why is anyone trying to rubber mount the antenna...

all it needs is the edge taken off the original bolt... there is already a plastic shield (probably mylar) between the tapered elements designed to securely mount it to the roof - what it needs is clearance on the edge of the bolt to stop a short grounding the inner and outer parts of the coax lead... not some wobbly rubber potentially reducing the conductivity you do want between the antenna rod and the inner part of the coax going down to the radio

mount it tight and get good connections where they are supposed to be

A) antenna rod to inner cable

B) antenna base to car roof

ford mount it tight get a good connection where you want it - then f** it all up by shorting it all out with a bolt head that's diameter is 1mm too much

OK, pretend I'm stupid... What is the exact difference between removing the bolt, practising some metal work on it my reducing the diameter by '1mm' and simply insulating the circumference of the head to give the same effect?

two fold

1) mount the antenna securely so at 110mph or in a car wash its not wobbling about ' helping ' the bolt come loose - consequence of which gets the antenna lost up the road and the water coming in the hole

2) allow the connection you do want between the antenna rod on the roof and the inner section of the coax cable to the radio, to be made correctly

 

the ONLY fault ford did was give insufficient clearance to the bolt head and the antenna wire's shield (AKA the big metal bit on the end of the cable) which effectively leaves the actual antenna out of the circuit and the coax at the shorted together - hence it has really poor reception (should have been a recall for a new bolt.... but after 5 years of production no one actually noticed !!!)

I'll have to reserve judgement on how this working until I drive a bit further from home to see how it keeps tuned in or finds reception.

Out of interest Botus, what did you do with the conical washer that is fitted to the bolt, wouldn't that cause a short if left in place to press against the housing?  Are you saying that the bolt head needs to touch the housing as it gets tightened but the threaded part needs to stay clear (which it would if the bolt is ground back a bit)? 

the washer is where ford intended, its small enough not to touch anything..... its only the outer edge of the bolt head that's the issue - it doesn't short on the tapered face that secures it to the car, that's already insulated inside the antenna shield.....

it was designed OK with the exception of the bolt head diameter, hence my picture where I show the size it should always have been.... the arrow points at the bit that I made smaller

 

 

 

 

 

FINAL UPDATE!

My reception was still poor, so ended up replacing roof mount, aerial and mounting bolt! Reception is now 100% crystal clear, picking up previous unknown (!) stations, and not dropping them, I am chuffed to bits.

The roof mount was a cheap Ebay import from China (less than £4), seal didn't look great so added a little black silicon to ensure water tight. Aerial was less than £4, bolt was out of tool box. No idea what actually fixed it, but for less than a tenner, I am well pleased...

 

Turn AF "OFF" in the menu and re-tune