Poor FM reception - aerial done?

[StephenFord]

Since getting my car less than a year ago, I noticed that the FM reception wasn't great, station dropped out often, but grew to live with it. However, on having a loan car last week (a very basic Hyundai) it grabbed reception everywhere I drove. I've read that the connection between the aerial and the roof mount can corrode so I thought I'd simply unscrew it and clean, however, it simply won't budge. I priced a replacement from Ford and they no longer offer the original separate mount, and rod, you need to buy the mount complete with coax cable loom, and separate rod (which will not fit original mount!). Cost is £46 all in, which isn't big money, but, do you think it'll cure it?

You can see from the photo that time has taken it's toll on the rod & mount with both showing signs of rubber degradation...

 

[Botus]

15 min fix check this

 

 

 

[doggsbody]

10 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Since getting my car less than a year ago, I noticed that the FM reception wasn't great, station dropped out often, but grew to live with it. However, on having a loan car last week (a very basic Hyundai) it grabbed reception everywhere I drove. I've read that the connection between the aerial and the roof mount can corrode so I thought I'd simply unscrew it and clean, however, it simply won't budge. I priced a replacement from Ford and they no longer offer the original separate mount, and rod, you need to buy the mount complete with coax cable loom, and separate rod (which will not fit original mount!). Cost is £46 all in, which isn't big money, but, do you think it'll cure it?

You can see from the photo that time has taken it's toll on the rod & mount with both showing signs of rubber degradation...

 

 Buy a replacement antenna off Bay for way less, plus add a signal booster for about half the that price and yes it will fit in the original spot, if it turns the screw is a different size or too long or short take the antenna to a local hardware store and get a screw that will fix it too the roof. Ford only buy the same stuff but stamp there badge on it and raise the price to make it look like it was specifically make for them 😂

[StephenFord]

8 hours ago, doggsbody said:

 Buy a replacement antenna off Bay for way less, plus add a signal booster for about half the that price and yes it will fit in the original spot, if it turns the screw is a different size or too long or short take the antenna to a local hardware store and get a screw that will fix it too the roof. Ford only buy the same stuff but stamp there badge on it and raise the price to make it look like it was specifically make for them 😂

I cannot unscrew the rod. I have even tried a pair of mole grips cushioned by cloth and couldn't get it to budge though it did strip off some surface rubber. I don't need a signal booster as I'm convinced  if the aerial just worked, the signal where I drive is plenty strong enough.Yes, you can pick up replacement rods on eBay for less than a tenner, but they are nowhere near the same length as the original Ford rod at 58cm. I like 'original'. But useless anyway as I can't get original off, and further force I feel would only break the original roof mount.

[Botus]

ignore the antenna rod its nothing to do with the fault

if you drop down front interior light, directly above, loosen the torx bolt, you'll find you get reception, tighten it up it shorts out again, untill you do as I say above to get sufficient clearance at zero cost to tweak the bolt

[StephenFord]

2 minutes ago, Botus said:

ignore the antenna rod its nothing to do with the fault

if you drop down front interior light, directly above, loosen the torx bolt, you'll find you get reception, tighten it up it shorts out again, untill you do as I say above to get sufficient clearance at zero cost to tweak the bolt

Sounds like a plan! Does the torx bolt not need to be fully seated though, or is it threaded enough to securely hold whatever it holds?

[Botus]

the bolt MUST not short the antenna rod and roof housing to the earth shield ….but the clearance is too little so easily can.  mine left the factory shorted out and you can only get very powerful local stations reliably

its quite clear in the picture you remove a small amount off the edge. the tapered bit is what holds it to the car pressing against a plastic shroud inside the antenna wire housing / shield.  it does up just as tight but cant short anymore killing the Ariel

pic here, the two look like there are supposed to touch (housing and bolt) but they shouldn't.... there is plastic between the two at the point that does the work (securing the Ariel to the car) but the edge of the bolt head shorts and kills it anyway

[StephenFord]

Well, as with all 'easy' jobs, I fell at the first hurdle. The torx bolt has obviously been worked at before and unfortunately the head is stripped and my torx driver just won't grip it at all. I think I may have to leave it for a proper man (!).

[Stoney871]

Someone obviously got at it with a hex or philips bit instead of sourcing a proper torx bit.

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[StephenFord]

Lord save us from cowboy mechanics LOL I may be fairly incompetent, but I always use the correct tools on attempting my meagre efforts! 😀

[Botus]

looks OK to me, [edit, ok zoomed in its a bit fu**ed] and you can see the bolt too close to antenna shield (hence your issue with signal strength)

trouble with torx is getting the right size is a pain, did you have the next size up?  sometimes the fastening is a little rounded and the right size tool needs a wriggle to seat nicely, then its back to normal, the next size down will always slip if its tight

 

you could get another bolt and drill out the old one (although its a tough one to grind back) don't go mad, the roof is relatively flimsy

[StephenFord]

12 hours ago, Botus said:

looks OK to me, [edit, ok zoomed in its a bit fu**ed] and you can see the bolt too close to antenna shield (hence your issue with signal strength)

trouble with torx is getting the right size is a pain, did you have the next size up?  sometimes the fastening is a little rounded and the right size tool needs a wriggle to seat nicely, then its back to normal, the next size down will always slip if its tight

 

you could get another bolt and drill out the old one (although its a tough one to grind back) don't go mad, the roof is relatively flimsy

