FM radio reception F3L and RT 2018 models.

[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.
ray:

 

[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