NuJerseyDrive

iTrader: (3)

It rained here in Jersey last night and as I was driving home from work @midnight my windows started fogging up esp the rear. I had my radio on and once I turned on the rear defrost/defogger heavy static came from the radio. No matter what station AM/FM...static. It was almost like a switch...as soon as I turned it on..static. Has anyone else experienced this? I'm concerened about the winter season when we have this on 80% of the time. That means no radio for me Sup with that??

I have 35% tints all the way around. I do recall turning on the rear defrost back then but never got this annoying static response

mdeal

iTrader: (2)

I've never experienced static in the radio with the rear defrost on. Could the tint install job have done something to the rear defrost?

melanthius

Could be a coincidence. Have the dealer check it out if it's really bad and keeps occurring. Do you have a CD-player? That's the best solution to bad radio!



good luck, and I don't think the tints should do anything to the radio!!

when current is passed through the wires of the rear defogger, a magnetic field is created which could potentially interfere with the radio...just like when you pass under high-tension power lines. If the tints have a metallic coating of some sort, maybe that could somehow mess with the radio. However, what is, is. So, good luck!

straight six

You might have metallic window tints, they have been know to cause bad FM reception since you don't have an external antenna. AM is usually fine since it has a much longer wavelength but metallic tints have been know to screw up things like radar and laser detectors as well. It doesn't fade like paper tints but there are trade-offs. Hope this helps.

Wheeler

I agree with Straight Six's opinion. If there is any metallic component to the tint, this may have the effect of detuning the in-glass antenna which would make it much less effective.

Since the problem occurs when the defroster is turned on, there is a liklihood that there is arcing occuring in some part of the circuit, possibly between the hot +12v side and ground in the area of the rear window connection. (possibly across the tint, if in contact?). Any type of arcing is a great source of possible radio frequency interference (rfi).

You can also try tracing the source of the interference by using a battery operated AM/FM radio. To attempt this tune in the interference on the radio (generally worse on AM / less on FM)and move the radio to the area where the level appears greatest. Note the level of the rfi can be difficult to judge with a simple portable AM/FM radio. You may have to try tuning in on different freqs., both between stations as well as on a local station. The reason for this is that some weak sources of rfi will show up best between stations, whereas a strong source rfi can at times even mask a local station. Once an area of the vehicle is isolated, you can try to identify the electrical circuit responsible for the problem by pulling specific fuses.

A final note: in the owners manual (sect 4-25) it states" Caution - Do not place metalized film near rear window glass or attach any metal parts to it. This may cause poor radio reception or noise" Good Luck

NuJerseyDrive

iTrader: (3)

Thanks for idea guys but I really don't think they used a tint with any metallic components. I remember testing the rear defrost when I 1st got the tint done and the radio was fine. Who knows...if it continues I'll take her in to the dreaded dealer.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

If, somehow, you're having tiny scratch in your rear defrost conductors - it'll produce pretty bad "static" noise on radio. I've read somewhere on the Net (sorry, couldn't recall where exactly) that you can fix that by patching broken defroster wire with special conducting glue(?).

Mike.