Radio problem

[jeffwh1]

I have a 99 Silverado, have had since new, 167K miles. Last year my radio reception went really bad, all of a sudden like flippin a switch. The antenna is connected. Does anyone know why this would happen? I cannot pickup local stations very well in town, and not at all once I leave town, I'm left with nothing to listen to except CD's. HELP!

[GMCTech]

Most likely the antenna wire is broken, or the circuit board inside the radio has cracked or broken.

 

Try hooking a secondary antenna directly to the antenna plug. This will test whether it is the wire or the radio.

 

Hope this helps.

[jeffwh1]

Thanks for the advice. I do not have access to an alternate antenna, but I did slide the radio out, and checked the antenna wire, it was fastened properly, and no amount of wiggling made any change in the reception. When I removed the cable from the back of the radio, any reception that I had totally went away.

I am concluding then that it is a radio problem and not an antenna problem. Is this a safe assumption? If so, can it be fixed or would I be better off installing an aftermarket radio?

Thanks.

[ridnlow]

Go aftermarket and get Satelite radio

[BTW574]

GM has always had bad designs on the truck antennas. Them seem to have habit of water getting inside the cable. You can check the antenna system with a Multi-Meter set to measure resistance. If you touch one of the leads to the center tip of the antenna plug and the other end to the mast your meter should should read zero ohms. Do the same with the out sheild to a good ground. There should be a connector under the hood by the fender that allows the antenna to be replaced without replacing the whole cable but you will be better of replacing the whole thing.

[jeffwh1]

Thanks, I'll try that.