I posted a little while ago about my radio not tuning into stations properly and sounding distorted and really "bassy". The CD function works flawlessly so I know it's not in the head unit or amp. I suspect that the antennae/satellite/GPS unit on the rear roof may be the problem.


My question is, has anyone had experience dropping the rear headliner to be able to get at the connections for the antennae assembly? Has anyone ever had that assembly off? Any tips or tricks would be appreciated... thanx.

 

You don't need to pull the headliner off to get at the GPS antenna and connectors. I'm pretty sure they are accessible by pulling off the overhead plastic panel in the back. I seem to recall getting to the connectors there when I installed my cell phone booster and tied it in to the factory antenna.

 

I've always noticed a distinct difference in sound depending on source. Compression levels differ between Radio, CD, and Sat in my 2006 LR3. Sat is the most compressed, and is by nature the lowest quality in sound in my personal opinion. Newer cars do a better job of filling in the gaps from satellite radio, but still CD's sound better even for the same song. Heck, even CD's are compressed, and now we have hardcore audiophiles that are buying higher end formats for their favorite music at home.

So I don't think you have an antenna issue, you have a relation between your old LR3 (like mine) and newer cars.

Anything over 18 or 19 while on Sat Radio makes it worse, meanwhile I can take a CD to 25 or higher without issue. I haven't looked into the compression changes over the years, but as Sat adds more channels, and old radios such as ours lose the ability to keep up with the newest standard and decompress everything it only stands that quality will be lost. I can't recieve all channels available that my wife has on her new car, even my Homelink cannot handle my new garage door openers, but her car can. We are talking about 11 year old cars here, and much like like a computer, how do you expect your LR3 to have the same computer capacity with new technology and compression techniques as the new cars?

 

No there is a distinct difference... the radio worked just fine for 8 months after I bought it and then started to sound like you weren't quite on channel... very distorted and heavy bass but still able to make out what the channel was playing.


Thanx cmb6s, I'll get up and take a look to dismantle the unit from the roof. I have a salvage Landy less than an hour from me so I may just go and get the complete antennae unit and see if swapping it makes a difference. My main concern was accessing the unit.

 

Yeah, don't take me at my full word for that though. I was just accessing the fakra connectors for the antenna and not trying to disassemble the entire antenna unit. You might still have to drop the headliner to do what you want to do now that I read it more clearly. Regardless, dropping that rear panel is quick and easy and should give you a better idea of what you're up against.

 

As stated above by cmb6s, the upper panel in the rear next to the tail gate will just pop off (don't forget to disconnect the light plug) and you can see the wires that go through a grommet in roof. The FAKRA connections are easy to disconnect, and the grommet can be pulled out with little effort.

The back plastic portion of the antenna is screwed on to the front portion with two TS 25 size 5 point Torx head screws that attach to the front plastic portion. These nuts are pressed into the plastic and most likely are corroded and won't come ot easy. I would up putting a pry bar between the two pieces and "manually separating" them.

Once the back portion is off you can carefully pull the grommet out and get ready to pull wires up from the inside

The front portion is glued to the glass with a rubber gasket and can be removed with you favorite slim sharp tool being careful to not cut the rubber, just the silicone glue holding it to the glass (or metal)

 

Thanx Rufflyer, much appreciated.