Whats up with my AM reception?

[whiskeykid]

New to these cars so this is probably a bone head question.

96 i30 with the original head unit and speakers in shockingly good condition given their age, everything works great except AM reception.

Yea I know most people would not care but I am an info junky and don't even bother with FM even when I am listening to music. So not having AM is a major pain.

The thing is that the reception such as it is, is much better when the motor is off. This suggests to me a grounding issue but I figured I would toss it out there to the more experienced.

Thanks for the help.

Vic

[maxhopper]

Probably an internal issue with the head unit.

[whiskeykid]

Oh geez.... just what I was hoping not to hear.

I guess I will have to find the time to pull the head unit and check all the connections looking for the faulty ground that I hope is the problem and look at the antenna as well.

Oh... additional factoid, the power antenna does not seem to be so powerful anymore. It is not going up and down. It does not seem to impact the FM reception at all but obviously that is a much more powerful signal. With the addition of having now noticed the antenna issue and the fact that the reception is much better with the motor off, I am still hoping it is a ground issue. Guess we will see. Going to have to fix it soon or I will be forced to listen to FM. Screw that noise, I will not listen to Britney Spears etc. I will not go down that easy. Heh.

Vic

[MinisterofDOOM]

The FM antenna is actually integrated into the rear window and looks like defroster lines. The power antenna is only for AM reception.