My radio works fine when stationary but the instant I move off it fades in and out. I have removed it from the fascia and the aerial connection is tight. I have tried to remove the roof aerial but cannot undo the retaining nut. There is also a red wire with a black square connector floating around near the aerial underside. Can anyone help with the nut size and to identify the wire?

IS it the original radio, if so most likely radio itself, the ones fitted to pandas at that time, always give problems, it was the radio manufacturer's fault, not fiats, the best way is replace with an aftermarket radio.

My 2011 car was doing something similar which proved to be bad speaker connections in the doors. I removed the little lugs and did a bit of adjusting and now it is fine again. I would not have believed this could be the cause until I saw it first hand.

Does it fade with a loud crackling

Does it fade if you just rev the engine

no,no crackling, and not fading when I rev the engine.

the base of the aerial may have one or two cables coming from it

one power for the areal amplifier if fitted

one for the aerial

here a photo of a base with amplifier. I am not sure if they were fitted to all models

both connectors should be close to each other

the single wire type without the amplifier look to be a different shape to the one below looking through ebay.

either way i suspect water has got in to the base


You could try a hairdryer or rig up a temporary antenna to prove it before ordering any parts


If its a loose wire it should be more noticeable over bumps.

Thanks for that - I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Mine has recently started behaving like the radio signal is weak but otherwise works fine (2007 110K miles). I suspect it's the aerial.

I took the aerial off and cleaned up the circuit board and contacts. Still no change, though. I have checked the aerial connection to the radio and it seems ok. Does this point to a radio fault?

Disconnect the original and swap in a temporary areal. Any piece of solid wire will do.

post a photo of your areal