car stereo

[Braincrank]

So I put a brand new second hand car stereo in and the CD player works and the areal goes up when I switch the radio on but I can't get any channels .... Manual or auto search doesn't get me anywhere ??
I googled a few stations frequencies and tuned it in to the specific frequency but nix, nada, zilch 0-:
Any ideas ??
I'm a bit baffled .

 

[richard]

Did you plug in the aerial connection into the back of the radio ? (Power, Speakers (poss those 2 on one block), and an antenna cable.

The aerial power (to make it go up) comes from the electrical wire blocks. The antenna is a coax connection

Richard

 

[Braincrank]

Yes, the areal goes up when I switch the radio on. When I play cds the areal stays down. With the old unit the areal went up as soon as I switched the stereo on regardless if only listening to cds or radio.
The old one was a Kenwood, the current one is Sony but I wouldn't think that the connections are much different ...
They have different cable blocks but same colour cables and it all looked pretty straightforward .

 

[markmifsud]

Do you even know the radio works? if it has power and you have connected the aerial then it doesn't leave many other options?

Normally you can coax some sound out of the FM by just connecting something metal (screwdriver) to the center aerial connection on the radio.

 

[richard]

Yes, the areal goes up when I switch the radio on.

The aerial going up has nothing to do with remembering to plug in the aerial signal connection. There is a signal connection and a power connection.

Either you didn't plug in the signal connection (it is on it's own coax cable with an open metal connector at the end), or as markmifsud says the radio doesn't work.

Given you then say "They have different cable blocks but same colour cables" and don't mention the seperate aerial connection that I told you about, I would check that that is plugged in first.

The one on the car looks either like the male end of this
CAR RADIO/STEREO DIN TO ISO AERIAL ARIEL ARIAL ANTENNA EXTENSION ADAPTOR PC5-28 | eBay

or the male end of this

CAR RADIO/STEREO ISO TO DIN AERIAL ARIEL ARIAL ANTENNA EXTENSION ADAPTOR AAN2102 | eBay



And if the one on the radio is different you need an adapter like

PC5-27 ANTENNA ADAPTOR CAR VAN RADIO ISO TO DIN AERIAL AFTERMARKET COMMON CAR | eBay

or

PC5-55 - CAR CD STEREO RADIO DIN to ISO AERIAL ADAPTOR ARIEL ANTENNA EXTENSION | eBay

depending whats on the car and whats on the radio.

Richard

 

[Braincrank]

Thanks for all your Input , Will investigate next time I'm off .

 

[Braincrank]

Hmmm, the areal is connected, there's white noise coming from the speakers but I still can't get any station on any FM ...
Got two spare cables coming from the unit and haven't got a clue where they should go. One is light blue , the other is dark blue and white with 'AMP rem max 0.3a on it ....

 

[Braincrank]

 

[Braincrank]

 

[grober]

Remember for the aerial to work it usually has to be earthed where the base is attached to the body and can be subject to corrosion. I doubt that the earth for the motor on the aerial shares this earth but its possible . Check impedance from the aerial outer [ the coax sheath] to a convenient car earth point for continuity.
[YOUTUBE]HGQOPOGmieQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

[chrisdean]

Make sure any settings are set for UK use, if I remember correctly other countries have search functions in different increments.

 

[Dec]

Is there a reset button behind the removable front panel… if it has a removable front panel?
If there is, try pushing it in with the tip of a pen/pencil.

Dec

 

[Braincrank]

Yes, it's got a removable face, will look for a reset button tomorrow .