2023 with Poor FM and virtually no AM Radio

[Tom W8JI]

I'm an EE that does new RF equipment design. I mostly use AM radio when not on Sirius or a zip drive, and sometimes FM. I have a new Ranger that seems to have no AM at all and very poor FM. I first thought the antenna cable or connection was bad. Now I'm not sure.

This radio is really super-sucky. AM is completely useless, FM is all choppy.

I pulled the rubber duck antenna off and looked at it. My test equipment shows it is tuned right smack in the center of the FM band. It actually should work okay, even being short, for FM. But the reception stinks. Local stations are all choppy, distant FM that are clear in my other vehicles are non-existent.

AM is just white noise, no signals at all. I can't even hear local stations.

I made a quick full-size FM whip and threaded it on and the FM was barely better. Still no local AM.

Is this a common issue? Is the radio hard to pull out? I hate to take this to a dealer, but I need an AM and FM radio. It has to be off the air. It cannot be via some other means.

Thanks, Tom

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[Buckbull]

I don't have much to offer but I never had an issue with the OEM antennae. I ended up replacing mine with a stubby so that I could park in the garage. The stubby does not work as well but works just fine for 99% of my driving. I notice it cuts off reception when I go to my cabin out in BFE.

 

[airline tech]

I would say you have a bad connection or a bad coax cable itself.
The Coax is not a separate run it appears and is routed within the wiring harness.
There are from what I can see 3ea connection breaks between the ACM and Antenna, so any one of those could be causing a poor reception.

Connection Points:
1. ACM -Unit
Routes to the A-Pillar Connection
2. RT A Pillar - Just above the Passenger Side Dash, The assist handle area
This routes the cable above the headliner.
3. At the rear cab just below the headliner, under the trim between the rear window and the sidewall of the cab.
This routes the cable from the headliner to the Rear Roof Mount Antenna.
4. Roof Mount Antenna

Another possible is a bad software load, you might look to see what the version level is and update it.
The most current version is 23188, the previous version was problematic for a lot of owners.
so, if you have version 22251, this is likely to be your issue.

Setting's - About Sync - Current Version

 

[KJRR]

New Ranger like under warranty?
Or new to you and previously abused by someone else?
If under warranty take it to the dealer. Why risk breaking something else.
EE Enginer that does RF I would think would be able to figure it out. Antenna checks good so that leaves the cable to the radio, the radio itself, or the power to the radio. Of course it's not as simple as that anymore.
Here's a link to a head unit swap that should help with the removal.
Good luck.

 

[Rp930]

Not normal. AM/FM fine on mine.

 

[airline tech]

I should add - the base of the antenna is a ground point - so paint overspray around the mounting base, might be causing the issue as well.

 

[mtbikernate]

my radio is solid. I don't really use AM, but I use FM more than other audio options and the channel I listen to most broadcasts from quite a distance away. I pick it up pretty reliably across several counties in the mountains.

so I'd agree with others that you've got a problem somewhere, and being as new as your truck is, I'd take it to the dealer for warranty work.

 

[dtech]

many car radios use a signal amp, but as airline tech points out numerous points of failure in the cabling and it's usually difficult to access, when wife's Hyundai came back from collision repair wasn't getting nearly any reception, turns out the ground wire for the signal amp located in the antenna unit was loose, so it was easy to access and tighten.

 

[Grandaccess]

I'm an EE that does new RF equipment design. I mostly use AM radio when not on Sirius or a zip drive, and sometimes FM. I have a new Ranger that seems to have no AM at all and very poor FM. I first thought the antenna cable or connection was bad. Now I'm not sure.

This radio is really super-sucky. AM is completely useless, FM is all choppy.

I pulled the rubber duck antenna off and looked at it. My test equipment shows it is tuned right smack in the center of the FM band. It actually should work okay, even being short, for FM. But the reception stinks. Local stations are all choppy, distant FM that are clear in my other vehicles are non-existent.

AM is just white noise, no signals at all. I can't even hear local stations.

I made a quick full-size FM whip and threaded it on and the FM was barely better. Still no local AM.

Is this a common issue? Is the radio hard to pull out? I hate to take this to a dealer, but I need an AM and FM radio. It has to be off the air. It cannot be via some other means.

Thanks, Tom

I listen to a lot of AM too, from where I am in Binghamton N.Y I get Canadian stations, VT, IL and for FM its way more than my last truck of 60+ miles from home can still listen to the same stations, and whats funny I would rather listen to bluetooth music playlists...

 

[Tom W8JI]

Thanks, everyone. Naturally, if someone searches there are many "the radio just sucks" threads.

The first thing was eliminating the antenna (which I did) and then learning that this system should work reasonably well.

I have a little device that will tell me the approximate distance to a bad connection or any type of cable problem. I don't know if the cable is foam or solid dielectric so it might be 20% off, but that should be better than a guess.

This is way within warranty, but I hate someone taking more apart than needed. I think I'll do a fault measurement and see how far from the antenna the problem is. Maybe if I get the distance someone familiar with the wiring might know if the problem is at a plug or good to the radio.

 

[rang19ca]

OP, I always listen to FM and have great sound quality. Mine is a stock 2019.

 

[got3fords]

I am sure you realize you have a problem. So another "mine is fine" comment is not what I'll share.

 

[Bobby-C]

I'm an EE that does new RF equipment design. I mostly use AM radio when not on Sirius or a zip drive, and sometimes FM. I have a new Ranger that seems to have no AM at all and very poor FM. I first thought the antenna cable or connection was bad. Now I'm not sure.

This radio is really super-sucky. AM is completely useless, FM is all choppy.

I pulled the rubber duck antenna off and looked at it. My test equipment shows it is tuned right smack in the center of the FM band. It actually should work okay, even being short, for FM. But the reception stinks. Local stations are all choppy, distant FM that are clear in my other vehicles are non-existent.

AM is just white noise, no signals at all. I can't even hear local stations.

I made a quick full-size FM whip and threaded it on and the FM was barely better. Still no local AM.

Is this a common issue? Is the radio hard to pull out? I hate to take this to a dealer, but I need an AM and FM radio. It has to be off the air. It cannot be via some other means.

Thanks, Tom

It maybe the radio stations output signal or the area you live in, just guessing.

 

[Tom W8JI]

It maybe the radio stations output signal or the area you live in, just guessing.

AM radio has a range from dozens of miles to many thousands of miles, depending on the time of day and the station.. There is no place in the USA no matter how remote that does not have some AM broadcast coverage. I listen to a Caribbean station in the evenings in my Honda. My Ranger cannot hear a local station when I am a few miles from it.

The FM performance is also terrible. Stations rock solid on any other radio, even a portable, are choppy and weak.

 

[Bobby-C]

I live in northwest Indiana, about 30 miles from Chicago with many very tall buildings. And my reception in the downtown area goes in and out alway. Now maybe the town does have enough towers. I really don’t know.

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