am/fm radio problems
- Thread starter vertondem
- Start date
oktowncar
Well-known member
Grab a multimeter and start verifying power then use an alternate radio source hooked up to the speaker(s) to check if they work properly
oktowncar
Well-known member
How does the antenna cable into the radio look? If there is any corrosion I would grab a bit of emery cloth and clean the connection
Action
NOT a Junior Member
Radio is working. Because you get static on AM.
To receive AM the radio does not need much of an antenna
To receive FM the radio absolutely needs an antenna
However, the radio may not be "tuned" into the stations. Meaning you select 99.5 and in actually the radio is dialed into something off of that.
Or the antenna parts are not well connected. Either internally in the radio or externally in the antenna lead or antenna it's self.
If there is a power antenna, the connection between the antenna mast and the antenna lead gets degraded.
Action
To receive AM the radio does not need much of an antenna
To receive FM the radio absolutely needs an antenna
However, the radio may not be "tuned" into the stations. Meaning you select 99.5 and in actually the radio is dialed into something off of that.
Or the antenna parts are not well connected. Either internally in the radio or externally in the antenna lead or antenna it's self.
If there is a power antenna, the connection between the antenna mast and the antenna lead gets degraded.
Action
Hi vertondem. All good suggestions you have been given so far.
And another possibility is simply that the audio unit is in its last days and will not be able to be repaired (or worth repair). Capacitors and other older electronics go bad.
I had the factory stereo in my father's 1990 Town Car fixed when it began having the same symptoms as yours. Found an old-school local electronics repair shop in my area that still did those types of repairs (rare nowadays). But as the owner told me, it will go bad again. Which it eventually did. So I eventually replaced it with a unit from Crutchfield.
In my opinion (blind Internet diagnosis), unless you are dead set on keeping the car "factory", you will endure less aggravation if you replace the unit. It is actually very simple and a do-it-yourself job, if you purchase from a seller like Crutchfield. But again, that is simply my opinion.
Let us know how you make out and good luck.
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rancourt
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When I wasn't sure my own antenna was working well, I tested with one of these. Unplugged the factory antenna, plugged this in, just draped ugly and loose on my dash temporarily, and tested reception, comparing the signal quality. This is twenty-five bucks for a diagnostic tool than you might want to spend, but it would give you some useful information right away, as to whether the problem's in the head unit itself or the antenna itself.
Norms1stTC
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Probably a bad antenna connection, or the connection needs re-soldered on the PCB board itself.... this is inside the radio where the antenna plugs in .
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
Well-known member
I figured the car was probably an '03 Cartier. If you have the Alpine head unit, tuner failures are a know problem. I was fortunate enough to find one that had been rebuilt to factory specifications. Otherwise, it may not be worth paying a premium price for another used one that might also fail someday
There has been some discussion about this in the past. As best as we tell, a viable alternative if you want to keep a factory unit is the Soundmark version of the same head unit that was offered in 2004. This based on the fact that both the Alpine and Soundmark have the same plug connections on the back panel.
Here’s an old thread on the topic. OP installed a Soundmark unit and said it worked fine. The only unknown is if the unit would work a CD changer.
https://lincolnforums.com/forums/th...dio-came-with-the-Town Car.38657/#post-714956
Another thread mentioning a company that might be able to do a refub and add Bluetooth capability as well.
Radio question
I’m slowly going thru my Town Car and fixing all the gremlins (some weird ones soon to come) , and I’m contemplating the Radio. The factory Alpine radio just gives me static on FM and no sound on AM. The CD in the dash and the cartridge disc in the trunk both work and sound great. does this...
lincolnforums.com
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
My 2003 Cartier
Thanks for all the replies. I removed the unit, disassembled, heated the solder joints for about 6 seconds with 350 degrees from my soldering station. When I reinstalled the unit, the AM played for about 30 seconds and went dead again. I'm settling for CD music for a while. I will remove and reheat all the accessible solder joints to see if that helps. If not, i will try the Soundmark unit or something else. Not going to spend a lot of money on the system. I'll listen to CD's for a while. Thanks for all the replies, suggestions.
Addendum to my reply: I had tried an external antenna, also.
dave42
Senior Member
Does the cassette still work? You can plug in an adaptor and listen to music from your phone or mp3 player, etc. Some people say the quality of those sucks, but some are better than others. I use one in my '03 and it works great. I also use the trunk CD changer and have 5 or 6 magazines full of disks. Never listen to AM but I would miss the FM if it quit.
My 2003 had a bad radio when I went to test drive it (the dealer replaced the radio before I would buy it). The original radio would play AM but not FM. The FM tuner was working but no audio. I could tell it was working because the "stereo" indication on the radio would come on when I tuned to a frequency that I knew had a strong local station.
That doesn't help you fix yours but might be an additional troubleshooting aid.
That doesn't help you fix yours but might be an additional troubleshooting aid.
Everything works but the AM/FM radio. I'll live with it until I find a deal on another unit. I also have a 2000 Cartier L that is trouble free in every respect. However, I replaced with a Pioneer DVD/NAV unit soon after purchasing. I still have it like new, but the wiring harnesses are so much different than the 03. The only repair I've ever made to the 2000 is the Blower Speed Resistor, which I did about ten days ago. Has 97,124 miles now. I did replace the airbags with Arnot springs, but that was optional.
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