terrible radio reception

[Roger D]

Since the day my Marauder was new (1 + yrs ago), I have had the WORST FM radio reception of any radio I've ever owned - I can't pick up the signal of extremly large NYC stations, 20 miles outside of The CITY - any recommendations on a fix would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks & regards,

Roger D

[marauder307]

My stereo head crapped out in this last year...discovered it because (I thought) my FM-modulated Sirius radio wasn't working. According to the techs---and I'm just repeating what I've been told---there's an internal amp in the head that is prone to burnout, and not the fun kind either. Symptoms for this will show up as REALLY scratchy radio reception, followed by loss of volume---you'll have to turn up the volume all the way to get anything at all. The CD player and the trunk changer will still work great, but the radio functions will essentially be dead.

It's a warranty job, and an aggravating one. It took me lots of time to convince the dealer that the @#$$@# thing was actually broken. What helped me out was taking it to 2 different aftermarket stereo shops (Circuit City and a local outfit in Pt. Arthur TX called AWA) and having them do writeups on it. And even then I had to get lucky: The thing finally gave up the ghost right in the service drive of the dealership. The solution was to pull the original head and replace it with an OEM one from the stocks at a Houston dealership (I dunno which one, but it musta been big because they talked about it like it was a regional supply center).

Hope this helps!

[RCSignals]

If the problem has been since day one, check, or have the dealer check that the antenna is connected, that the antenna elements on the glass are good, and all grounds for the stereo and antenna are good.

I just returned from a 2000 mile trip and over all had quite good radio reception, except when in the middle of no-where

[mcb26]

Had my radio replaced under warrenty. Cold solder joint in the radio,you probally have the same problem.

[magindat]

There's a joint in the radio antenna wire behind the [rear] seat near the passenger side. If you take out the seat back and let the seat belt come to rest, it will be about half way up under the seatbelt. There's another joint under the rear deck, passenger side of center toward the back of the seat, but still in the trunk.

If still bad after checking both there are still some possibilities:
Joint at back of deck
Bad extension cable (from back of deck to behind rear seat)
Or as mentioned above, bad radio.

If bad since new, all should be under warranty. If warranty is in question, check these to help narrow the problem.