boater07

Are most of you satisfied with the AM? I feel I get a lot more static than my
previous car with outside antenna.

CEB

What mods do you have?

BPhillyBenz

I feel your pain. My AM radio reception is awful. Still dig the car, however.

listerone

Mine was horrendous too until I took it to the dealer.Can't recall for sure what they did...I think they mentioned some paint having been removed (too lazy to find the service write up)...but when they were done it was 1000% better.

boater07

What difference does it make? I have new W212. Do other models have different attenas?

boater07

Good to know. I will bring it up to dealer. Still to much fun trying all the extras
like sirius.

Zeee_Q

If your car has metallic tint on the windows, that could affect the reception as well

CEB

Mods like metallic tint will adversely affect AM reception - as will some electrical mods. Accordingly, with a complaint of "poor am reception " the first question is always "what mods do you have?"

listerone

I overcame my laziness and dug out the service writeup.It's hard for me to decipher but here's my best attempt:

(partial) quote: "...checked ground at antenna amp,it has high resistance. r+i amp found that mounting flange.Cleaned paint off flange reception ok now.used non time .50 to r/r antenna and clean paint off flange."

Not entirely sure what it all means but,as I said,the AM reception has been perfect ever since.

And I don't have any "mods" at all....mine's exactly as it was when it left the factory.

boater07

Thanks much. Don't know what mods I have either-other than P1,distronic+,
Parktronic, custom steering wheel, etc. Maybe rear view camera has an effect?-
but then again-it's not in the window.

CEB

Sounds like you had a bad ground.

CEB

Factory options are not modifications. A modification is something like tint that you (or someone else) do to your car after it leaves the factory. A mod includes stuff that the dealer does to the car - again like tint.

Tell us about your "custom steering wheel." What is it and who installed it?

The factory wheel has all sorts of electronics built in and could cause static if you're using something that wasn't made specifically for your model - That's a mod.

boater07

[
Tell us about your "custom steering wheel." What is it and who installed it?

The factory wheel has all sorts of electronics built in and could cause static if you're using something that wasn't made specifically for your model - That's a mod.[/QUOTE]

option 289-Wood/Leather Steering Wheel-$590

CEB

option 289-Wood/Leather Steering Wheel-$590[/QUOTE]
I can only assume that English is a second language and you don't grasp the difference between a factory option and a modification. Saying that you have a "custom" steering wheel means that you have a modification but it appears that you are saying that your "custon" wheel is really just a factory option.

Let me try this one more time.

Did you, your dealer or anyone else do anything to the car that wasn't on the factory order or that wasn't specifically designed by Mercedes for your car?

boater07

Let me try this one more time.

Did you, your dealer or anyone else do anything to the car that wasn't on the factory order or that wasn't specifically designed by Mercedes for your car?[/QUOTE]

I think you are carrying this beyond the ridiculous trying to make a point.
A 2 week old factory ordered car has had little time to make mods.
From your attitude, I suspect english is also your 2n'd language.
Sprechen Sie Deutsch??

CEB

I think you are carrying this beyond the ridiculous trying to make a point.
A 2 week old factory ordered car has had little time to make mods.
From your attitude, I suspect english is also your 2n'd language.
Sprechen Sie Deutsch??[/QUOTE]

Eigentlich shon, aber als Zweitschprache.

We do not know that the car is two weeks old and we do know that many people have their windows tinted immediately or have other modifications made either at the dealer or at another place.

Metallic tint is the number one reason for poor AM reception. The second most common reason is a bad ground caused by a nachbau of some sort of electronics.

boater07

Eigentlich shon, aber als Zweitschprache.

We do not know that the car is two weeks old and we do know that many people have their windows tinted immediately or have other modifications made either at the dealer or at another place.

Metallic tint is the number one reason for poor AM reception. The second most common reason is a bad ground caused by a nachbau of some sort of electronics.[/QUOTE]


Danke Schoen.
I now understand

CEB

Gerne. Die vielen Jahre an der Uni Wien und Muenchen haben sich anscheinend ausgezahlt.

It could be a poor ground like Listerone had or it could be a loose or detached connection.Your dealer should take care of it under warranty with no issues.

boater07

Einbildung ist auch eine Bildung!!!!

A good suggestion was made long before by Listerene before your nonsense

El Cid

For about last 20 years, no car I have owned (American, Asian, European) has had decent AM reception. Of course since almost all AM is now talk radio, I haven't listened to it in about 20 years so doesn't really matter.

listerone

Some AM stations,particularly in larger cities,have HD subchannels today that sound pretty good.Some also have FM HD subchannels that sound even better.There's some talk radio that's worthwhile...and when I want music I switch to the 2000+ songs I've transferred onto the hard drive.

newyorktoLA

My FM radio reception sucks after I installed my HID kit, but I don't really care b/c I'm a Sirius person haha

Just saying, HID Kits can also affect static.
However, the benefits of HID > FM radio reception for me

BenzV12

HIDs effect static ? That's something new to me
I don't care whether or not AM reception sucks either lol

CEB

Tint and electrical mods can easily affect radio reception. Normally tint will affect the AM portion as the AM loop antenna is in the rear window on most newer cars.

A bad ground may interfere with both AM and FM radio.

Making a mod and finding a new radio problem almost always means that there is a problem with the install and may only be the tip of the iceberg of future problems. Do yourself a favor and have the HID install looked at before you're stranded on the side of the road.

Radio reception is often the first sign of a more significant problem.

ORETEX

I purchased my 09 CLK350 last yr and AM radio reception was worse than my daughter's 03 PT Cruiser. WTF. Dealer says it is likely due to heavy tint on rear window. Plan to remove tint from all windows and will post after if this fixes the problem.