Julian2

Radio reception on my car has deteriorated .It's a W203 220cdi
Before start up ,with an FM station selected the reception is OK but as soon as the engine is started I get a pulsating kind of interferrence on the radio .Also I feel that in what should be strong signal areas the reception is no better than very average .The remote locking works fine at 30/45 meters easily .I'm thinking of the amplifier here but could there be a fault in the radio or its antenna connection ?I should add that AM in a good signal location is poor/average.
Should I remove the radio .Is this difficult ? It's just the stock AM/FM radio with single CD player .
Also regarding the MB audio 10 (becker) , is this radio meant to seek out the strongest signal for any given RDS identified station ?Mine does not ,I have to do this manually.My previous car a trouble free Toyota (no broken springs etc ) had a radio which would maintain a good reception level by changing the frequency on RDS as was required by the signal level.

Thanks very much in advance
Julian

Diesel Benz

Your radio not only selects the best station based on RDS info but it also dynamically switches between different radio antennas to obtain the best instantaneous reception signal quality for the currently selected radio station.

The antenna amplifier connections at the rear window area are a well known issue on the W203, perhaps your problem too.

Julian2

Thanks for the reply .
I've actually feared the inevitable i.e. that the fault lies with the amplifier but the prospect of removing the headlining is not very pleasant .
Presumably there would be a connection to the antenna (the window elements ) and a connection to ground or earth ?
Thanks again

ride00

J2 - try going to this thread for some info on your problem -

"Has anyone actually fixed the radio receiver problem...."

Julian2

Thanks for the link .Wouldn't it be good if MB had used a traditional external antenna for the radio ? Would cut out all these problems with this amplifier that I have read about .
There may be a way of fitting a roof or body aerial and connecting it to the radio in a substitute for the rear window aerial .The latter would still be in place for the remote lock operation .What do you think ?

ride00

Well I think there should be a way to bypass the rear screen antenna elements
and hook up a no-holds barred Harada power aerial. Right now the radio reception
is only average to below average.
Will be checking with my installer to get his 2 cents worth on this bypass op and
if do-able..... I will post it here!

Julian2

I'll look forward to reading your findings.
In the meantime I'm going to try to jam something betwen the headliner and the amp. in order to try to improve its contact with the rear window .
I had in mind as an alternative to the current crap setup a roof mounted aerial just above the windscreen .My wife's Honda jazz has one of these and has terrific radio reception picking up FM transmitters where the MB has no reception ,also the Jazz does not break down but that's another story,or five .

Julian2

Just an update here folks.
My local garage fitted a front roof mounted antenna ,actually a Ford item .Disconnected the rear window antenna at the radio and substituted the new one . Result very good radio reception on all bands and no interferrence. The new antenna is passive , not amplified.Looks ok too.
Just one thing the radio on FM is reluctant to retune itself to an alternative fequency for the station tuned giving a stronger signal .i can do it manually but I understood that with RDS engaged the radio would seek the strongest signal for a station and tune to it .
Any comments ?

Diesel Benz

Have you checked your RDS settings?

Julian2

Not sure what you mean DB.
Here's what I've done :
Set the "regional " setting to ON
Tuned and memorised stations on FM ensuring that each station tuned has an RDS capability .RDS or the station name appears along with the frequency on the display .

For example :
Radio XYZ can appear on the display with a weak signal .I check the frequency to be say 95.3.
I know that there will be a stronger signal on 95.1 but the radio doesnot want to tune to it .
I tune down manually to 95.1 and get a good signal .
All this time I'm expecting the radio to tune itself it is set to RDS.
I have had radios on other cars (japanese ) which will retune frequently for a better signal .Can be annoying but I live in a mountainous area and the signal can disappear on one frequency to be received on another .
Am I missing something here DB ?

Diesel Benz

Have you consulted your radio manual? My understanding is that you have turned automatic station switching off. Try to change the "Regional" setting.

Diesel Benz

Would you like to see four separate whip antennas on the car for the radio and another set of four antennas for the TV tuner if you had one? Because of diversity reception, these whips need to be placed far enough from each other.

pinebaron

I doubt if MB radios support Diversity techniques.