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Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: funboxster on 31 January 2020, 11:59
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I've recently bought a 4 month TCR which I'm very pleased with. However, the DAB reception on local and national stations can be poor. Most of the time it's fine, then in my own road or close locality, it sounds like you're in a tunnel and it goes, then cuts back in. I live in West Sussex, by the coast. DAB reception in our other 2 cars is fine with no drop out.
I plan to book it in with local dealer but just wondered if others had experienced similar problems?
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I've recently bought a 4 month TCR which I'm very pleased with. However, the DAB reception on local and national stations can be poor. Most of the time it's fine, then in my own road or close locality, it sounds like you're in a tunnel and it goes, then cuts back in. I live in West Sussex, by the coast. DAB reception in our other 2 cars is fine with no drop out.
I plan to book it in with local dealer but just wondered if others had experienced similar problems?
I've had mine for 7-8 months now and I have to admit mine isn't the most consistent, I tend to have my own music on hence why it hasn't bothered me too much but I was going to raise it when she goes in for a service. It has to be something to do with the 7.5 because in the same area I never had issue with my 7R?? :huh:
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I’m also in West Sussex and find the DAB reception generally awful. Limited channel choice and easily drops a channel. My other non-VW car also has a DAB radio and whilst I think the signal in the area is naff, it’s worse in the golf.
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I've recently bought a 4 month TCR which I'm very pleased with. However, the DAB reception on local and national stations can be poor. Most of the time it's fine, then in my own road or close locality, it sounds like you're in a tunnel and it goes, then cuts back in. I live in West Sussex, by the coast. DAB reception in our other 2 cars is fine with no drop out.
I plan to book it in with local dealer but just wondered if others had experienced similar problems?
I've had mine for 7-8 months now and I have to admit mine isn't the most consistent, I tend to have my own music on hence why it hasn't bothered me too much but I was going to raise it when she goes in for a service. It has to be something to do with the 7.5 because in the same area I never had issue with my 7R?? :huh:
I’m also in West Sussex and find the DAB reception generally awful. Limited channel choice and easily drops a channel. My other non-VW car also has a DAB radio and whilst I think the signal in the area is naff, it’s worse in the golf.
Thanks for your replies. Seems it may be a MK 7 problem.
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DAB is poor on mine compared to the BMW.
The BMW lists way more stations than the TCR. Was surprised a number of the bigger ones didn’t show up.
Also a PITA that you have to download the logos for the mainstream stations.
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DAB is poor on mine compared to the BMW.
The BMW lists way more stations than the TCR. Was surprised a number of the bigger ones didn’t show up.
Also a PITA that you have to download the logos for the mainstream stations.
Now that is the opposite to both my previous BMW's e92 and e71 had terrible drop out with DAB. The VW is absolutely faultless with DAB in my area and when it has a weak signal the transition to FM is seamless.
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It’s not that it drops signal, more that it just doesn’t even list half as many stations as the BMW (f21 so maybe different to your e series?)
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I find BBC stations ok, commercial stations a bit patchy
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DAB works flawlessly here in Norfolk. Hundreds of stations, all crystal clear and zero drop-outs.
Just looking forward to them completing the 2G mobile network rollout... (never mind 3/4/5G).
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Compared to most other cars (Renault, Dacia, Hyundai and Ford) the VW DAB reception is way worse than the others, with a smaller station list and dropouts of reception where the other cars hold onto it.
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It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
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It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?
I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.
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I find the DAB in the GTI really good. I'd say slightly better than the 3er too tbh in the same area etc so at least a direct comparison.
But ultimately it will be down to the area you are in,.
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I've recently bought a 4 month TCR which I'm very pleased with. However, the DAB reception on local and national stations can be poor. Most of the time it's fine, then in my own road or close locality, it sounds like you're in a tunnel and it goes, then cuts back in. I live in West Sussex, by the coast. DAB reception in our other 2 cars is fine with no drop out.
I plan to book it in with local dealer but just wondered if others had experienced similar problems?
I find BBC stations ok, commercial stations a bit patchy
It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?
I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.
It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
Does DAB not require an aerial specific to the car?
I'd say generally, the reception in both my Golfs has been worse than previous cars. It also has a habit of making a weird noise when cutting in and out of reception, whereas before it was always reception or no reception.
Thanks for all your replies. DAB plays up on BBC and local stations, and makes a funny sound, as per Jim_mk7.5 car.
It's booked in on Friday to be looked at. I suspect they'll say nothing wrong with it, but will advise.
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Could be a bad earth on the aerial.
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It's booked in on Friday to be looked at. I suspect they'll say nothing wrong with it, but will advise
So, car went in this morning to local VW dealer. The report from their tech says, and I quote "Checked for any TPI's and found TPI 2044806/4. This TPI relates to issues with the radio reception and that this can be related to eqpt plugged into 12v sockets"!! That's a telling statement isn't it?
The tech states he thinks my dash cam 12v power lead is causing the interference on DAB and that I should have the dash cam hard wired into a fuse, by them. So I unplugged the power lead to the camera for the journey home. Surprise, surprise, exactly the same problem with DAB in the same road as the dealer!! It looks like they didn't test drive their theory, before writing the report!
Thinking ahead, is it a major job to hardwire? I know you just piggyback onto an existing fuse with a kit, presumably the one for the infotainment system.
Both our other non VW cars have dash cams just plugged into their 12v sockets for power, with no problems at all. I think my chain is being yanked!
Any thoughts please.
