Radio antenna

[andymorris]

Hi and help!
I have 2009 E89 Z4 and AM doesn't work on the radio. Have tried other radios but the same problem remains. I think FM reception is coming from the bumper aerial and the antenna base must be faulty. Does anyone know how to remove the antenna base? One post on this forum says its from the boot but that is not correct as i have all the boot fabric trim panels removed and although i can see the 2 wires from the antenna you cannot access it from there. Suspect access is from the rear window position inside the car. If anyone can help with the radio fault or the antenna access question I would be very grateful. Cheers

 

[B21]

Is it AM or FM you are talking about?

If it’s FM then diversity unit may be duff..

Here’s a few pointers..

 

[buzyg]

Welcome to the forum. Are there still decent radio stations transmitting on AM?

 

[andymorris]

If you like football AM is essential

 

[flybobbie]

Radio 5 live on 1053.

Use it all the time as an aviation beacon for tracking on at Droitwich.

 

[andymorris]

Hi B21 and thank you for your reply which has helped me a lot in trying to identify why AM is not working on the BMW Professional radio. I disconnected the antenna base cables and also the wire to the amplifier shown in your picture. When reconnecting either wire in isolation FM still works, so the bumper aerial (FM) is working and also the antenna is working (at least it is for FM). So i guess its either the amplifier or the antenna base which is faulty but is there any way of finding out which it is as i don't really want to spend c. £150 on buying both parts! It's definitely not the radio as i have connected other working radios and they weren't working on AM either. Thanks.

 

[smorris_12]

My money would be on the amplifier. There's nothing much to go wrong with anything else and AM can be picked up with a bit of wet strong.

Can't think they're expensive second hand, hardly an in-demand bit.

 

[B21]

Hi B21 and thank you for your reply which has helped me a lot in trying to identify why AM is not working on the BMW Professional radio. I disconnected the antenna base cables and also the wire to the amplifier shown in your picture. When reconnecting either wire in isolation FM still works, so the bumper aerial (FM) is working and also the antenna is working (at least it is for FM). So i guess its either the amplifier or the antenna base which is faulty but is there any way of finding out which it is as i don't really want to spend c. £150 on buying both parts! It's definitely not the radio as i have connected other working radios and they weren't working on AM either. Thanks.

Sadly no…even BMW technical literature alludes to the fact that diagnosis is hit n miss..

I suspect it’s the antenna base as AFAIK the AM signal does not route via the diversity amplifier…