I bought a 03 TE recently, and it came without a radio. The previous owner had a system wired up. So removed all the aftermarket stuff and put in a Stock Bose 6cd changer. Now the FM signal is really weak. I can only pick up one radio station. Any ideas of what to look for or what to check?

 

There was a thread resurrected on this recently... If you search you can probably find it.

My memory is telling me that its the power antenna cable that needs to be plugged in... (I know, we dont have it). But that may have been for signal to aftermarket decks and not a stocker.

 

make sure the antenna is plugged in at the back of the radio. Also another thing is our antennas are on the back glass and some window tint guys either damage or have an open in the rear glass when scraping, or leave the cable unplagged. Remove your c pillar and have a look

 

Most likely the blue power antenna wire is not hooked up. That wire turns on the antenna amp.

 

Also check if the antenna plug was plugged into the radio properly.

 

Is that wire separate from the harness?

 

check the antenna plug?

 

Yeah, make sure its plugged into the radio. Assuming the previous owner used a wiring harness kit to install the radio, there should be zero problems with the plugs. If one of the two plugs were not plugged in, the radio would not turn on or there would be cutout from a set of speakers. Next logical step is to make sure the antenna wire was plugged back into the factory radio.

 

I just installed an aftermarket radio in my Max and had this same problem. I didn't use the stock wiring and I didn't realize that the blue antenna wire actually is some sort of turn on wire for a power booster for the antenna. This is part of the stock wiring plug. I connected it to the same wire that I used for my amp turn on and reception improved immediately. It may also be that the antenna isn't plugged in securely to the back of the stereo.

 

What blue wire are you guys talking about? is it in the harness? It'd help if you guys had pictures.

 

Your stock car harness should have a Green w/white stripe wire. That is your antenna wire. It should connect to your stereo's blue wire. If you have a separate amp too, you will splice that wire in with it also.

 

I think i found the problem. Its that main power wire, the black one that plugs to the radio. Its broken. Would the dealer have one of those?

 

Umm..do you have a picture? The power wire goes through a harness with like 10ish other wires on it.
I ripped this picture off from ebay:



If you're talking about a black wire which plugs into the far left, then that is your antenna wire There may be an aftermarket harness plugged in on top of that giving you a slightly different plug as many aftermarket units require it and the previous owner may have forgotten to unplug it.

 

Yeah, the antenna is the circular plug (bottom left in the pic above). Not sure if the dealer has it but it's worth the call. If not, call Dave B.

 

I just called the dealer, he said it's connected to the main harness and it'll cost $1000+ he also said just cut one off another maxima at a junk yard.

 

If a junk yard is too much look up this Metra part from any car stereo shop:
40-NI20
40-NI21

 

That doesn't make sense. If you're getting a signal, but it's weak, that is an indication that your antenna isn't hooked up properly. How about you take the thing apart and take a picture. I'd be surprised for the main harness to be damaged if you're still able to pick up radio signals.

 

ok here are some pics

 

When that piece is plugged in you're still getting poor reception?

 

The blue wire that they are talking about is the wire used to turn on the amp for your radio. This image will show you how to test the antenna it self.





This is the wiring diagram

 

I fixed it. I spiced those to wires that were cut and put it back together. Now i've got clear signal

 

Nice work.

 

good work bet your glad you didn't pay the dealer a unneeded charge of 1000.00