[V8] Radio Noise

[Buchholz, Steven]

These comments are predicated on your car using the antennae integrated into the front and rear windshields ... 

... you may want to pop the radio out and make sure someone didn't swap the front and rear antennae on you.  The antenna plugged into the "front" plug on the radio is only used for FM reception.  If someone swapped the two it wouldn't surprise me to hear that you had a good amount of ignition noise getting coupled into the radio on AM stations.  The next thing to do is to pop the cover off the left rear inner "C" pillar.  Underneath you'll find the amplifier for the rear window antenna.  My first recommendation would be to tune the radio to an AM station and disconnect the coax cable that attaches to the bottom of the amplifier.  You should notice the AM signal decrease significantly.  Now touch your finger or a length of wire to the center conductor ... do you get a good clean AM signal now?  If so you have a problem with the amp.  It may be that it is not getting power.  Your report that the noise goes away does tend to support that the amp is not getting power.  There's some fancy footwork that gets done back there depending upon whether or not the rear defroster is being used ... because the antenna uses the defroster wires if the defroster is off ... 

... actually, now that I realize the rear defroster connection, ignore pulling the radio out to check the antennas are swapped at the deck and focus at the C pillar ... 

Steve B
San José, CA (USA)
> 
> As far as I know everything is stock.  There is no alternator whine.  The load
> of the defroster actually helps the noise go away.  Sometimes all I have to do
> is switch it on and off.  FM works fine but they don't carry "Glenn Beck" or
> "Rush".  I just thought it was strange that 2 of the 5 Audi's both do the same
> thing.  They both also make a whining/hissing noise when I plug the phone
> charger in.
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> As a former stereo installer, I can tell you that the V8 already has a pretty
> good electrical system as far as noise is concerned. Do you still have the
> stock Bose?
> 
> >From the factory you should have:
> 
> noise suppression spark plugs/wires and dist. cap shield
> capacitor on the alternator
> choke on the radio power supply. (located in the pass. side relay tray)
> 
> This is all stuff that any good stereo shop should be able to add for you -
> but
> you should already have it.
> My guess is something is wrong with the antenna or cables or amps. Again, a
> good
> stereo shop should be able to ID the noise source and do something about it.
> (and if your AM stations carry the same crap as around here, that would
> explain
> a lot too...)
> 
> You might also keep in mind that if you have alternator whine, that could be
> an
> indicator that you have a bad diode in the alternator field.
> This would get worse with a heavy load - like the rear defroster.
> 
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> Quoting bblake1055 at aol.com:
> 
> > While we're on the topic of "Snaping" noises and capacitors.  Does anybody
> > have and BTDT with Radio capacitors?
> >
> > I listen to a lot of AM talk radio and two of the V8's have the same
> problem.
> >  I will get a lot of static and interference on AM and if I push the Rear
> > deforster button on and off it will go away (at least half of it).
> >
> > Sometimes I will get noises if the phone charger is plug in.
> >
> > Are there any capacitors or chokes for the radio interference??