Hi all,

Delighted to now belong to the 944 owners club via my beautiful 'new' (1989) 944 I am however very much a donut when it comes to automotive/teccy stuff. Apols in advance.

My question re: the radio reception is quite an interesting one though (IMO).

My 944 has a fancy new aftermarket stereo (Pioneer). It's a DAB, but also has AM/FM. I like listening to FM radio on the way to the office; I could connect via my phone on bluetooth but I find this a faff.

- My 944 is a model with a windscreen antenna/aerial. This antenna/aerial is plugged into a booster which (I assume, haven't checked tbf as can't find radio key) is plugged into the radio.

- At first I had no radio reception whatsoever. Nada.

- I unplugged the antenna cable from the booster into the windshield aerial while my car is idling with the driver side door open (it's a RHD), sitting on the driveway.

Immediately this improved the reception 100% with crystal clear FM audio! Bizarrely, it appeared I'd sorted whatever issue was present.

How I whooped and laughed... until I shut the driver door, at which point the reception became crap again. (Not non-existent crap as per when the antenna booster was plugged in, but still unlistenable.)

And that's where I am atm.

I'm really hoping somebody reading has had this exact problem and can explain how to fix it, because I currently cant find anyone who has.

- Does it mean the booster is crap? Or the windshield antenna? How is the radio getting great reception without any kind of aerial, and why on earth does opening/closing the right side door make such a difference to the reception?

Is anybody prepared to hazard a guess as to what might be the problem?

TIA!

 

I know next to nothing but would suggest:
Make sure the booster, which should have a power lead, is actually getting 12 volts.
I know it sounds crazy but I have installed internal antennas in cars for stealth purposes. Make sure that what you think is a booster is not an internal antenna, whose reception is truncated when you close the door.
Finally, it is my understanding that all external antennas were mainly for AM reception.

 

Thanks chap, appreciate the input. Had another weird and wonderful development this morning. Plugged the aerial/antenna adapter back into the booster and I now get the same reception as when it's unplugged. I mean wtf?

Before it didn't work at all plugged in, so weird.

So now am beginning to suspect the booster isn't adding any value to things, either because it's broken (unlikely?) or isn't getting 12v (possible).

Think next step is to acquire some keys to get the Pioneer radio out to take a closer look.

In the meantime, long shot but does anybody know what the antenna booster power cable looks like (colour etc.) and where it fits into the radio?

Thx

 

Attached is the factory schematic. As we all know, 30 years later your wiring may or may not have been hacked beyond recognition.

 

When you say signal booster I'm not sure if you mean something factory or something added on, But my 89 has the antenna in the windshield and I believe it needs power to work. If you look at your antenna where it plugs in the radio, there is a small black wire that splits off the antenna wire about 6" up from the end. Perhaps someone wired and interior light power source to that antenna power wire, when you opened your door the light came on, the antenna got power, and you radio stations came in clear.?? Long shot I know...