XM Radio Not Working in Rainy Weather

[ASHDUMP]

So, like the title says my XM satellite antenna doesn't work in rainy weather or if it has rained hard the night/day before.

I can actually lift up a portion the antenna with my hands (the part closest to the front of the car) and I have a feeling water is getting in and disrupting the signal.

Does anyone know how to take the antenna off? I don't want to break the plastic but I doubt the cover comes off from inside the car?

Thanks in advance....

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

So, like the title says my XM satellite antenna doesn't work in rainy weather or if it has rained hard the night/day before.

I can actually lift up a portion the antenna with my hands (the part closest to the front of the car) and I have a feeling water is getting in and disrupting the signal.

Does anyone know how to take the antenna off? I don't want to break the plastic but I doubt the cover comes off from inside the car?

Thanks in advance....

Under warranty? Take it in.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Under warranty? Take it in.

Not under warranty.... 2009 with almost 90K

Just looking to see if anyone has taken the xm antenna/GPS off.

I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be able to lift part of it up....

 

[Mark_888]

Not under warranty.... 2009 with almost 90K

Just looking to see if anyone has taken the xm antenna/GPS off.

I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be able to lift part of it up....

If you go to www.hmaservice.com you may find shop instructions for replacement of the antenna. Registration is free.

 

[landtuna]

It is important to know how sat radio is failing during wet weather. Does it fail simply because it is raining and the car isn't being driven or does it fail only when car is driven in heavy rain? Sat radio is susceptible to interruption during heavy rain because rain drops can be larger than the electrical length of the radio frequency (signal attenuation). Sat radio can also be interrupted by wet connections or moisture inside the coax cable.

I'd do two things before trying to dislodge the antenna:

Take a hair dryer (blower type) and dry the underneath of the antenna thoroughly (test to ensure sat radio is working).

Then, get some clear silicone sealer and thoroughly seal the antenna to the top of the car. If you take care while applying it should remain invisible to the naked eye. Do not drive the car until the sealer cures as you don't want dirt clumping onto the sealer while wet.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Thanks for the reply's.

I've had sat radio for a very long time and also have it in my other cars. The Genesis always had a weaker radio/antenna than the others which I just accepted. But now its to the point where I'm almost positive it has to do with moisture in the air and nothing to do with the signal. After heavy rains it simply just doesn't work.

As I mentioned in the first post, I can actually lift up a portion the plastic antenna so I know moisture can get it. I was just hoping I didn't have to get access to the underside which would result in me taking out the head liner.

 

[Fast55]

It is important to know how sat radio is failing during wet weather. Does it fail simply because it is raining and the car isn't being driven or does it fail only when car is driven in heavy rain? Sat radio is susceptible to interruption during heavy rain because rain drops can be larger than the electrical length of the radio frequency (signal attenuation). Sat radio can also be interrupted by wet connections or moisture inside the coax cable.

I'd do two things before trying to dislodge the antenna:

Take a hair dryer (blower type) and dry the underneath of the antenna thoroughly (test to ensure sat radio is working).

Then, get some clear silicone sealer and thoroughly seal the antenna to the top of the car. If you take care while applying it should remain invisible to the naked eye. Do not drive the car until the sealer cures as you don't want dirt clumping onto the sealer while wet.

I assure the listening audience that rain drops are not the issue. This simply does not make sense unless the rain is so bad that you could not drive the car (think biblical event). Knowing that the antennae is loose, the problem is obvious.

 

[ASHDUMP]

I assure the listening audience that rain drops are not the issue. This simply does not make sense unless the rain is so bad that you could not drive the car (think biblical event). Knowing that the antennae is loose, the problem is obvious.

I think you're right... however its been sunny and hot as balls here in new england and the Sirius is working fine.

I definitely need to get access to the underside of the antenna. I'm not really looking forward to taking the head liner off. Looks like a PITA.

 

[JasTheAce]

Thanks for the reply's.

I've had sat radio for a very long time and also have it in my other cars. The Genesis always had a weaker radio/antenna than the others which I just accepted. But now its to the point where I'm almost positive it has to do with moisture in the air and nothing to do with the signal. After heavy rains it simply just doesn't work.

As I mentioned in the first post, I can actually lift up a portion the plastic antenna so I know moisture can get it. I was just hoping I didn't have to get access to the underside which would result in me taking out the head liner.

I think this here is your issue. From my experience in driving several cars in the same area (metro DC) I can assure you that the antenna on my Genesis is as good as other cars I have. I would guess that you just got a defective antenna (low SNR) and the rain/overcast weather is blocking just enough signal to cause a problem.

 

[landtuna]

I assure the listening audience that rain drops are not the issue. This simply does not make sense unless the rain is so bad that you could not drive the car (think biblical event). Knowing that the antennae is loose, the problem is obvious.

Rain does not have to be of biblical proportions to cause signal loss for sat systems (video and audio). If you are already in a marginal reception area even light rain (but with normal sized drops) can cause signal loss. A normal rain drop is almost exactly the same electrical size of the frequencies used by sat systems and will attenuate (lessen) the signal if dense enough. Attenuation has also been known in dense fog.

