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Poor FM reception after battery change

Old 05-29-2016, 01:42 AM
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Default Poor FM reception after battery change

I've searched everywhere and racked my brain trying to figure this out. I recently bought a 2010 Lariat loaded with navigation, Sony premium sound and the works. The battery was working fine but it was older and I had a new battery so I swapped it.

I should mention that I had been amazed how well the radio pulled in stations from Reno, 130 miles away across mountains, better than any vehicle I've driven. After swapping batteries, it wouldn't pull in any station clearly, not even a close station (just 70 miles away). They all sound staticky and garbled. I noticed the change immediately, and it has persisted now for several days, so it's not just atmospheric changes. Something happened when I swapped batteries.

I thought there might be a local/distant setting for stations like old radios used to have, but I can't find any such setting. Nothing else seems to be amiss. It even kept my programmed stations and settings, and the battery was out less than five minutes.

Any ideas?
Old 05-29-2016, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Desert Gecko
I've searched everywhere and racked my brain trying to figure this out. I recently bought a 2010 Lariat loaded with navigation, Sony premium sound and the works. The battery was working fine but it was older and I had a new battery so I swapped it.

I should mention that I had been amazed how well the radio pulled in stations from Reno, 130 miles away across mountains, better than any vehicle I've driven. After swapping batteries, it wouldn't pull in any station clearly, not even a close station (just 70 miles away). They all sound staticky and garbled. I noticed the change immediately, and it has persisted now for several days, so it's not just atmospheric changes. Something happened when I swapped batteries.

I thought there might be a local/distant setting for stations like old radios used to have, but I can't find any such setting. Nothing else seems to be amiss. It even kept my programmed stations and settings, and the battery was out less than five minutes.

Any ideas?
Perhaps the original owner put an antenna amplifier on the truck and it became disconnected when you swapped batteries? Look near the battery cables and see if there's evidence of an extra wire dangling.

P.S. 70 miles away is NOT a close station.
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Old 05-29-2016, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by Rnlcomp
Perhaps the original owner put an antenna amplifier on the truck and it became disconnected when you swapped batteries? Look near the battery cables and see if there's evidence of an extra wire dangling.

P.S. 70 miles away is NOT a close station.
.
Thanks. That's good thinking about an antennae booster, so I checked. I could not find any extra or loose wires. I texted the original owner from whom I bought the truck, but I've not heard back yet. So I'm still open to suggestions, and I'll get it figured out one way or the other and post the solution here.

By the way, 70 miles is close in the vast deserts mountains & valleys of northern Nevada.


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