I've read the extensive posts regarding the Cooper's H/K amp and other related speaker failure issues. I've already identified that I likely have a blown speaker in passenger door and I will confirm this once I have more time to take door apart.

The main issue that plagues my system though is a static like noise which presents itself while listening to FM. I also have an AUX input and when listening to iPod the sound is near perfect except of course for what I believe is the blown speaker. Bass response is great, sound is rather full and everything appears to be functioning as it should. Switch to FM and I get a static noise over the reception.

Could this be related to a bad ground? A defective antenna module? It doesn't sound like it has difficulty pulling in the station, in fact, the stereo symbol is solidly lit. Quite puzzling...

Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks for the input!

-Pat

 

Which anteanna do you have...
The stock FM is about a foot long...a thin, "rubber ducky" type...
Many folks replace it with a "shorty"...which degrades FM performance, and destroys AM ( MORE DEPANDANT ON THE ANTANTA LENGTH)...the reduction in FM is most noteible in pre-2005 cars...post 2005 cars has a second glass mount anteana added with "diversity" to improve FM performance.
Not all shorty anteanas are the same...solid ones are the worst...length is electrically too short...but other oem ones, like the old Honda s2000 one fits perfect, is shorter, and works just as well.

 

Actually, I have both antennas. The previous owner saved the original when he switched it over to a solid shorty as you mentioned. That was my first thought, so I put the original one back and the problem is the same. I truly believe this has nothing to do with reception. There's something else going on and I'm unsure what it might be. I should add that I have extensive audio knowledge, but this one is still a mystery.

-Pat

 

i had the same problem when i install a new head unit... the fm radio will all be static sound.. so i think your problem is that there's no power to power the antenna.. to fix it you need to connect a 12volt line to the power antenna... what i did was i splice the remote turn on line from my new head unit to the power antenna.

 

h/k system sucks btw... first I had a blown speaker too.... and then I think the stock amp died, no sound was played anymore.. So I replaced everything and its awesome decision... I put in a new head unit and new amp and all 4 new speakers. wired everything myself.

 

What do you mean by power antenna? Do you mean the antenna booster located at the base of the antenna. Looks like a silver cable splitter box? The main antenna wire runs to it and there's also a smaller brown (in my case) wire that could be power next to the antenna cable. I suppose I could test it for power if that's what it is.

 

well in my case when i installed my new head unit... the mini cooper stock wire harness have a white wire which is power-antenna.. i guess this wire route all the way to the antenna... im not sure.... but when i connect the white wire to a power source it fixes the radio static.. its probably your smaller brown wire...

its pin 13 in this image

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/6...upinoutzi4.jpg

 

What is the process for removing the radio? I intend to acquire a Bentley manual, but until then I want to keep taking things apart and checking wiring, etc... I don't want to break anything, so knowing exactly how and what to remove to get the radio out would be very helpful.

 

Never mind my last post. I figured it out

 

So, I've taken the radio out to make sure all harnesses were properly plugged in. They were. I disassembled the roof antenna and tested the WHITE wire (not brown as I mentioned in earlier post). The white wire carries about 10.5v +/-. When I disconnect the main antenna wire from the little box under the antenna mast the ST symbol on display for a local station goes away and reception is noticeably worse. When I disconnect the white power wire, there doesn't appear to be much of a change. In all cases, the buzzing sound is still present.

I should mention that the buzzing which I can only describe as what speakers sound like when they are blown, is nearly gone when only voices are in the broadcast (no music). Once music starts then the buzzing is back in full effect.

I'm taking the vehicle up to a local shop for a heater issue I'm having (see separate thread on that) and owner said he had a spare radio we can try. So, once I can confirm it is or isn't the actual radio, then I can move on to the next piece of equipment. Either the antenna booster or the amp. Since the system sounds perfect using an iPod, I'm fairly certain it won't be the amp, but who knows...

 

well if system sounds good with ipod then the speakers are not blown.... if u wanna make sure then u can remove the door panel which is pretty easy and look and feel the speaker if its working properly... try connecting something that put about 12 or little bit more volts to the white wire... maybe 10.5 isnt enough...

 

So, in order to eliminate the on board antenna as the issue, I plugged in a completely separate external antenna and the problem still persists. So, at this point, I'm leaning toward a bad tuner in the radio itself. The fastest way to verify this would be to have another radio that I can plug in to harness to see if it does the same. If it works then I know it's my radio, if the problem still exists then it's got to be something either with the amp or a connection along the way. Problem will be to find a loaner radio to test with...

Also, does anyone know what the security structure is for the 1st Gen radios? Can I just plug another one in and have it work or will it require a security code of some sort to activate it?

 

So, after some searching, I found the same radio I have on EBay for $50. As I last suspected, the radio tuner was indeed the issue. The replacement radio works perfectly. Problem solved!

Also, for anyone wondering, there are no security codes needed to replace the stock radio with another OEM. Just plug and play!