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If you've got a rear facing cam it could in theory interfere with the dab aerial which is situated in the same area. Front only cam and everything should be ok. Sounds like the dealer being lazy to me.
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If you've got a rear facing cam it could in theory interfere with the dab aerial which is situated in the same area. Front only cam and everything should be ok. Sounds like the dealer being lazy to me.
Yes, my rear facing camera destroyed DAB reception. I was expecting this after Googling showed it to be a recognised problem. There are fixes, but I don’t use the radio much and FM reception is OK, so I haven’t bothered trying. My dashcam setup, which I installed, is hard wired into a piggy back fuse on the main fuse board at the left hand end of the glovebox.
Before I installed the dashcams DAB reception was very good. I have no doubt that removing, or turning off, the cameras would restore reception, but I haven’t even tried.
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I've got hardwired thinkware front and rear cams and don't have any issues with dab at all. 🤷♂️
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It’s down to the make of camera. The design of the units and how the leads are protected influences whether you get interference. Solutions include fitting more of those wrap around magnetic choke devices. My rear camera lead already had one near the camera end, but, apparently, in some installations, you also need them elsewhere.
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I had problems with DAB reception after fitting Blackvue 900S cameras to both front and rear. I purchased a set of Ferrite Cores from Car Camera Shop UK (Tel 01865 957191), fitted at each side of the existing wiring around the rear camera. Now back to excellent DAB reception.
I think they were around the £5 mark to buy.
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Thanks for all your replies and suggestions. I do have a small rear mounted camera fixed to the tailgate near the roof aerial, wired into the dash cam. I didn't think of that, so will disconnect and see if it makes a difference.
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I disconnected the feed to the rear camera and early days, but no problem with DAB reception! I've also ordered a ferrite core to fit round the cable by the camera.
Thanks once again all.
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Sounds good! Hopefully the ferrite jobby will do the trick. Let us know how that goes - I might be encouraged to have a go with mine!
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It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
That's just plain wrong. My OH's Mercedes picks up more stations than my GTI, more consistently, on the same days, on exactly the same roads.
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It's got nothing to do with the car (unless a part is faulty). It's entirely down to where you live and how strong the dab signal is. Parts of Sunderland don't have dab reception but I don't drive through them and think it's VW's fault for a crap dab reception!!
That's just plain wrong. My OH's Mercedes picks up more stations than my GTI, more consistently, on the same days, on exactly the same roads.
do you think you get exactly the same dab reception at all times of the day? Do you get the same sky or TV reception signal constantly? No and it's down to a multitude of things not just the receiving end. Also didn't realise you could drive two cars at exactly the same time.
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I agree with SJW - we have several cars. The DAB reception in my golf is consistent, consistently ok in some places, consistently dropping out in others, consistently different with different channels, ie BBC national are strong, commercial middling, BBC local stations weak when driving away from them. The time of day, weather, nothing affects it. In our other cars DAB reception is far better, local stations are held onto far longer when you drive away from them, more stations are available.
The only variable for DAB are the station, your location and the different car manufacturers.
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I disconnected the feed to the rear camera and early days, but no problem with DAB reception! I've also ordered a ferrite core to fit round the cable by the camera.
I ordered a ferrite core via Ebay( 2 for the princely sum of £2.50), and fitted one initially next to the rear camera. This didn't make any difference, so I moved the ferrite bead to where the cable bridges between the body and the tailgate. Hey presto, it seems to have worked. Perfect DAB reception now. I might put the 2nd bead where the rear camera cable enters the dash cam to double up.
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Good news funboxster! Got a link to the ferrite cores you used?
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Good news funboxster! Got a link to the ferrite cores you used?
I choose 3.5mm, but there are various sizes available. There are plenty of sellers on Ebay. My local dealer was interested to know if these fixed the problem, so I've sent them my consultancy invoice :cool:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Qty-Black-Clip-On-Clamp-RFI-EMI-Noise-Filters-Ferrite-Core-For-3-5mm-UK-Seller/184140691488?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
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Thanks, and good luck with the invoice!
When you say “where the cable bridges between the body and the tailgate” where exactly do you mean? In the channel under the plastic cover at the back of the roof, or in the one in the top of the tailgate?
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Thanks, and good luck with the invoice!
When you say “where the cable bridges between the body and the tailgate” where exactly do you mean? In the channel under the plastic cover at the back of the roof, or in the one in the top of the tailgate?
Hi talk-torque
Sorry, don't know how to attach a picture, but basically the cable is hidden in the rubber seals above the doors, the trim joint between headlining and C pillar covering, then the bare cable is on show and then hidden behind the trim panel above windscreen/spoiler.
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I find BBC stations ok, commercial stations a bit patchy
This.
I'm in W Sussex, too.
But my only DAB so no basis for comparison.
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Thanks, and good luck with the invoice!
When you say “where the cable bridges between the body and the tailgate” where exactly do you mean? In the channel under the plastic cover at the back of the roof, or in the one in the top of the tailgate?
Hi talk-torque
Sorry, don't know how to attach a picture, but basically the cable is hidden in the rubber seals above the doors, the trim joint between headlining and C pillar covering, then the bare cable is on show and then hidden behind the trim panel above windscreen/spoiler.
Ah, I see. I routed mine through one of the corrugated rubber tubes, between the tailgate and the roof. I’ve ordered 5 ferrite cores, so I should be able to fix it by adding a few along the cable.
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I thought about running cable through the rubber tubes, but when I did it on my previous car, I struggled to get the seal back on. Good luck with the cores.