Technical Removal of antenna

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Technical Removal of antenna

Nordboj

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Hi all,

I have a 2013 Fiat 500 1.2 and i have a trouble with dodgy reception on the radio.

So i need to start troubleshooting this and i have removed the antenna and reseated it but thats not where the problem is.

Im trying to figure out if there is a grounding problem at the antenna base.

So does anybody have a guide on how to remove the antenna base on the roof?

Thanks for all kinds of answers.
 
Have you removed the two small screws and taken the antenna base unit apart. The circuit board could be wet and the cause of your poor reception ??

I havent actually, where are these two small screws located? Is it on the outside or under the headliner?


Im going to a fiat specialist at the 21st of sept and they are charging 130 Euros just for the troubleshooting.

So if i can check this myself i would like to see what the fuzz is about.

Please let me know sir :)
 
I havent actually, where are these two small screws located? Is it on the outside or under the headliner?


Im going to a fiat specialist at the 21st of sept and they are charging 130 Euros just for the troubleshooting.

So if i can check this myself i would like to see what the fuzz is about.

Please let me know sir :)

They are on the bottom of the antenna so you need to remove the two roof lining clips that are visible when you open the tailgate then remove the 22mm nut that secures the antenna to the roof, disconnect the aerial lead and push the antenna up and out of the roof. This should only take you about 10 mins. You will then see the two screws I am on about. Undo them and the antenna will separate and you can check and dry if necessary the little circuit board and then put it back together. This completely cured my poor radio reception and it is still absolutely fine 10 months later. If I remember correctly a brand new antenna base is only about £35 so it's not then end of the world if you have to replace it and certainly cheaper than the €130 you would be charged just to tell you what I have told you for nothing (y)
I hope this helps you :)
 
They are on the bottom of the antenna so you need to remove the two roof lining clips that are visible when you open the tailgate then remove the 22mm nut that secures the antenna to the roof, disconnect the aerial lead and push the antenna up and out of the roof. This should only take you about 10 mins. You will then see the two screws I am on about. Undo them and the antenna will separate and you can check and dry if necessary the little circuit board and then put it back together. This completely cured my poor radio reception and it is still absolutely fine 10 months later. If I remember correctly a brand new antenna base is only about £35 so it's not then end of the world if you have to replace it and certainly cheaper than the €130 you would be charged just to tell you what I have told you for nothing (y)
I hope this helps you :)

Mr Dolce,

Thank you i will check on it first thing in the morning to see what's what!

I'll keep you posted with results!

Again, thanks! (y)
 
They are on the bottom of the antenna so you need to remove the two roof lining clips that are visible when you open the tailgate then remove the 22mm nut that secures the antenna to the roof, disconnect the aerial lead and push the antenna up and out of the roof. This should only take you about 10 mins. You will then see the two screws I am on about. Undo them and the antenna will separate and you can check and dry if necessary the little circuit board and then put it back together. This completely cured my poor radio reception and it is still absolutely fine 10 months later. If I remember correctly a brand new antenna base is only about £35 so it's not then end of the world if you have to replace it and certainly cheaper than the €130 you would be charged just to tell you what I have told you for nothing (y)
I hope this helps you :)

So i went to the car today to see if i could try this.

Well i removed the two roof lining clips and got a part of the roof away.

But without breaking anything i probably need to remove more of the rooflining to get space to use a screwdriver or any tool or else i will damage the roof lining by pulling it down any more.

Any suggestions?
 
So i went to the car today to see if i could try this.

Well i removed the two roof lining clips and got a part of the roof away.

But without breaking anything i probably need to remove more of the rooflining to get space to use a screwdriver or any tool or else i will damage the roof lining by pulling it down any more.

Any suggestions?

It is quite awkward but I only removed to two roof lining clips and had to "feel" my way in. It might help if you stick your phone in and take a photo to see what you are up against ??
Which type of aerial do you have ??

Like this A:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...518259?hash=item3ceb2b4133:g:XsoAAOSw34FVFB7-

Or this B:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-500-...el:500&hash=item2cb158f665:g:-vwAAOSwIgNXvtdn

I have "A" and there are definitely two screws that hold the base together. I obviously can't confirm the other one. I only used the links to eBay to show the differences between the aerials Fiat has fitted to the 500.
 
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It is quite awkward but I only removed to two roof lining clips and had to "feel" my way in. It might help if you stick your phone in and take a photo to see what you are up against ??
Which type of aerial do you have ??

Like this A:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fiat-500-...518259?hash=item3ceb2b4133:g:XsoAAOSw34FVFB7-

Or this B:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-500-...el:500&hash=item2cb158f665:g:-vwAAOSwIgNXvtdn

I have "A" and there are definitely two screws that hold the base together. I obviously can't confirm the other one. I only used the links to eBay to show the differences between the aerials Fiat has fitted to the 500.

Hi and thanks for all the time and effort!

I have the "B" one which is clearly alot different than the one you fitted!

That makes more sense now! I'll probably just charge the Fiat-vendor the money they want so they can fix the issue, i'll probably just make things worse!

Anyhow thanks again for all the time and tips!
 
This post contains affiliate links which may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
They are on the bottom of the antenna so you need to remove the two roof lining clips that are visible when you open the tailgate then remove the 22mm nut that secures the antenna to the roof, disconnect the aerial lead and push the antenna up and out of the roof. This should only take you about 10 mins. You will then see the two screws I am on about. Undo them and the antenna will separate and you can check and dry if necessary the little circuit board and then put it back together. This completely cured my poor radio reception and it is still absolutely fine 10 months later. If I remember correctly a brand new antenna base is only about £35 so it's not then end of the world if you have to replace it and certainly cheaper than the €130 you would be charged just to tell you what I have told you for nothing (y)
I hope this helps you :)
nice tips here! just a question? I have the old generation radio aerial. Can i remove it and put the 'new generation' one in?
 
I don't know for sure about that but my guess would be that it would fit as I can't see them altering the roof panel just for an aerial base. I also wonder if the change of design was down to the older ones potential to cause problems from damp getting in and the new one is a sealed design ??
 
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I don't know for sure about that but my guess would be that it would fit as I can't see them altering the roof panel just for an aerial base. I also wonder if the change of design was down to the older ones potential to cause problems from damp getting in and the new one is a sealed design ??
also people nicking the top screw in of the old one = ) as the old one doesnt seem easy to unscrew as it comes in one piece right?
 
I have poor radio reception in Fiat 500 Pop 62 reg which I've had for a few days. Read the above advise and removed the roof aerial as described. Clicked off the two roof lining studs, undid the retaining nut using ring spanner, pulled the aerial up and away, undid the three (3) torx screws on the base, and pulled away the bottom of the aerial base. The small amplifier circuit board was bone dry, but I was not to impressed with the method used to connect the circuit board to the bottom of the aerial rod. It was a bent strip of springy metal which pressed against the rod base when the unit was assembled. Doubt if this maintained good contact over time. I cleaned it the best I could and reassembled the lot. The radio picked up a few more stations. I them removed the radio head unit using the DIN keys (first time I've done that) and checked the aerial connection at the back - seemed OK but gave it a jiggle around anyway. After that I got more stations and better reception all round. Still not good but loads better. My conclusion for what its worth is that the aerial connections from the back of the radio head set all the way through to the roof top unit need to be cleaned up, replaced or sworn at. I think the radio is just fine its the aerial connections at fault here.
 
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