Just bought a 3 year old A6 Avant 1.9tdi which is superb apart from a couple of annoying points.

I can't get reception on any AM station on the radio. FM works fine though. Also, after a while, I get engine noise/interference through the speakers (mainly the rear ones) even with the radio switched off. This will drive me mad if I don't sort it soon - it goes up with the engine revs so I assume it is interference from the alternator or something as obviously there is no ignition circuit as such or spark plugs on a diesel. I have read a few posts here suggesting AM antenna issues and AM amplifiers. Strangely the noise isn't always there, but once it starts it won't stop, even if I turn the engine off and then start it again, although this does sometimes help. Does anyone know if there is a separate antenna for the AM? I have an aerial on the roof, could this be it? I thought the aerial was in the rear and side windows but I'm not sure. Any tips or guidance would be most appreciated. Ian.

 

The poor reception is probably caused by a bad diversity box. Its a pretty common failure. For the engine noise in speakers, check the back of the speakers. They may be gounding out on the chasis. Get some felt and place it behind the speaker.

 

Thanks Dankhound. I took the car to an independant ICE specialist last week for a check on the AM problem. While it was in there I asked them to remove a Nokia hands free kit which I didn't want. They tested the radio with their own aerial, it worked, they pin-pointed the amp in the base of the roof antenna as being the problem. I may have them fiT a new one but at GBP 100 I thought it may be worth having a go myself if I can work out what's involved. The speaker buzz just stopped as suddenly as it appeared - I suspect it may have been a bad ground, caused by the incompetent **** that installed the hands free kit originally. tHANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR ADVISE. iAN.

 

No problem. The diversity box and antenna amp are the same thing with different names. Youd be suprised how many problems are fixed by removing an improperly installed componant.

 

Here is what I did to fix mine:
http://zeroprobability.blogspot.com/...-a3-arial.html

Cheers!