Poor Am Reception

[joey]

The Bose Symphony sound system is incredible, but the AM reception is excrutiatingly poor.
We have a 50,000 watt AM station here in Cincinnati (700), and I have trouble picking it up more than 50 miles away. Lower-powered AM stations are almost unavailable unless within a few miles of their towers.
FM reception is OK, so it's not an antenna problem.
BTW, my Chrysler Infinity system picks up that AM station 500 miles away!

Still stock antenna on the roof (Avant model).

Any ideas on what I can check, or add (short of replacing the whole unit)?

[bhb399mm]

i'm trying to remember how to get to the 'menu' function on your year... i had an 01 A6 but i cant remember.. anyway...


look in the Symphony manual.. theres a part that tells how you to access the menu. There are two settings for radios - local and [cant think of it....]

anyway, the local one will cut out all but the most powerful stations. you want to make sure your radio is set to the other one.

[mbrabender]

Originally posted by bhb399mm@Nov 30 2004, 02:18 AM
i'm trying to remember how to get to the 'menu' function on your year... i had an 01 A6 but i cant remember.. anyway...
look in the Symphony manual.. theres a part that tells how you to access the menu. There are two settings for radios - local and [cant think of it....]

anyway, the local one will cut out all but the most powerful stations. you want to make sure your radio is set to the other one.

Quoted post

I have the same problem with the Audi Symphony stereo in my 2000 A6 2.8. It's not the local/distance mode for the antenna. Dealer tells me I need a new wiring harness, diversity box, and booster to make it better all at the low-low price of $818.00. Seems excessive just to get good am reception. Be interested to know where I could get these parts aftermarket.

[bhb399mm]

$880 would buy a decent aftermarket setup.

then again, if the power antenna isnt working, you'd need to replace that regardless of your stereo setup.

not quiet sure what a diversity box or a booster does... did they tell you?

[joey]

Sort of glad to know I'm not the only one with reception problem on AM. FM is good. BTW, Avant has roof antenna, not power antenna.
Local/distance scanning is not the problem, even programmed stations have poor reception.
The $800 "cure" seems pretty radical; for that price I could get great new head unit, all new speakers, and a few tanks of Shell hi-test!
Will keep monitoring forum to see if anyone else has experience or suggestions!?!?
:blink:

[bhb399mm]

Originally posted by joey@Dec 9 2004, 09:23 PM
BTW, Avant has roof antenna, not power antenna.

Quoted post

power antenna meaning antenna is powerd by the battery for increased reception.. not that it goes up and down

[Wyle_E]

Has it always been that bad? How about with the car turned off? AM is very sensitive to electrical interference, so make sure the antenna wire is grounded properly at the radio and at the roof mount. A bad antenna might seem to affect AM more because FM reception will still sound pretty clear, just not have very good range. There are lots of things that could cause interference in your car, like the ignition system, alternator, even fuel the pump.

If it's still bad with the engine off and the antenna is grounded properly, the problem is most likely the radio itself or a poor antenna. Maybe you could try a different antenna (even a temporary non-OEM one) and/or trade radios with someone as a test.

Then again, my experience is based on normal cars, not Audis.

[freecicero]

Originally Posted by Wyle_E

Has it always been that bad?

Then again, my experience is based on normal cars, not Audis.

I am having the same problem and though I appreciate the suggestions in this answer, I think this is most definitely an AUDI-specific issue. It is NOT related to the CD, and NOT related to FM -- both function very well. The problem is AM-SPECIFIC.

I had a similar problem on my Audi 100. Then when I traded to a 2001 A6, for some reason the AM reception was much better. Then, I got hit from behind and my car totalled. I replaced it with an identical 2001 A6 (identical except no CD changer). From the beginning, reception was poor, but tolerable. Then, about 6 months ago, it went from tolerable to NON-EXISTENT. Occasionally when I was close to a station I would occasionally get something, but most of the time nothing. All the while FM was working flawlessly. Occasionally reception will "come back" when the car is started, but shortly thereafter it goes away completely again.

Can anyone with Audi-specific AM knowledge help?

thanks

[jpgal]

I have had my A6 avant for 5 years and have had very poor AM reception always. I asked the dealer multiple times and finally gave up when they replaced my stereo twice due to cd player problems. I live in the Philadelphia area and there are very strong AM stations. It is definately the Audi - now can we solve this problem easily???