Poor Radio Reception

[RadioSurfer]

Hello,

Now that the main issues of the van are (hopefully) resolved I’ve turned my attention to the poor radio reception.

Having taken the aerial off ( it had to be cut off from inside the roof above the cab due to the bolt rusting). I can see what the problem is. The connector between the base of the whip aerial and the bolt that passes the signal down to the internal coax has rusted away to nothing. See the image below.

I phoned the local Ford dealers to see if they had a new base in stock. The answer of course was no, but they could get one in. I wanted just the base, but was told the entire design has changed and I had to have a new whip aerial and internal coax cable to the radio. I’m not sure what could have changed unless the thread of the Whip has changed. I don’t mind changing the coax as the current one looks more like a piece of cotton rather than true coax.

I asked if this could be a dab aerial and was told no, they did not do an upgrade. I don’t understand that, surely the dab whip aerial can still screw into this base and the coax will be fine. Didn’t some Mk7 transits have dab radios? Having looked at non OEM alternative aerials and bases I’m keen to stick with the Ford base as its larger, looks more robust and fits the flattened recess on the roof better than the flimsy looking alternatives that cost a small fortune.

Can anyone think why I can’t just get the standard Ford DAB whip aerial (part number 1559265) instead of the FM aerial (part number 1737828) the Ford dealer says I must have. I suspect they just want to replace like with like rather than spending a couple of seconds thinking about it, its just an aerial after all.

Cheers, Richard

[gt_addict]

As far as I read (sometime ago) you can upgrade to a dab aerial. From what I remember you need the aerial and base from a mk2 focus which is equipped with a dab radio. Then its just a case of fitting it all.

[RadioSurfer]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply gt_addict. I picked up the Ford aerial base this morning and having looked at it and compared with the old one, it is identical. The Ford spare parts chap was insistent I needed the new FM aerial and coax harness as “something had changed” but I looked at those and said I didn't need them. I took my chance and sure enough it is all a perfect fit with the original aerial and coax cable and for £7.40 the radio is picking up dozens of FM stations very clearly in an area that is very bad for signal, so I’m delighted with stage 1. A very good signal and a working 6000CD radio.

Whilst I was there, I ordered the DAB aerial for about £20 which forms part of stage 2 which is replacing the current FM radio with the Ford Sony DAB radio. I just need to find a suitable amplifier/splitter with the right combinations of connectors. I’ll probably need several adapters to get from the Ford coax aerial DIN connector to the standard input DIN connectors on the splitters I’ve seen and to the square Fakra style on the radio. I was hoping not to have too many adapters, but it doesn't look that way at the moment.

Cheers, Richard

[gt_addict]

Not having done this myself its only a cague idea. But the whole cable from aerial base to the radio needs to be swapped out. The aerial and base will do both fm and dab.

The part numbers i have for it are:-

1682844 - cable from the back of the radio to a connector behind the passenger dash.

1545793 - extension cable from the above to the aerial base

1559268 - aerial base

Hope thats some help.

[RadioSurfer]

Cheers gt_addict, I’ve found what looks like a good FM/DAB splitter, with good reviews from incartec. I’ve also just ordered my one missing cable converter to go from the current ISO on the existing aerial to Female Fakra at a reasonable price. I won’t be able to get this lot fitted for a week or so as I’m busy plastering and decorating now I’ve managed to get some plaster at last!

At least in the meantime I’ve got decent reception on FM. I bet most Transits over a certain age need the aerial base replacing, I can’t believe I was the only one with a base that had rusted away. Ford certainly know how to design things that can rust and I thought my 40 year old Land Rover was bad.

Regards, Richard

[gt_addict]

No worries. Let us know how you get on. I know all too well about getting hold of plaster. Its been a nightmare over the past year.

My aerial base has lifted but havent got the time to strip down the roof lining to get another yet.

[RadioSurfer]

Hello,

Another small job knocked off my Transit to do list.

I had some time today so I fitted the Ford Sony Dab radio I bought of the well known auction site and an aerial splitter/amplifier. The splitter was expensive but I didn’t want some cheap kit that failed to do the job. All now works really well. I live in a very poor DAB reception area as most of the country is unless you live within 25 miles on London! But I can receive plenty of stations I’d never even heard of until now.

In the end I used all the original cabling, aerial and just needed to change the old rusted aerial base for about £7.00 from a Ford dealership on my visit to the mainland. Some say that you need to change the FM screw in aerial for the DAB version but the reception so far is so good I don’t think I’ll bother, but if I do decide it’s not expensive for a genuine Ford DAB aerial ~ £22.

The true test will be driving down through the Highlands and round Loch Lomond and down the M6. Most of those areas are black spots for DAB.

Thanks for the advice, now I can move onto my final bit to sort out on the van - non working stop/start. I’ll raise another thread if I don’t get anywhere. From what I’ve read so far its another common issue, but I can rule out the batteries. It’s probably more dodgy Ford electrics and software, but we’ll see.

Cheers, Richard