FM radio reception F3L and RT 2018 models.

[Flamewinger]

2018 RTL and no problems with FM reception. Don't use it much as the stations are no longer as strong as they used to be. Went from San Jose to Victorville and with BRP C acting up I used FM and did pretty good all the way.

[fredgal]

My 2018 F3-T gets terrible reception also. When it autoscans for radio presets it only finds one station, and I live in the middle of DFW.

my new 2020 F3 limited , i just get one station on autoscans, and nothing else ,,,

[McRuss]

Crud! I thought I'd find a quick fix to the problem with my 2020 F3L but no cigar. I guess I'll try the ground strap check and a longer antenna if I can find one. I agree that the radio reception sucks!

[rjinaz86323]

my 2018 F3L gets pretty good FM reception. I pull in a good FM signal (no static or fade) from over 75 miles away

[mcalva]

I know it is an old thread but due to various problems and the pandemic had not been able to test it properly till now.
F3 2018 Ltd. I don´t have any problem with FM. I would say the volume is much louder than the Bluetooth signal I don't know why.

[fredgal]

Crud! I thought I'd find a quick fix to the problem with my 2020 F3L but no cigar. I guess I'll try the ground strap check and a longer antenna if I can find one. I agree that the radio reception sucks!

i told dealer about the bad reception, he said to stop in, when im in the area, and they would look at it, i havnt gotten there yet, will see what they say, and get back to all..

[DaleS]

Just purchase a 2021 RTL Sea to Sky. I was only able to get two channels when I accomplished the FM Scan. Took it back to the dealership and we discovered that cable from the antenna makes a connection to a cable from the display unit under the passenger seat. This connection was buried under the wiring in the seat pan and had not been connected. Once connected everything work correctly.

[Poasttown]

Billy
The FM reception on my 19 F3L seems to be ok. However, I have to turn it up so loud to hear it, with helmet, wind noise, etc. that I just use my Cardo intercom with ear buds.

Poasttown

[lugnut1009]

Make sure you have the latest update on your cluster. I found out that you have to not only have buds connected to the bikes OBD terminal but also a double male ended USB cable connected to the cluster in the top console pocket to update the cluster software. That usually helps a lot with the low volume issue.

[McRuss]

For clarification, my F3L is a 2020 and the antenna mount may be different. But here is my 'potential' solution: a signal booster that goes in line. Since the 2020 (and maybe 2019) F3's use a small antenna lead with odd connectors, I ordered adapters from Amazon along with the booster, total cost less than $30. I'm hoping this will help. IF not I may try replacing the antenna with a longer one. The 3L antenna is attached to the top box but three screws allows access to it and will make replacement fairly easy.

[Mikey]

Have you tried taking the antenna off and cleaning the crap off the mating surfaces and threads and putting it back together? They love there Loctite!

[McRuss]

Have you tried taking the antenna off and cleaning the crap off the mating surfaces and threads and putting it back together? They love there Loctite!

I did check the ground strap and it was clean of Loctite and a nice shiny bolt surface (and the bolt did not bottom out...) I'll pull the antenna when I install the booster and check for Loctite there.

[Mikey]

I did check the ground strap and it was clean of Loctite and a nice shiny bolt surface (and the bolt did not bottom out...) I'll pull the antenna when I install the booster and check for Loctite there.

Can't hurt!!!

[McRuss]

I did check the ground strap and it was clean of Loctite and a nice shiny bolt surface (and the bolt did not bottom out...) I'll pull the antenna when I install the booster and check for Loctite there.

Didn't hurt but....there was no loctite interference.

[cef2lion]

Just picked up a 2021 RTL. FM reception is very weak. Will only pickup one station. Where about is the ground strap? I was going to pull the short antenna to make sure it has a clean connection but not sure how to remove it. Going to look at the connection under the passenger seat as in post #32.

[cef2lion]

Just went out and looked for the connector under the passenger seat. Found it tucked down in a hole under the seat pan. It was connected.

I pulled it apart to look at the connection. The connection didn't seem fully seated. Looking inside the connector going forward to the radio. The female PIN inside that connector appeared bent over not allowing the male PIN in the antenna lead to connect properly. I used a pick and eye glass screw driver to straighten it out as best I could. The connection seemed better and locked when I put the connection back together. Tested the radio. Reception seemed a lot better. The other presets I had were coming in now even parked in the garage. Will know more next ride when rain passes after today.

Worth checking out for those having this issue. Could have happened when the Spyder was assembled at the factory or a defect in the wiring connector. The antenna lead going to the radio appears to go into the Spyder harness going forward. Doesn't look easy to replace the antenna lead forward to the radio. Not sure how hard it would be to replace the connector itself.

Will see if this solves the FM reception issue on our Spyder. Will mention next time into the dealer.

Craig

[Mikey]

Didn't hurt but....there was no loctite interference.

There was on my old ride, maybe they have been reading our posts from the past!!

[cef2lion]

FM reception issue appears to have been solved on the 2021 RTL by correcting the issue at the connection under the passenger seat.

[pidjones]

FM reception issue appears to have been solved on the 2021 RTL by correcting the issue at the connection under the passenger seat.

I checked the connector, but it was fine. Still lousy reception on my '21 RTL. Considering finding a 31" whip to replace the shorty. Mounted so low and far back, a longer whip shouldn't interfere with our garage door or passengers, just maybe something to watch for when passing something to the left out of the trunk. I'll be looking for a black one with the spiral wind noise prevention.

[190243]

When I took her trunk off for the trailer hitch wiring and then again to add her rear LED’s I did take that strap loose and clean it, but I didn’t notice the bolt bottoming out, I thought it tightened up. I’ll check that out again.

Today I took her antenna apart and cleaned it. Then I ohmed from the wiring connector to the stud and had 0 ohms so I knew it was a good connection. It wasn’t bad looking to start with though.

Have the same issues on my new 2019 f3 sounds like crap . I ‘ve gotten to the point where I just shut it off it’s so bad.going to use Bluetooth now see how that goes.
Ken (190243)

[wtmc]

I have a 2021 RT, and found the problem. Antenna cable under the passenger seat was disconnected.
IMG_0070.jpg

[F3LMiramichi]

I have a 2018 F3L. The FM radio reception simply sucks and is unusable. It's been this way from driving out of the dealers lot brand new. This is a big difference from my previous ride a 2013 STL. The radio reception was good on it. The dealer has looked at it once and agrees it sucks but was unable improve it.

So my question is. For those of you with a 2018 or 2019 models. F3 or RT. How is the radio reception. I am not interested in 2017 or older model years. Different beast. What I am trying to figure out is if there are some out here that are working fine and I just need to find out what's wrong with mine. Or maybe it's a F3 problem only. Because I have seen posts from RT owners that say their reception is ok.

Your answers and comments would be appreciated, thanks.

2019F3L very poor radio

[rjinaz86323]

years ago I had an FM amplifier for my car radio. I wonder if something like that would help the Spyder?

[pidjones]

The antenna connector was not the problem for my '21 RTL - it was made up properly. Cleaning locktite and paint didn't help, either. 15" antenna is the problem. Went to O'Reilly and bought a 31" replacement (black with spiral wrap to reduce wind noise), dug through tupperware to get to the mount, unscrewed the shorty and screwed in the new one with a ~1" x 6mmx1 stud I cut from a bolt. Much better reception. Built up the gap between the existing grommet and new antenna base with rubber tubing, a grommet, and shrink tubing. Looks factory.

[wtmc]

On my 2021 RT, after connecting the antenna cable, it works great