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Thread: Antennae amplifier, where is it hiding?

  1. #26
    geargrinder's Avatar
    geargrinder is offline Having No Trouble Here BMW CCA Member
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    And I respect your take on most stuff too mikes. Was in a bit of a ranty mood yesterday, so sorry for that but I stick by the gist of most the facts.

    Although - if I'm wrong about NAV however then Ill take a full mea culpa. I've not dug into hands-on into those. If they have more outboard electronics then that's news to me and I was well wrong, but it makes it roughly the same component count as the non-NAV since the NAV = MID aka input/display, and the HU part just moves to the trunk. But again I try to be straight up when I'm wrong so indeed if that's the case I was off base about never in the trunk.
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  2. #27
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    Uploaded it yesterday but forgot to link it apparently. Red circle is where the radio mounts.

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  3. #28
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    Ok, I have a '03 250i touring which p/o installed new after market high end stereo. It also won't receive am stations. Has a rear roof antenna. Where to with this one !! Thanks.
    Tony.

  4. #29
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    The only roof antenna I'm aware of was for the cell phone, not the stereo. Earlier posts reference antenna amp locations but since it's an aftermarket set up who knows.
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  5. #30
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    Thanks,
    Looks like I'll have to dig deeper too.
    Tony.

  6. #31
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    Update. My radio reception has gone from bad to worse. I can hit the scan and it never stops on any station. I bought another tuner on ebay and it is exactly the same. I tried an inexpensive window powered antennae and it wasn't really any better.
    I removed the tuners and dropped them off at my mechanic's shop and asked him to plug them into another e39 with the same system to see if they work. He plugged them into another customers car and they worked fine. There is power to the two amplifiers but the rear defog was inoperative and caused extra static when I switched it on so I had the rear window replaced. Huge difference. AM reception is excellent. FM reception is much improved, I can tune in tons of stations but they are not too clear. They come in strong, then I get a lot of static and can't even understand when there is a spoken word, and then it comes back in clear again. My next step is to go back to basics and clean the windows inside and out.
    I do wonder if the antenna amplifiers are really working or not. When I look them up on Real OEM they both show Touring only. Also, they are very expensive. Has anyone replaced one with a unit from another type of e39? After coughing up for the rear glass I had hoped that was going to fix both my rear defrost and reception. The defrost is fixed and the reception is improved but my other three auto's radios outperform my wagon by a large margin.

  7. #32
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    It sounds to me like at this point it could be intermittent bad wiring somewhere. I would check the grounds around the antennae modules and go from there. If the grounds are all ok, maybe its time to swap in known good parts from another touring or a local E39 yourself, swap the good parts onto your car, instead of swapping your parts onto other cars. That will at least rule out one thing or another.

    Consider sourcing used as well for those parts, instead of ludicrous BMW pricing for that kind of stuff

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  8. #33
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    Hey! Graham, when’d you become part of the mod squad???
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  9. #34
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    My question is whether the amplifiers from the e39 sedan are transferable to the wagons? Real OEM shows the part numbers are for the Touring only. Has anyone swapped in the antenna amps from an e39 sedan?

  10. #35
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    I think they’re different because the wagons antennae’s are in the left rear side window, or was that in the right rear? The sedans have it with the defrost lines in the rear windscreen.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  11. #36
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    The left rear window has the FZV remote, and the AM/FM2 antenna, and it is connected to the amplifier in the left rear pillar. The rear tailgate window, which I replaced, has the FM1 antenna and it is connected to the FM 1 antenna amplifier which is above the rear tailgate door. A line goes from the FM 1 antenna amplifier, above the rear hatch, to the amplifier in the pillar. There are two wires coming out of the antenna amplifier in the rear pillar. One goes to general module III for the remote, and the other goes from to the radio.

    I am hoping one of the amplifiers is the same as the sedan and can be swapped to test. Has anyone tried this?

  12. #37
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    I've not compared sedan to wagon, but I do know that there is a year change on the wagon.
    Probably in 01, but 99 to 02 was different.
    They eliminated one connection on the newer years.

  13. #38
    JimLev's Avatar
    JimLev is offline Artifically Aspirated Moderator
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    Quote Originally Posted by BimmrMeUpSnotty View Post
    Hey! Graham, when’d you become part of the mod squad???
    Graham has been a mod here for a while.

    Rjbaren, are your windows tinted? That kills a lot of the signal.

  14. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by JimLev View Post
    Graham has been a mod here for a while.

    Rjbaren, are your windows tinted? That kills a lot of the signal.
    Huh! I never noticed that. On the tint, Jim, you are right if the tint used is the type with metallic particles in it. The ceramics are fine.
    im thinking he may have a frayed cable to the rear hatch. I didn’t know the hatch had an antennae in it too. Well, every wagon I’ve had, has had frayed wires that I had to repair, right at the hinge area, underneath the plastic shrouds that dress the hinges and run the cables through.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  15. #40
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    Yes, the windows are tinted. The car came with it and I replaced it as it was purple. First car I ever tinted the windows too.
    But, since I replaced the rear window it has not yet been tinted. I should try and tune stations and see if FM 1 or FM 2 have better reception.

  16. #41
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    You changed the tint yourself? Did you pull the old tint off properly? You might have ripped one of the copper lines off the glass.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  17. #42
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    I removed the old tint. I was very careful not to ruin the copper lines. I was going to go to the tint shop to have the new tailgate glass tinted but first I will question what kind of tint they used.

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