.

[Panzer_M]

my frontier has always outdone the Tis(97(aftermarket deck) and 95(CD33) with reception, I can pick up 101.5 in Tampa on good weather days, while I can only get in the BMs on overcast days.

[L84THSKY]

I have had bad luck with both my Balupunkt head units for FM reception. When my current head unit was in my Scirocco, only nearby stations came in good. I then installed it in my Ti, and it has the same reception. I'm pretty sure the stock Ti head unit worked fine. Can't remember too well since I pulled it out shortly after buying the car. Could be both my Scirocco and the Ti needed antenna power, and I never provided the 12v for it.

Originally Posted by canadian_ti

Hey,.. since I installed my Pioneer DEH-P4500MP,.. I've had bad antenna reception,. I had great reception with the original BMW tape deck. I used a european antenna converter to adapt the BMW antenna to fit the Pioneer head unit. Is it possible that the antenna adapter takes alot of reception away or is it most likely the head unit?? Has anyone else had bad reception on FM stations since installing an aftermarket deck??

Thanks,..

[SporTi]

Panzer:

Is the "frontier" you mention an antenna? If so, where can I get it? I'd love to stick with stock, but I gotta make something work. I only have so many CDs

[azotto]

On our `99 323i the AM reception is extremly poor.
I am thinking of installing a power antenna left rear.
How do I remove the left rear C pillar cover without damaging it, to connect to the existing window antenna cable? Has anybody done that?

[BlackBMWs]

Older thread, but I'm troubleshooting.

So, in my 97 ti, I seem to have weak radio reception as compared to my 95 ti. (or any of the other BMWs for that matter) I usually listen to music on my iphone, but I like to have radio for variety and news.

In the 97, the head unit is a new Alpine IDAx305BT. The 95 has an Alpine CDA9897 (I think).

I do get reception on the 97, it just seems I get 1/4 of the stations the 95 does in the same general area.

When I bought the 97, there was no radio installed.

So:

1. The antenna connector at the head unit visually is not damaged or frayed
2. The solid blue wire is connected (antenna power)
3. The striped blue/white wire is connected (turn on remote amp)
4. I have 12V at the antenna amplifier
5. The antenna cable connector to the amplifier antenna is secure
6. I swapped both antenna amplifiers between the cars

No joy...

Looking for additional ideas to check. I have searched here and on BFC. Next step for me is to swap the antenna adapter that goes between the BMW antenna cable and the Alpine antenna connector. If that does not solve the issue, I'll try to swap head units to see if that makes a difference.

Thoughts? Thanks!

[teen ti]

Id bet your antenna base is bad, happened to both of my ti's
Part 65218375159, #1 in the picture

[BlackBMWs]

Originally Posted by teen ti

Id bet your antenna base is bad, happened to both of my ti's
Part 65218375159, #1 in the picture

Perhaps, I swapped the bases between the 97 and 95 and got the same level of reception on both cars, that is the 97 was still bad and the 95 was still good.

When your bases(amplifier) failed, was it immediate fail or a progressive weakening?


Sent from my mobile device

[teen ti]

Ah fair enough, Im pretty sure it was immediate failure

[BlackBMWs]

Thanks anyway for the idea! I appreciate it!


Sent from my mobile device

[teen ti]

Sure thing, thats what we're all here for right? Hope you figure it out soon!

[BlackBMWs]

I ordered a new antenna adaptor to give that a shot. Cheap enough...