The antenna being "loose" is not necessarily an issue either. It depends upon the connections underneath. If they are tight and dry the antenna can move around and it wouldn't matter.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Fast55]

Sat radio is around 2.3 GHz. Again, either really big rain drops, or more of them than I've seen before. There should be nowhere near enough attenuation to cause zero reception. I have never heard of anyone ever having reception problems in wet weather that did not have a hardware issue. I doubt anyone has ever seen worse fog than the central valley (Google Tule fog) and no issues in any vehicle I've had. DC has no signal issue I'm aware of either. As you said, the antenna can be loose, but the connections need to be dry. His are not.

 

[TimC]

Did the OP figure out how to remove the antenna?
I have the same problem except mine quits working for a few weeks every time I wash the car at the you-wash-it coin op place.

It will say "no signal" for a week or two, then start working again.
I took mine into the local Hyundai dealer, but they didn't know anything about the R-Spec and didn't want to work on it.
I guess they don't sell this model in this part of Texas
(I bought the car in California)

Tim

 

[TimC]

As a follow up, I just went out and looked at the antenna closely and realized its actually very easy to remove.
If you pull down about 12" to either side of the headliner, right up against the back window, there is a single round plastic snap on each side that pops right out.
That gives you enough room to look underneath the headliner where you will see two cables plugged into the antenna, a smaller one for the XM and a larger one for the GPS. Those cables are push-in, so all you have to do is very carefully pull them straight out. After that, there is a single nut, about 16mm that holds the antenna in place. Mine was so loose, I could turn it with my fingers.

I took mine off then examined it before disassembly, where I could see why it failed. There is a rubber gasket that was not properly installed at the factory that was allowing water to get inside the assembly.

The bottom of the antenna has five Phillips head screws that hold on the plastic "Shark Fin"

Removing those reveals two circuit boards that have the actual antennas mounted to them, both held in place by six Phillips Head screws.

I removed the board for the XM antenna, very carefully prying it straight up to remove the Teflon insulator from the middle of the antenna connector and it revealed a pocket where water had sept in under the gasket and was shorting out the board.

I dried everything off, reassembled it (putting the gasket in its proper place) and now it is working again.

I wouldn't recommend doing this unless your car is out of warranty and you are comfortable with this kind of stuff.
Also, make sure your hands are scrubbed clean before you touch that headliner...

If anyone is interested, I took photos of most everything and I can post them on Monday...

Tim

 

[ASHDUMP]

As a follow up, I just went out and looked at the antenna closely and realized its actually very easy to remove.
If you pull down about 12" to either side of the headliner, right up against the back window, there is a single round plastic snap on each side that pops right out.
That gives you enough room to look underneath the headliner where you will see two cables plugged into the antenna, a smaller one for the XM and a larger one for the GPS. Those cables are push-in, so all you have to do is very carefully pull them straight out. After that, there is a single nut, about 16mm that holds the antenna in place. Mine was so loose, I could turn it with my fingers.

I took mine off then examined it before disassembly, where I could see why it failed. There is a rubber gasket that was not properly installed at the factory that was allowing water to get inside the assembly.

The bottom of the antenna has five Phillips head screws that hold on the plastic "Shark Fin"

Removing those reveals two circuit boards that have the actual antennas mounted to them, both held in place by six Phillips Head screws.

I removed the board for the XM antenna, very carefully prying it straight up to remove the Teflon insulator from the middle of the antenna connector and it revealed a pocket where water had sept in under the gasket and was shorting out the board.

I dried everything off, reassembled it (putting the gasket in its proper place) and now it is working again.

I wouldn't recommend doing this unless your car is out of warranty and you are comfortable with this kind of stuff.
Also, make sure your hands are scrubbed clean before you touch that headliner...

If anyone is interested, I took photos of most everything and I can post them on Monday...

Tim

Would love to see photos of this.... Actually, its kind of funny, I can't really pinpoint why my XM works and doesn't work. I think it has to do with moisture but like you said above - mine also cuts out for long periods of time then comes back. I think the longest it was out was 10 days. Then it will come back for a while - then out for 5 days.

Pictures would be very helpful as I think I need to do what you did. I'm out of warranty and didn't want to have to remove the entire roof liner. Sounds like you didn't....

 

[ASHDUMP]

Well I got around to pulling down the head liner to see what the deal was. As mentioned above just pull down on the edge of the liner and it will pop out.

There are two connections. One for Nav and the other for XM.

There is a large nut you need to unscrew and I used a 3/4" which worked fine.

Once I got everything disconnected I notice all of my screws were rusted. Some really bad and was hoping they wouldn't break off or get stripped. Anyway, that wasn't the case. Here are some pictures of what I found.

Notice how the above picture shows the screw posts in the plastic fin broken off? All of them but the back two are actually still in tact. Probably how the water got in.

Corrosion white powder...

Not sure if this is where my problem was or if I just broke the "needle" piece but none the less it definitely won't work now!

So it looks like I need to order up a new fin. My XM got so bad that it basically wasn't listenable. Anyone know where I can get one other than the dealer?

 

[DRS]

Looks like a bad design. Water leaking in the device and likely the inside of the car? Thanks much for the pictures. This should be a warranty item as I see it. Not damaged.. Bad design that caused the moisture destruction.

 

[ASHDUMP]

Does anyone think this would work on the Genesis?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/141049329396?item=141049329396&frommaketrack=true&viewitem=&vxp=mtr

 

[ASHDUMP]

Well I decided to get a new XM/Nav antenna from Jim Ellias Hyundai for $217. Installed it tonight and everything works perfect. So, if anyone has XM reception problems see this thread... if you can't clean and get it to work you need a new antenna.