GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Shortly after I bought my Vibe last year I had an aftermarket stereo installed and the AM band was always nothing but static. I had assumed that it was a problem with the radio and thought nothing more of it. Now that I purchased a new radio with HD, I tried the AM band again and once more it is nothing but static.Now I suspect something with the car itself.Has anyone else encountered problems receiving AM channels and, if so, can you offer any suggestions for me? I really value listening to AM for traffic and news radio.Thanks!

When you had the stock radio you got AM channels right?Did you install the Aftermarket stereo's yourself? If not the 2nd installer could have missed something that was unplugged from the first install... (but I don't know what they could have missed... I think there is just the 1 antenna attachment...)Just throwing out some questions to try and better guage the situation, and maybe someone with a little more Audio expertise might have some answers....

AM band, what's that?

The Eclipse (first unit) was professionally installed. I installed the JVC (second unit) myself last night. I noticed 2 things:1) There was an antenna adapter already installed and I reused it when I switched out the units.2) The power lead did not come off of the harness. Instead there was a separate lead being used to power the first unit which I reused when I installed the second unit. I don't even know if the wire coming off of the aftermarket harness is live. I think that I'll replace the antenna adapter just to eliminate that but does anyone know if there is a filter or any special property to the power lead coming off of the harness?Thanks!

That antenna adaptor is NOT the issue, it's something that gets used on 99% of GM vehicles as GM decided not to follow everyone else and make a "standard" sized antenna plug... Gm's is smaller... What the problem IS, I cannot tell you, though as I hardly even listen to the FM side of the radio.. But I can tell you with 98.5% confidance, it "shouldn't" be that adaptor...I am not as familiar with the Vibe as I am with other cars (mainly Subarus) but subie often use a "boosted" antenna and often require power for them to work properly... I'll ask on my car audio forums and see what I come up with...

Ok, this is what I got from my audio forums...Quote »then that's probably almost 99% he needs to hook up the power antenna lead going to the antenna preamp/booster, especialy if he is only missing AM.ORQuote »Lots of possibilities... but to me the most likely is the radio itself. If you asked a 100 people what they look for in a radio, I would bet that 90 would not say "good AM reception". So the aftermarket people give them what they want (everything else). OEM on the other hands have older customers, and share platforms/components in radios. So GM sells to a much older demographic than lets say Alpine does. So they have different design objectives. Have something that lasts as long as the warranty of the car (so they shoot for well built versus good sounding) and something that older folks like, AM reception (news radio, sports, etc.). Replace a radio and you find out the hard way that the OEMs do a better job with AM (and most cases FM).Juan hope that helps somehow... try putting the factory radio back in and see what happens..

The power lead is hooked up to my amplifier at the moment. Where else does a lead need to go to?Come to think of it, I did notice what looked like some sort of a power cord attached to the antenna cable. Does anyone know what that is for?

The antenna has a built in amplifier, I think it is located at the antenna base. If the pro's didn't hook up 12V to that, then reception would likely suck. Don't know if that affects AM, FM, or both. The factory radio had an output for that, perhaps the after market radio has a power antenna switched 12V you could use to power the built in antenna ampWhen I am looking for radio pin outs, I search for the word "mistake", because there's a thread titled "I made a huge mistake" that had links to pin out info

I'll be a son of a *****! That might be the problem! The question now is how I connect it. The lead is in use by my amplifier. Also, does the antenna amplifier lead go to a solenoid that turns on the actual antenna amplifier OR is that 12 volt lead designed to power the thing? If only I knew the max mA the antenna amplifier lead pulled.... Does anyone happen to know? I may end up needing to consult an expert. I paid all that money for HD and DAMNIT I want my HD WWJ 950! Thanks!EDIT: Well, damn! Shoulda searched more thoroughly. :Dhttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5952ANOTHER EDIT: That did it! I put power to the lead and BAM! I had AM. Thanks, everyone, for your help!

Quote, originally posted by skylinedrifter »EDIT: Well, damn! Shoulda searched more thoroughly. :Dhttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5952ANOTHER EDIT: That did it! I put power to the lead and BAM! I had AM. Thanks, everyone, for your help!cohocarl, who started that thread has posted a lot of really good infoGlad it's fixed!

Quote, originally posted by skylinedrifter »I'll be a son of a *****! That might be the problem! The question now is how I connect it. The lead is in use by my amplifier. Also, does the antenna amplifier lead go to a solenoid that turns on the actual antenna amplifier OR is that 12 volt lead designed to power the thing? If only I knew the max mA the antenna amplifier lead pulled.... Does anyone happen to know? I may end up needing to consult an expert. I paid all that money for HD and DAMNIT I want my HD WWJ 950! Thanks!EDIT: Well, damn! Shoulda searched more thoroughly. :Dhttp://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=5952ANOTHER EDIT: That did it! I put power to the lead and BAM! I had AM. Thanks, everyone, for your help!Your HU harness should have a blue and a blue with white stripe... The blue is for the amps and the blue with white should be for the ant... Glad it's fixed...

Quote, originally posted by skylinedrifter »ANOTHER EDIT: That did it! I put power to the lead and BAM! I had AM. Thanks, everyone, for your help!SUHWEEEEET!!! This is why I love this site!!! It seems like our little community is so helpful, could you imagine bringing your vibe to a dealership or some audio place, pay $50 for them to look at it, and still not fixed... but just a little help on our site and BAM, fixed!!!

I absolutely, wholeheartedly, enthusiastically concur. I've had a couple of days of HD AM bliss as a result of the help on this board. Thank you, everyone!On a side note, I stopped in to the place that installed my first stereo a year and a half ago as I wanted an AUX cable and they had one in stock. I told them that the next time they install a stereo into a Vibe that they need to be mindful of the antenna amplifier. Anyhow, thanks again, everyone!