My friend often refers to me as, 'all the tools, no idea' LOL Yes, I have a full drive set and on research it should be a simple T25, but ones either side of that don't get near it. Looks as if the previous guy has used a dam chisel! You're right, on an initial glance, it doesn't look that bad, but the corners are that rounded, there is nothing to grip. I could punch whoever did that, how hard is it to use the correct tool! Anyway, for precisely the reason you state, the roof is a very flimsy bit of sheet metal, and quite noticeable if you bugger it up, I'll get my 'man' to have a look when I leave it for a service next month, he is very competent, unlike me!  🤣

[StephenFord]

On getting a photo of the actual aerial connector online, I'm a bit confused. It looks as if it's all metal construction is designed to make a metal to metal contact with the mounting bolt? If it needed insulated in any way, wouldn't there be some kind of rubber grommet or something similar? Am I just overthinking this? LOL

[Botus]

how clear do I need to make it

if the bolt touches the shield the Ariel stops working

between the bolt head and the car is SHOULD BE a plastic shroud (inside out of sight in the antenna housing on end of the wire) this stops the coax of the antenna wire touching the antenna rod on the roof killing it dead, as we can clearly see on your car the bolt and the shield are touching hence the antenna doesn't work (and or some ***** who messed the bolt head may well have messed up the housing / removing the plastic bit (that MUST be there), the plastic bit is clear and hard to see but a critical element

 

you are right its a T25 I just checked, I be shocked if the right tool couldn't get it undone... is your tool square at the end or round off, as two worn elements won't work

 

[StephenFord]

6 minutes ago, Botus said:

.. is your tool square at the end or round off, ....

 

Well, I've never had any complaints LOL  I have 3 x T25 screwdrivers, 2 brand new, one used slightly, none of them grip no matter how much force is applied...

 

[Botus]

how strong are you ?

the bit for a driver is way to rounded, the screw drivers look OK from what I can see but I doubt you'll get the torque

snap on heavy duty torx sockets are very square / sharp at the end, try and borrow one

[StephenFord]

44 minutes ago, Botus said:

how strong are you ?

 

Not very is the quick answer. Recent heart surgery seems to have zapped a lot of my youthful strength! I'll definitely wait for the service to get a pro to look at it - thanks for all the advice anyway, much appreciated...

[F0CUE]

Get a Dremel and slice a line through it then use a big flat head to yank it out. Either that or a screw removal tool.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F323899466299

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[StephenFord]

Well, took it to my 'man' this morning - all done and dusted in less than 10 minutes! First thing was, he looked at the bolt, said, "that's a PZ2 screw!" Got a screwdriver and removed the bolt in seconds. See, that is where a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, every thread I ever read said it was a T25 screw, never dawned on me to properly look at it and see it was an ordinary posidrive!

He then cut a custom washer (to ensure the bolt was correctly insulated from the aerial shield). This was cut from a length of fuel hose!

The original bolt would no longer fit as the washer made it too short, so a rummage in his box found a bolt that fitted with a secure 'socket' head! Goodness knows why Ford just didn't put a washer into the original installation.

New insulating washer...

New mounting bolt...

 

[F0CUE]

2 hours ago, StephenFord said:

Well, took it to my 'man' this morning - all done and dusted in less than 10 minutes! First thing was, he looked at the bolt, said, "that's a PZ2 screw!" Got a screwdriver and removed the bolt in seconds. See, that is where a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, every thread I ever read said it was a T25 screw, never dawned on me to properly look at it and see it was an ordinary posidrive!

He then cut a custom washer (to ensure the bolt was correctly insulated from the aerial shield). This was cut from a length of fuel hose!

The original bolt would no longer fit as the washer made it too short, so a rummage in his box found a bolt that fitted with a secure 'socket' head! Goodness knows why Ford just didn't put a washer into the original installation.

New insulating washer...

New mounting bolt...

 

Nice one and did it make a difference? Wonder if it's the same in the facelift as my reception is bad too.

[StephenFord]

Early days, but I did grab a couple of stations clearly on the way home that use to be fairly 'crackly' last week! Anyway, at zero cost (OK, I'm sure he'll tag it on my next service LOL) definitely worth a go...

[Botus]

the original bit on early cars was a T25 torx headed bolt with a taper and a tapered washer.... below is the genuine bit with the edge ground off

 

[StephenFord]

15 minutes ago, Botus said:

the original bit on early cars was a T25 torx headed bolt with a taper and a tapered washer.... below is the genuine bit with the edge ground off

 

Hey buddy, I'm not blaming anybody LOL Just annoyed at myself for not looking at it properly and deciding myself what kind of tool I needed for removal. Everywhere I looked online it was quoted as a T25, so in my head, before even looking at it, that's the tool I needed. Anyway, I've had another drive in her and reception does seem to have improved, so all good...

[south_bound]

Is your radio signal still good after that Stephen?

I had a go at mine this weekend in between the rain.  It was definitely a T25 Torx head on mine and came out easily enough.  I made up a rubber gasket using old bicycle inner tube but that made the bolt too short to reach the aerial base so I had to root around to find a longer M5 bolt.  That one was too long so added some washers to get it to tighten.  The old one looks like it had blue loctite on it to stop it coming undone so hopefully the aerial doesn't fly off now.  Photos of the old nut head and with the gasket added, but before i switched to the longer bolt so others can visualise it.  Big thanks to Botus if this works after years of putting up with crap radio reception!

[StephenFord]

Looks like a good job, well done! Not sure if my solution really worked though as I've travelled around a it since the mod, and the reception is better, but still not as good as in any other car I've ever driven. Shame really as I've always considered radios to be relatively simply devices, and if the headset gets a good signal, it should be fine, but mine still isn't. My 25 year old Toyota Celica was perfect, as was my old Merc which had a an aerial built into the rear screen. Oh well, no one died!