Radio Reception

[no1biscuit]

I have a new to me, 04 S and the radio reception on the Bose is terrible. Most of my FM stations have static on them. Anyone know of a fix for this?

Thanks
Thom

[914-6Porsche]

WOW! I thought I was the only one. I bought a 2004T in 2008 and the AM reception is almost unbearable. More than 30 miles away on the top of the foothills NW of Boulder and a 50,000 watt station in Denver is crappy. The FM is fairly good but really lacks with distance. I am a electronic tech but I have so many things on my plate its just not a top priority right now. I complained to the dealer soon after I bought this per-certified beast but they just said that it is all fiber optic and next to impossible to track down. One of these days, I will find out if they were full of BS. My 1987 Ford had better reception than this thing.

Mark

[no1biscuit]

So we can't be the only people with this issue. Come on Pelican Parts Gurus'.

[Gus Berges]

Just to add more fuel to this fire, I have an '03 Turbo and I think that the FM reception is so bad, that if I stick my head out the window, I could hear the radio stations much better. Without a shadow of a doubt, the worst FM reception I have ever had in any vehicle in 26 years of owning cars. Did take it to the local stealerhip (while under warranty mind you), and their typical response for not having a clue as to how to repair something was/is " we could not duplicate the symptom you are referring to ".

Besides the FM radio reception, how about the remote key fob unlock reception. Even when I am standing next to the truck (soon to be sold), I cannot unlock the thing! Yes, I have replaced the batteries on the remotes....

[914-6Porsche]

I finally had the time to investigate my horrible radio reception. I removed the unit and found that there wasn't a cable connected to the antenna coax cable connector. There were three cables for the navigation or whatever but nothing for the radio. I proceeded to continue ripping the dash apart. I have concluded that there is absolutely no cable for the radio antenna. REASSEMBLED. I guess I'll live with it until I get rid of it. CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP!

[Streetcrawler]

Are you sure? You know it's a different cable than the standard USA antenna cable? (Doesn't look the same)

[914-6Porsche]

Oh yes. There is a blue, yellow and black for the navigation etc. and green for the radio. It's a SMA-SMC type that snap in. There were absolutely no cables available, extraneous or otherwise. Probably an RG79 or something similar.

[Streetcrawler]

Just checkin!

[vadimkag]

Mine 04 turbo dose the same. Oh well...

[914-6Porsche]

Well I was wrong about the green connector as the radio antenna connector. I really don't know what it is for, probably the remote CD in the right rear. The black connector is for the radio, I presume the yellow is for the navigation and the blue is the fiber optic connector for the audio. The radio antenna is in the rear spoiler with the GPS. Why the connectors change color in the spoiler, I have not investigated. There are two signal amplifiers back there with what I presume is the GPS antenna, small black square thing . There are two beige and one black on the right side amp and a beige connector on the left plus the usual +, - and ground on each. There is absolutely no green connector for the back of the radio head under the dash. The black, yellow and green are a keyed SMA/SMC type connector. I did check all of the connections and the reception did improve a little. I'm not done yet and when I find the time, I will solve the problem. To bad it isn't like one of the old type radios with the trimmer cap for antenna tuning.

Mark

[914-6Porsche]

Update. I checked the radio antenna booster amp on the right side of the spoiler by swapping it out with the one in my wife's "06" S. It didn't change a damn thing, so that isn't the problem. Today, after I put the original back in, it did seem to be a lot better. It'll probably be good for a couple of days and be back where it was. I think it is the radio/nav unit itself. I'm not going to replace it anytime soon and it won't be the original Becker unit.

[911SauCy]

In the spirit of this thread, I am new to Cayenne ownership and after getting the car for a song and a dance the wife's stipulation was that it must have Bluetooth and MP3, maybe navi.

Any suggestions on a place/source for good upgraded head-units for this?

I called the dealer and they reacted like I was speaking a different language. (I love Porsche, but DamnIT are the dealerships chock-full of douchebags). The Internet searches have come up with a number of systems from China, none of which have warranties or are clear they will actually function properly.

[island911]

Originally Posted by 914-6Porsche

Update. I checked the radio antenna booster amp on the right side of the spoiler by swapping it out with the one in my wife's "06" S. It didn't change a damn thing, so that isn't the problem. Today, after I put the original back in, it did seem to be a lot better. It'll probably be good for a couple of days and be back where it was. I think it is the radio/nav unit itself. I'm not going to replace it anytime soon and it won't be the original Becker unit.

FWIW, I'm amazed with how well the Cayenne radio locks on to a station and delivers crisp signal. ...compared to my other car systems.

I take it that your wife's 06 radio system performs well. (?) Can you swap head-units to diagnose?

Let us know what you discover.

[914-6Porsche]

Actually it has turned out to be a 100% better. It still doesn't match up to the one in my 99 Ford Pickup. Some of the connections must have been corroded and just reattaching all of the connections improved something. If I switched out the 04 system with the 06 and something would go wrong, I would never hear the end of it. The 06 system is 500% better than my 04.