Newly acquired 97 960 Wagon, 216K.

Radio only makes a shrieking/static sound on an intermittent basis when running in AM or FM. Seems that after radio is left on for a while that stations come in clearly.

I understand that 960 Wagons have the antenna as part of the drivers side window in the cargo area. According to the owners manual, the antennas also have an electronic signal booster built in or somewhere nearby the antenna.

Questions:

1) Does the problem seem to be a radio or antenna issue?
2) Could it be that signal booster is failing?
3) Where is the signal booster located? Can it be replaced separately from the antenna?
4) If the antenna proves defective, is there a way to attach a standard antenna to the vehicle? If so, where can it be attached? What type of tools are necessary?

Thanks in advance.


az

 

1) That sounds like a Head Unit problem. HU is known to have defective soldering at some points, especially its chassis. I have soldered mine in at least 2 locations.
2) Antenna booster are not known to fail as often as HU
3) Booster is located below antenna's window glass, mid point front to back of glass. You need to remove trim to get to it. Yes, it is plug-and-play (separate from antenna.)
4) Yes, you can add a fixed antenna (stick) sold for 10-15 dollars at Auto Parts stores. You can install it anywhere, but keep in mind that you will need to route the cable. It won't need a booster. You can also install power antennas that go up and down. The HU also has noise suppression diodes, so you would not need one external.

I think as first step you need to open the Head Unit and check for loose wires, or things that are shortening out.

 

Which wires am I looking at in the head unit? Would they be where the wires from the harness connect to the main circuit board within the unit?

What does the booster look like? Does it have a standard antenna connector like on the rear of the stock radio? I looked at some devices accessible from the left floor panel of the rear storage compartment that may or may not be the booster. The most likely candidate was a black rectangular box about the size of your palm with wires coming in at the ends. Note that I did not remove the side trim panel immediately below the window as I was just doing some basic exploring.

 

You would need to trace the wires in the antenna circuit (inside the HU). I had different problems, so I found my cracked/loose connections elsewhere (inside HU).


Here is a diagram of the Booster.

 

Thanks!

I couldn't find that diagram, despite my best efforts. Very helpful. I think it will be easier to test the booster first. All I need to do is pull the panel and bypass the antenna and booster with a new antenna. If the radio works, then the booster is shot. If not, we know the problem is in he head unit.

If the head unit is gone, it makes sense to replace it with an aftermarket piece.

 

Or buy a used HU for $ 50.