K11 - very poor FM/MW/LW reception

[jabaflabba]

Hello all,

This is my first post as a new owner of the wonderful Micra!

I wonder if any of you could possibly help me, the stereo in the micra has poor radio reception. The original radio has been replaced by a Sony Xplod CD/Aux/Bluetooth unit, which as far as I can see (being a complete novice) has been wired up ok. It appears to have a black earth wire, and all other features on the unit working well.

However my radio reception is terrible, living in Ipswich I can easily receive Town and Heart on the radio whilst driving around but thats due to the transmitters being just outside of the town. Trying to listen to the national stations of radio 1 and 2 is a difficult job, as whilst I can tell they are there its just very fuzzy, and drops in and out. I know this shouldn't be the case as my friends old corsa picks all stations up fine.

So if anyone could help answer the following questions I would be extremely grateful.

Could this be a wiring issue? Or is the aerial cable broken somewhere? Is it possible to successfully (and easily) unscrew the metal aerial on the top of the drivers door? and do I need some sort of booster?

Many thanks in advance!

 

[joesouthgate]

I was actually going to ask the same question. Do you find that when you switch the ignition off but leave it on 1 click it gets tons better?

 

[jabaflabba]

I haven't tried this, but I do notice having my hand on the aerial and moving it about makes a slight difference, so obviously things are connected. I shall give the ignition test a go.

 

[matt1987]

i get this two i think im upgrading the aerial unit my radio is fine so guess it the aerial

 

[solarice]

Ive always assumed it was because the drivers side aeriel sucks...at least mine did until i removed it, now ive just got no radio signal (so not much dfference) :laugh:

 

[Mark f]

A bad aerial earth can be the cause of a poor reception. This very common on nissans especially almeras and primeras. Sometimes replacement radios won't even power up due to the poor earth to the radio. I would recommend running a new earth direct from the body to the rear of the radio. Or failing that you can buy an aerial amplfier which plugs in between aerial and radio and boost's the signal.
Hope this helps.

 

[jabaflabba]

Mark,

Many thanks for your help. I assume that the wire from the body to the back of the radio can be just a standard piece of wiring from any metal part of the car connected to the body, and then just stuck to the back of the radio?

I did notice that the radio does have a hole for a screw that should in theory be connected to a metal stick according to the manual. If I connect a wire and screw it into this hole and connect it to the body, hopefully this will do the job.

If not, how do I go about purchasing the correct booster and where and how do I power the booster?

Many thanks once again.

 

[Mark f]

I did notice that the radio does have a hole for a screw that should in theory be connected to a metal stick according to the manual. If I connect a wire and screw it into this hole and connect it to the body, hopefully this will do the job.

Thats fine, any cable can be used to earth it better.
As for a booster any car acessories shop that stock autoleads adaptors should stock them I think the part # is PC5-91.
That failing I have them in stock if you need one. I use them alot for Audi's and vw's.

 

[jabaflabba]

Right,

I've tried to re-earth the radio, I disconnected the earth wire and plugged in a new red wire which I temporarily attached to the door frame, I switched it on and the signal was exactly the same as before, barely any difference.

There was still minimal signal on MW and LW, and Radio 1,2,3,4 weren't brilliant.

I'm now stuck for ideas as to what to do next, would a booster do anything to the signal? Would it improve the MW reception? Where would I connect this booster to? In terms of powering it?

I also noted in Halfords that there was such a thing as an intereference blocker, would this be any good?

Once again, any help would be appreciated.

 

[Paul Smith]

I have a similar problem a radio signal amplifier plugs in between the radio socket and radio and does sod all, don't waste the money. not sure what the answer is yet.

 

[jabaflabba]

Ah,

right then, I think I'll go and purchase myself a PURE highway so I can actually have some decent radio in my car.

Any further tips would of course be welcomed.

Do K11's usually have a good FM reception with the drivers door aerials or are they notoriously pants?