Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira

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Sun 15 Mar 2015 22:22
Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira - marky1124

Hi,

For years I have driven down to Devon in a 2004 Ford Fiesta along the A303 and found that after a while reception of BBC Radio 2 cuts out. I'm not sure exactly where this happens, I think it's somewhere between Stone Henge and Wincanton.

I'd always made the assumption that the signal was too weak and not worried about it. I'd tried a number of times to have the radio search for another channel and often the automatic search failed to find anything. Recently I was driven along the same road in a 2012 Vauxhall Zafira and I realised that the radio reception was fine for the entire journey down to Exeter.

So now I've realised that my Fiesta has a problem, and yet in and around London and Surrey I never have any problem with the radio (admittedly still on BBC Radio 2 - my wife won't countenance another station).

I thought I'd throw it out to the technical community to see if anyone has any bright ideas about why the two cars act so differently? Both have the original radio that came with the car, and neither has suffered any aerial damage that I can see.

All the best,
Cheers,
Mark

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Mon 16 Mar 2015 08:25
Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira - elekie&a/c doctor

I would assume that the 12 zafira has a much more modern/sensitive tuner.The radio fitted to a 10 year old fiesta is a very cheap/low rent unit.Perhaps a better comparison would be to compare it to a similar age Ford model.

Edited by elekie&a/c doctor on 16/03/2015 at 08:27

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Mon 16 Mar 2015 09:16
Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira - Railroad.
This will have nothing to do with the car. The quality of radio reception will come down to how good the tuner and antenna are. Virtually all cars these days are fitted with an amplifier on the antenna which boosts signal reception. The A303 through Wiltshire is a notoriously poor reception area, and without a signal booster you may struggle to get a good reception. I've travelled on that road more times than I care to remember.

Common problem areas are on the underside of the radio antenna above the roof lining. If you're able to carefully remove it you may see the amplifier. Check the connections on it. Water ingress leading to corroded terminals isn't unusual.
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Mon 16 Mar 2015 14:07
Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira - Peter.N.

The signal is weak in that area and as stated the reception depends on the gain/ s/n ratio of the radio front end and the efficiency of the aerial.

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Mon 16 Mar 2015 19:43
Ford Fiesta - Radio reception Fiesta vs Zafira - marky1124

Thanks very much for the interesting answers. :)

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