Poor am reception for 2003 windstar

We have a 2003 Windstar with about 55k miles. Recently, the am reception has gotten pretty bad - especially at the low end...550. I think it might be some engine noise. Should I add a filter on the power line? The car is still young and it seems early for this to be a problem.

The Ford troubleshooting guide says to do the following for poor antenna reception.

1. Check the resistance between antenna ground plate and battery ground cable. The resistance should be less than 5 ohms between the antenna ground plate and the battery ground cable. The antenna ground plate is located under the headliner. If the resistance is greater than 5 ohms go to step #2. If 5 ohms or less go to step #3.

2. Check the antenna cable connections including the extension cable. Are the connections clean, secure and in metal to metal contact?

3. Check the suppression equipment mounting and connecting circuits.

I doubt that the ground plate has loosened or become corroded. I would first check the battery ground first. Clean the battery terminal and attachment points. Corrosion from the battery ground occurs slowly over time which may be the culprit. Also check the ground strap between the hood and body.


If the antenna reception is still bad after checking the grounds and all antenna connections the Ford manual tells the technicians in step #3 to make sure there is good metal to metal contact in the supression equipment (a ground issue again). Then if needed test the suppression equipment by replacing each individual piece (there are three listed. (2) capacitive bond wires and (1) interference capacitor bolt) by replacing one at a time with a known good or new part and re-testing.

I have been looking for an external antenna for my 2001 Windstar because of the overall poor AM reception. Saw a new roof mount antenna system at SEMA in Las Vegas. It looks like what you see on a BMW. They claim AM reception better than an external pole antenna and FM reception equal to that of an in glass antenna.

http://www.skyyear.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=2

We have a 2003 Windstar with about 55k miles. Recently, the am reception has gotten pretty bad - especially at the low end...550. I think it might be some engine noise. Should I add a filter on the power line? The car is still young and it seems early for this to be a problem.
Have you had the radio or any type of work done that the radio had to be removed.I pulled mine a few times and did not put the antena all the way into the stereo, it seats fully into the stereo. just a guess though..

No recent work. Still checking the grounds.

I was wondering about the suppression equipment and the part numbers. You menthion three. Are these available from the Ford dealer? could I just add a noise filter onthe power line to the radio?

did you install the shark antenna?

Ya know, I have horsesh!t AM reception all across the board on my '01, but only when the engine is running. I actually pulled the radio out and reseated it and that didn't help. I'm going to try the tips that jgattian posted and see if that helps. I may have a few minutes of 'spare time' here on night shift to poke around the engine bay :grinyes: .

Any luck with this?

I was thinking of adding a filter onthe power line or maybe getting an antenna filter.

No recent work. Still checking the grounds.

I was wondering about the suppression equipment and the part numbers. You menthion three. Are these available from the Ford dealer? could I just add a noise filter onthe power line to the radio?

did you install the shark antenna?

The service manual did not list the part number(s) for the suppresion parts. Obvioulsy your Ford dealer would be the only place to get those specific parts. Trying a generic noise filter could be a cheap fix.

Regarding the Shark antenna. No I have not got around to getting one yet. I intend to, just not real high on my list right now.

I pulled the radio out and all looked OK. Battery ground was good. I didn't see a ground strap between the hood and body as jgattian posted. I didn't pull the headliner and check out the ground plate. I may swing by a stereo install shop and see what they suggest.