Radio cutting out

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netballdi
netballdi Posts: 68 Forumite
edited 3 July 2018 at 4:57PM in Motoring
I have a Ford fiesta and the radio keeps cutting out every 30 seconds for a second or two.
I would like to get it repaired, but is this job for a mechanic or an auto electrician ??

I suspect it must be a loose wire which presumably will take a time to locate and therefore cost a lot !!

Any advice appreciated.
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  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    The quickest, cheapest and simplest solution is probably just to replace the head unit with an aftermarket one. What age of Fiesta?
  • netballdi
    netballdi Posts: 68 Forumite
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    It's a 62 plate !
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    netballdi wrote: »
    It's a 62 plate !
    So a facia and harness adaptor for a standard single-DIN head unit will be about a tenner on top of the head unit.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,094 Community Admin
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    AdrianC wrote: »
    The quickest, cheapest and simplest solution is probably just to replace the head unit with an aftermarket one.

    And then find out its the antenna.

    Actually it may not be either. I'm guessing it is a DAB radio? With DAB radio it is all or nothing so when you have a weak signal it'll cut out unlike the old FM radio where it would just get hissy. Currently we have a high pressure system sat over the UK and Europe that causes a phenomenon with radio waves called tropospheric ducting . You can see a visual effect of that when driving down the road where you get a mirage effect just above the road surface, that is tropospheric ducting affecting the radio frequency wavelengths of light.

    What that means in simple terms is radio waves on VHF and higher frequencies can travel hundreds or thousands of miles further than they normally would so you get interference from stations on the continent that you wouldn't normally experience which will cause a DAB radio to cut out.

    If its only started happening since we've had the current heatwave I would wait and do nothing and change from DAB to normal FM.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
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    I took "cutting out" to mean powering itself off. I hadn't thought it meant reception disappearing.

    Perhaps the OP would clarify their actual problem?
  • netballdi
    netballdi Posts: 68 Forumite
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    It happens on all functions of the sound system, be it on Radio, bluetooth or AUX. When initial starting the car up the stereo is fine but after driving for five minutes the sound cuts off with a popping noise. It will cut off for a second every 10 seconds or so. The system its self doesn't power off its just the sound that cuts out. It will even do it if the sound system is turned off entirely, you just hearing a popping noise every 10 or so seconds.
  • facade
    facade Posts: 7,031 Forumite
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    You might find that that is an overheating problem in the current unbearable weather. Try turning the sound down a fair bit and see if it lasts longer before popping off.
    I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....

    (except air quality and Medical Science ;))
  • netballdi
    netballdi Posts: 68 Forumite
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    Its been like it throughout the snowy weather too so probably not overheating. Only just got around to trying to get it sorted out !!
  • Geodark
    Geodark Posts: 1,048 Forumite
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    netballdi wrote: »
    Its been like it throughout the snowy weather too so probably not overheating. Only just got around to trying to get it sorted out !!

    Could still be overheating if there is a problem with any of the components on the board. As said above. First step would probably be to pull it out and make sure all the connectors in the back are fully plugged in. If there are still problems after that, unless is some serious ICE you are after, it would probably be cheaper to buy a new entry level head unit and surround and fit that. You might need adapters though if you have steering wheel controls.
  • robatwork
    robatwork Posts: 7,094 Forumite
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    How disappointing. Whatever the problem turns out to be, it won't be as great as tropospheric ducting.
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