I noticed the last new days in the morning (i go to the gym around 7am) there has been condensation on my car. This is normal and as there is condensation on the roof it is also on the windows. I use the rear defrost because it leaves less of a mess on the back hatch. I noticed that when the rear defrost is on I receive radio interference. Does anyone else have this?

 

I have just noticed the same thing...however, I also just got my 06 MCS back from the body shop (where they replaced almost the entire back end)...does anybody have a solution to this???

 

The defroster coils are part of a secondary antenna array. There is no solution to the interference.

 

It never did it before (i.e. before I went to the body shop)? so I'm thinking there may be something I can do to fix it?

 

Well, my car was rear ended long ago, so maybe they messed mine up the same as yours. It has been like this for so long that I forget it was ever any different.

 

The FM diversification amplifier is the culprit. It is located in the rear of your car. It uses your rear defogger as a secondary antenna and uses the stronger of the two signals. The repair is covered under warranty if you are still within your warranty period. Since you just had damage to the hind end of your Mini, it should be covered by insurance.

My Mini had horrid reception one day and that was the fix for it. Mine did it with the defogger off though.

 

Thanks Warped, I am taking my MINI back to the body shop next week for a couple other issues they were supposed to take care of while it was there, I will mention it to them and see what they say about getting it done as well!

 

Resolved! Body shop says it wasn't the diversification amp...but what happened was one of the solders on the rear window got snapped off when I got hit, so they replaced the rear window and now it works just fine!

 

That's great Dave. I'm happy to hear that it was resolved!

 

Dave (or anyone else reading this thread), do you know how to access these solder points?

I have this same problem. It started about a year ago, and I suspected that the problem was some sort of shorting between the contacts for the rear defroster coils. But in looking for a short, I couldn't find any places where the defroster coils connected to the car's wiring. I'm guessing that these points are beneath the trim around the rear window...but before starting to pull everything apart, I wondered if anyone has a better idea of just where I might be looking.

Thanks!