Radio Losing Station

[Guest scott097]

Hi All

 

first time on here, thought id better join as i now have a C5 2.2 HDI, 51 plate, 64000 miles, and the problems have started.

 

Anti-pollution fault, same as thousands of others, very irritating, but I can live with it for now as i dont wish to spend thousands chasing a problem that does not appear fixable, judging by all the previous posts on this issue!!!

 

Now though, the radio has just started losing the radio stations. it used to be fine, but now, when you first start up the reception is fine, within a few minutes the reception goes and you just get interference. try retuning and it goes through the entire frequency range and finds nothing!!!!

very annoying when doing a 60 mile commute to work every day. for now im stuck listening to CDs, thankfully these still work!!!!

Nothing has been done to the car, it just went the other day on the way home and now it does this every journey.

 

any ideas? I havnt seen this issue on any of the previous posts!!!

[paul.h]

When the radio reception goes does it still indicate as if tuned in to the station or does it go to the start (about 89Hz on FM) ready for tuning ? First case may be the aerial wire has come unplugged from the back of the radio, second could be loss of voltage to the radio - a couple of times I have had to retune mine when the battery voltage has dropped due to lack of use of the car.

[simonC5]

Hi Scott,

 

We have a 2002 C5 2.0LX HDI estate and the head unit has started to do the same. For the first 5 to 10 minutes it will be fine, then a high pitch whistle starts and within 2 minutes it will lose all radio reception. CD player still works. I have tried all of the connections but they are fine.

 

It would appear that the tuner drifts when it warms up as the amount of time before the reception is lost is shorter on warmer days and longer on cooler days.

 

The radio is coded to the car's VIN number so it is not easy to change the head unit for another original version without the new one being coded to the car again, typically this is done by a main dealer. I have been quoted over £80 to code a 2nd hand unit to the car by the local dealer but have found some people will do it for around £30-£40 but you have to travel to them. The alternative would be to fit an after market head unit, again the quote came to around £90 for fitting and accessories for connection the C5's computer systems and could still have to go to a dealer for further coding. Then add the cost of the new head unit as well.

 

Fortunately for me my wife drives the C5 while I have a company car and she can live with CDs.

[Guest scott097]

Hi SimonC5

 

Thats exactly it, i have started noticing the high pitched noise also.

guess it looks like permenant CDs or a new after market stereo then.

 

If i fit an aftermarket jobber, will the remote controls still work?

[simonC5]

Hi Scott

 

The quote I got for around £90 included the adaptor for the steering wheel remote controls, fascia surround and the labour. This was still dependant on my choice of head unit as not all have the remote control option or hardware built in.

 

Even then there are potential issues of the stereo not turning off when removing the key, disabled remote central locking and engine imobilising which is why the company I spoke to in Cambridge said that some C5's that they have worked on have had to go to the local dealer for recoding. They said that the post face lift models are the worst.

 

The least painful option looks to be to find another C5 headunit and find someone on the internet who will be able to code it to your car. There have been some listed on ebay and some include the coding to your vehicle free when you supply your VIN Number, these have generally gone for around £80 to £90. This still looks cheaper that the other options.

 

Also the head unit that is in my C5 can be a bit temperamental when playing some copied CD's, it will play originals no problem at all. I have made some compilation CDs for the kids that will play fine in my company car but not all the time in the C5.

 

I hope that you find a good solution.

 

Simon

[CITROEN-NUTS]

http://www.citroen-owners-club.co.uk/citro...?showtopic=6430

 

I have the same problem and started another post before I spotted this one.

 

Look like I'll just get an aftermarket unit if it keeps going like this

 

Maybe get a nice 7" lvd system with a reversing camera if it dosn't mess with the C5 electrics I'm going to check with the local dealer about the Multiplex ISO adaptor and see what they say