Poor AM Radio reception in A4

2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.


I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
nothing to improve reception.

Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
market thing that might help.

"Cam Newton" > wrote in message
...
> 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
> is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>
>
> I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
> that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
> nothing to improve reception.
>
> Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
> market thing that might help.
>
In Europe AM is not really used anymore since 20 years.
Across the Altantic AM is used a lot and in excellent quality -for AM-.
Bandwidth in Europe is only 4.5 KHz, in US it is 9 KHz, so double.
European radios are made to European standards.

Ronald

Ronald,
So.....the radio shouldn't pick anything up on AM?
Cam,
I've read a few times here and on Audifans, where someone had tinted their
windows using metallic film, and the radio antenna in the glass couldn't
pick up any AM radio stations as a result. The antenna in the glass might
be broken, or there might be a flaky connection at the amplifier. Someone
on Audiworld may be able to help you find the location of the amp and how to
test it. Hey, try:
http://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/946837.phtml - amazing thing, the 'net.
Or, maybe you'll just have to drive to Europe to get a 20+ year old AM
station to tell you what the traffic is like on the highway back at home ;-)
Cheers!
Steve Sears
1987 Audi 5kTQ - shorty metal antenna - great reception on AM and FM
1980 Audi 5k - honkin' huge steel mast antenna - decent reception on both
bands
1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - fixed steel mast antenna - no
FM reception.....because the tube radio doesn't get FM.
(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)
"R@L" > wrote in message
news:73Nqc.1529$Bb6.23148@zonnet-reader-1...
> "Cam Newton" > wrote in message
> ...
> > 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
> > is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
> >
> >
> > I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
> > that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
> > nothing to improve reception.
> >
> > Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
> > market thing that might help.
> >
> In Europe AM is not really used anymore since 20 years.
> Across the Altantic AM is used a lot and in excellent quality -for AM-.
> Bandwidth in Europe is only 4.5 KHz, in US it is 9 KHz, so double.
> European radios are made to European standards.
>
> Ronald
>
>

On Wed, 19 May 2004 14:45:31 -0400, "Steve Sears"
> wrote:

>Ronald,
>So.....the radio shouldn't pick anything up on AM?
>Cam,
>I've read a few times here and on Audifans, where someone had tinted their
>windows using metallic film, and the radio antenna in the glass couldn't
>pick up any AM radio stations as a result. The antenna in the glass might
>be broken, or there might be a flaky connection at the amplifier. Someone
>on Audiworld may be able to help you find the location of the amp and how to
>test it. Hey, try:
>http://forums.audiworld.com/a4/msgs/946837.phtml - amazing thing, the 'net.
>Or, maybe you'll just have to drive to Europe to get a 20+ year old AM
>station to tell you what the traffic is like on the highway back at home ;-)
>Cheers!
>Steve Sears
>1987 Audi 5kTQ - shorty metal antenna - great reception on AM and FM
>1980 Audi 5k - honkin' huge steel mast antenna - decent reception on both
>bands
>1962 and '64 Auto Union DKW Junior deLuxes - fixed steel mast antenna - no
>FM reception.....because the tube radio doesn't get FM.

Thanks for the pointers. The rear window is stock and untouched. I may
just have to go back to the dealer and have them root around a bit.
The 'thats the way it is' came from the Audi service manager. I have
dealt with him when I had a Jetta (same dealer) and didn't find him
all to my liking. But now I have to live with him so it is better to
make nice. I think I will call my advocate, the guy who sold me the
car, and get him involved too.


>(SPAM Blocker NOTE: Remove SHOES to reply)
>"R@L" > wrote in message
>news:73Nqc.1529$Bb6.23148@zonnet-reader-1...
>> "Cam Newton" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
>> > is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>> >
>> >
>> > I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
>> > that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
>> > nothing to improve reception.
>> >
>> > Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
>> > market thing that might help.
>> >
>> In Europe AM is not really used anymore since 20 years.
>> Across the Altantic AM is used a lot and in excellent quality -for AM-.
>> Bandwidth in Europe is only 4.5 KHz, in US it is 9 KHz, so double.
>> European radios are made to European standards.
>>
>> Ronald
>>
>>
>
>

I've had this problem for the last couple of years ('96 A4).
Can someone enlighten me on the location of the C pillar and how I would go
about getting the trim off. Its the drivers side I presume (oh oh I'm in
Australia - we drive on the left), so which side is it?

Ask dealer to check for a failed antenna amp or poor connections to the amp.

Cam Newton wrote:
> 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
> is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>
>
> I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
> that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
> nothing to improve reception.
>
> Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
> market thing that might help.
>
>

Pull the radio and check the grounds and antenna connections behind the
unit.
You can pull it out far enough to move the wiring around, with the radio on,
and see if it makes a difference.
Bad grounding will kill the AM, but FM will still be working.




"Cam Newton" > wrote in message
...
> 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
> is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>
>
> I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
> that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
> nothing to improve reception.
>
> Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
> market thing that might help.
>
>

On Thu, 20 May 2004 00:19:45 -0500, TonyJ >
wrote:

I emailed my sales guy at the dealer with the link to the Audiworld
site (kindly provided by Steve Sears ) to look into it. I am giving
him until tomorrow morning to respond. He is a good guy and I have had
no trouble with the dealer (I did have to get a new turbo 2 weeks ago
and the car had only 1100 km when that happened).

I do expect this problem to be fixed by the dealer 'soon' and will
inform all of the real cause and solution of the problem.

>Ask dealer to check for a failed antenna amp or poor connections to the amp.
>
>Cam Newton wrote:
>> 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
>> is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>>
>>
>> I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
>> that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
>> nothing to improve reception.
>>
>> Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
>> market thing that might help.
>>
>>

On Thu, 20 May 2004 11:10:29 GMT, "FY" > wrote:

>Pull the radio and check the grounds and antenna connections behind the
>unit.
>You can pull it out far enough to move the wiring around, with the radio on,
>and see if it makes a difference.
>Bad grounding will kill the AM, but FM will still be working.
>
>

This will be for the dealer to do. I put gas and washer fluid in the
thing and nothing else. I am a hands-off owner because I don't have
the tools or real interest in DIY. And because of the warranty, I do
not expect to do a damn thing at least for 4 years and generally for
the entire time I own the vehicle. But I am v interested in how the
vehicle functions, I just don't want to DIY.

>
>
>"Cam Newton" > wrote in message
...
>> 2004 A4 Canadian model with very poor AM reception. Dealer told me it
>> is because the antenna is in the rear window. Bad excuse. FM is great.
>>
>>
>> I have used the AS mode on the radio and it is the same reception;
>> that mode simply tells you what are the best six channels but does
>> nothing to improve reception.
>>
>> Any ideas on how the radio could be adjusted or is there an after
>> market thing that might help.
>>
>>
>
>

The 'C' pillar is the area of sheet metal between the rear window and
the rear door side window.

Should be able to just grab the inner trim at the top and pull inward to
open it up.


Bear wrote:

> I've had this problem for the last couple of years ('96 A4).
> Can someone enlighten me on the location of the C pillar and how I would go
> about getting the trim off. Its the drivers side I presume (oh oh I'm in
> Australia - we drive on the left), so which side is it?
>
>