I had my MCS's engine taken out and reinstalled, and now my radio's reception is very staticy. Yes, my antenna is still there. No, my dash wasn't taken apart, nor was my stereo removed/accessed. It's affected both AM and FM. No, there's no RPM dependency. No ticking. Justy good ol' fashioned static. Any ideas as to what to look for?

 

I had a chevy s-10 4wd that had a bad ground strap that caused radio noise (among other problems). You might check that.

 

Which ground strap do you mean?

 

There should be a large wire that grounds your engine block to the frame of the car. If this wasn't reconnected, or the mounting point wasn't clean, it could cause this type of problem.

I don't know where the strap attaches, but you should be able to just test it by attaching a large gauge wire from the block to the frame (perhaps even with some tape just to test it) and see if the radio noise goes away. Just be careful of moving parts. If that solves the problem then you can track down the real mounting point.

The next step would be to check and make sure that your ignition system isn't routed incorrectly. If a plug wire, or coil wire aren't in the correct place, or aren't making a good connection, it could also cause this. I would check that the wires to the alternator, starter, etc are also fully connected.

 

Sorry, I was referring to the "engine to chassis" strap. Poor grounds can cause all sorts of electrical gremlins in vehicles with a lot of electronics. If the static is not rpm dependant, I would be inclined to believe that there is a loose connection or broken wire somewhere.

 

As I recall....If the static IS RPM dependent, it should be in the engine bay? I can't remember the theory behind it. Eventhough I am an electrician If they didn't mess with anything outside the engine bay that you know of, I would definitely start searching. There are quite a few ground straps in the bay. Might be coincedence though. Could be a short at the boot, too!

 

Some one I spoke with recently said that when they installed Nology wires it caused radio static.