XM Radio with poor reception (1 Viewer)

[soberman001]

Gents
I moved from Florida to NJ a few weeks back and the reception on my XM radio (in my LC100) has gone to hell. I have a XM Commander with an external antenna that is mounted with a clear view of the sky. It is mounted on the black plastic trim piece on the exterior (bottom) of the windshield. It is the area where most cars also have the winshield wiper pivots. There is nothing blocking the antenna.

Worked like a charm in FL, NC and the whole way up here. Now, it breaks up constantly. I checked the connection to the antenna from the CPU box and it was connected, and I unplugged and re-plugged it to see if the reception got better or worse. When unplugged, I got nothing. When plugged, I get the same poor reception, but some reception nonetheless.

The only two things I can think....
1. The antenna is frayed or busted just a little bit somewhere and needs replacement?
2. When you move enough Lat's north, there is something you have to reconfigure???


I don't live in the mountains or a area with high rises. Even on the flat, clear interstate, I get broken reception.

Any ideas? The folks at XM have been useless.

 

[primer7]

Antenna, mine went bad out of the blue, no warning just went bad. You can measure the resistance, but I forget what it is supposed to read.

 

[soberman001]

I am going to buy a new one since attaching it to the CPU is easy (right under the carpet) and I will stick it to the roof and drive around. If that works, then I will spend the time to route it through the firewall.

 

[B-RAD]

More than likely it's the antenna...mine went bad thanks to some numb nut who replaced my windshield and cut the wire, got a new one and it works fine...

 

[soberman001]

More than likely it's the antenna...mine went bad thanks to some numb nut who replaced my windshield and cut the wire, got a new one and it works fine...

Well Gents
I can say that after replacing the antenna, and placing it with a clear view of the sky, back outside the car.... my XM radio reception still sucks. It fades in and out (completely) on my way to work and 1000 other places. I never had this problem in FL.

Is there a reboot function on this POS and would it help? Or is this purely an signal problem meaning it works or it doesn't.

Is there a chance that the rest of the system went bad somehow?

I live in suburban NJ 30mins from NYC in a modestly flat area with no tall buildings. My wife's car Acura MDX with XM works just fine everywhere we live.

Thanks for all the help

 

[sl33p3]

ugh that sucks. FWIW i blame aliens, gremlins, mr murphy, and/or zombies... in that order.

seems like for troubleshooting sake, you covered your bases. you replaced the antenna, only think left is unit. there might be a reset on the unit i would think unplugging it completely for a time might do it if you cant find a reset button, but i'm not familiar with your model. i have had xm units die in strange ways on me before, maybe just coincidence with moving?

good luck.

edit, what about a loose connection coming out of the unit? do you lose signal or audio? if i go under overpasses i get NO SIGNAL and no audio, do you get one of those?

 

[soberman001]

ugh that sucks. FWIW i blame aliens, gremlins, mr murphy, and/or zombies... in that order.

seems like for troubleshooting sake, you covered your bases. you replaced the antenna, only think left is unit. there might be a reset on the unit i would think unplugging it completely for a time might do it if you cant find a reset button, but i'm not familiar with your model. i have had xm units die in strange ways on me before, maybe just coincidence with moving?

good luck.

edit, what about a loose connection coming out of the unit? do you lose signal or audio? if i go under overpasses i get NO SIGNAL and no audio, do you get one of those?

I lose signal and audio. It is a signal problem because it happens at the same point of my ride to work every day.

 

[sl33p3]

I lose signal and audio. It is a signal problem because it happens at the same point of my ride to work every day.

certainly sounds like you've reached the point of conclusion. something flaky in teh radio?

 

[sprocket3]

I think this is just XM radio! I have factory install XM in my Audi and it drops signal like a bad cell phone. Any hill or large building drops the signal and it happens a number of times on my 15 minute drive to work.

A buddy of mine has Sirius and claims they have a better system. His radio also has a large buffer built in so he might not even noticed a break in service.

I'm not an expert but that is what I got from talking to a couple people.

I would bet that those who have never had this problem have radios with buffers or live in places that are very flat.

 

[RobRed]

Well Gents
I can say that after replacing the antenna, and placing it with a clear view of the sky, back outside the car.... my XM radio reception still sucks. It fades in and out (completely) on my way to work and 1000 other places. I never had this problem in FL.

Is there a reboot function on this POS and would it help? Or is this purely an signal problem meaning it works or it doesn't.

Is there a chance that the rest of the system went bad somehow?

I live in suburban NJ 30mins from NYC in a modestly flat area with no tall buildings. My wife's car Acura MDX with XM works just fine everywhere we live.

Thanks for all the help

What is the antenna resting on? If it's not the roof or the hood (metal) you will not get the reception you are after.

 

[sl33p3]

well now if you lose reception the same place everyday i'm thinking its low radio sensitivity and/or marginal coverage? i think i recall all those satellite orbits for xm/sirius being pretty far south. maybe you are now up N in spotty coverage with less than optimal radio sensitivity? an identical unit with the same problems would seal the deal if you have other radios that do not have this problem?

 

[fieldsken1]

i drive a truck coast to coast and in some spots the reception is poor but they are few. but there is no rebot at all. mine went bad and it was just an antenna. theres no secret. you can call them and they will send a signal to update it maybe that might work???

 

[chet]

is it hardwired to the radio or fm modulator thingy?

 

[soberman001]

What is the antenna resting on? If it's not the roof or the hood (metal) you will not get the reception you are after.

Why is this true?

 

[soberman001]

is it hardwired to the radio or fm modulator thingy?

Hard wired.

 

[soberman001]

i drive a truck coast to coast and in some spots the reception is poor but they are few. but there is no rebot at all. mine went bad and it was just an antenna. theres no secret. you can call them and they will send a signal to update it maybe that might work???

What is a signal update and why would it work?

 

[RobRed]

Why is this true?

The antenna's are omni-directional and a metallic ground plane will improve signal acquisition and improves spurious noise rejection.

 

[soberman001]

The antenna's are omni-directional and a metallic ground plane will improve signal acquisition and improves spurious noise rejection.

But, the base of antenna is plastic, and the hood is painted. How does that work?

 

[RobRed]

But, the base of antenna is plastic, and the hood is painted. How does that work?

Not electrical ground, RF (Radio Frequency). Put it on the roof.

 

[soberman001]

Not electrical ground, RF (Radio Frequency). Put it on the roof.

How exactly do I run a wire to the roof? right now, the antenna comes through the firewall under the hood and then up on top of the plastic thingy at the base of the windshield (with an open view to the sky).

I have never been a fan of run the cables to the sunroom and then out because I have a fear of leaking. I don't want to take the windscreen or its seal out for the same fearful reason. Is there some piece of plastic that is OUTSIDE the water barrier of the truck that can be pulled up and the wire hidden underneath?

Easiest thing for me to do is take it from under the hood and run it up to the roof from there rather than back inside the LC and then find a peep hole.

Thoughts on the best way for this, or other stuff like lights?