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Any help with this interference?

schmave

schmave

I am having increasing interference problems with the AM radio in my 2013 Ford Fiesta. It's the original radio that came with the car. The interference is much worse on the lower half of the dial, mostly notably on frequencies from around 700 to 900, and it's a bigger problem during the summer than the winter.
If you watch these two video links, you will hear what I'm talking about.
For reference's sake, I live in Pickerington, Ohio, an eastern suburb of Columbus. Affected stations are the ones I hear clearly on other radios I own and in other automobiles in the same area, so it has to be something with my car.
Some of you will be very familiar with the stations I cite, and know how they should be heard in my area.
Any help is appreciated!

Recorded at about 10:20 a.m. today in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, away from overhead wires:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d11mJ9ezRcw

Recorded a few minutes later about 1 1/2-2 miles south, with no overhead wires. You will hear the difference between when the engine is on and when it's turned off. Apologies for the fact that the the video is sideways:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us0bqtjiI0Q

(Mods: If this needs moved to another area of the site, I understand.)
 
I had a Saturn Vue that generated all kinds of noise. I finally tracked it down to the traction control system. In my case, it only occurred when the vehicle was moving. Apparently the data (or traction feedback) contaminated the entire electrical system in the car. It impacted only "even: numbered AM channels. For example, 750 and 790 we fine. 1380, 680 and 640 were trashed. I took care of the 1380, so it was quite annoying for me.

The unfortunate point is, it could be anything in the car. You might be able to remove one fuse at a time to see if you can at least narrow it down to a particular system in the car.

Disclaimer; be careful if you do this, some fuse pulling could reset some settings in the on board computer, resulting in reduced performance.
 
Yet another example of why AM listening is taking a beating; noise. Granted I'm not familiar with that particular vehicle, but my guess is the radio antenna is actually located in the windshield behind or directly above the mirror. It will be some lines or dots in the middle of the windshield. Ford is famous for antennas in the glass. That's why when you grab the mirror, you are effecting the already marginal reception of WLW, which is being swamped-out by some electrical interference when the vehicle is in run-mode. Honestly, I'm not sure if there is a simple solution for this problem, other than installation of a more suitable external antenna, maybe toward the rear of the vehicle. The other option would be to try isolating wiring which could be radiating noise away from the radio or antenna connections, or even wrapping the wires with J-type toroidal material, in an attempt to reduce the wiring from acting as a noise-transmit antenna. In any of these suggestions, there is no guarantee these ideas will work. A lot of trial and error is needed.
 
Ignition Interference

I tracked this down to the antenna coax. Its NOT 100% shielded like TV coax. You can test for this easily.
Disconnect antenna cable from radio, start car and listen to radio. No interference, so its not coming in on the power leads.
Reconnect cable and unscrew antenna from fender of car. Start car and listen to radio. You will have no stations but plenty of popping.
So, its coming in via the coax. slice open a small portion of the coax outer insulation and you will see the dielectric thru small gaps in the copper braid.
 
While most cars nowadays do not have a metal hood, in the old days the hood was bonded to the body with either a braided strap or (in Fords) a copper, toothed spring bolted to the body that would (theoretically) make contact with the hood when closed. Most hoods today are not steel, therefore, no faraday cage over the top of the engine, which is where the antenna is. Maybe this is why automakers either put the whips on the rear fender, or use rear light embedded conductors for the antenna, or one of the "shark fin" types on the roof..
 
Haven't seen any plastic hoods but I have seen plastic fenders. BUT, it seems to me that this would compromise the safety factor in a collision.
The FCC should jump in on this and specify performance standards for reception in an automobile. After all, news, talk and emergency information are all delivered via AM. EVEN the government at one time had a Travelers Information Service on 1610 KHz. (Not sure how many of these are still in service.)
They need to clean up the LED traffic lights and switching power supplies in digital TVs also.
 
Most of the cars I drive (Town Cars, Expeditions, Explorers, Edge, Mustang) have non-ferrous hoods, but the fenders are. I have a satellite radio I move from car to car, and have to put the antenna on the fender right next to the hood (roof is possible, but not practical for short term usage) to get it to stick. Maybe the hood is aluminum, haven't really investigated that.
 
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