FM/AM radio not working

JCHONDA13

MEMBER
2013 HONDA ACCORD
4 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
47,000 MILES

My car's FM/AM antenna has stopped working. Everything works from speakers, Bluetooth, CD player, rear camera and right turn camera all work but I am unable to receive FM/AM. I get a blank screen and am unable to scan for stations. Perhaps more or less one year ago there was a water main break on my block and dirt and debris somehow managed to clog up drainage under the car and water was unable to drain when it rained. No water was inside the vehicle at this point and radio was working fine. Then finally around march or April 2020 drops of water began coming inside the car under the glove compartment. I went to the mechanic and he took out all the dirt and debris from the car but was unable to fix the radio because he does not do electrical. I have gone to multiple shops to try and fix the antenna but everybody wants to sell me a new radio without a guarantee the FM antenna will work! I checked the fuse box under the hood and under the steering wheel and everything is fine there. I took out the radio on my own to see maybe wires are lose but all is connected fine.I disconnected the battery for a reset and that didn't work. This only happened when water began dripping under the glove compartment. Below are pictures of under the glove compartment. Any ideas what wires are under the glove compartment that may have caused a defective antenna? Thanks in advance for any help.

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3 Replies

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Just to be clear, you have a water leak and now the radio will blank out when you switch to AM/FM with no sound? If this is the case, is there a reason you think the antenna would cause this? I ask because I am not sure how it would so I am sensing there may be some missing information. Does it start working when you mess with the antenna or anything else that points to the antenna?

If not, I suspect the radio is the issue. However, before you replace the radio I would fix the water leak first because if this water is getting on the radio, it is possibly going to hurt the new one as well.

I assume you have a sunroof so we need to blow the drain line out and if you pour water through the tube you should find it existing under the vehicle. If it is not then it is coming into the vehicle and we need to replace the line.

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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 AT 4:03 PM

JCHONDA13

MEMBER
2 POSTS

The leak has been fixed. It has been fixed for about 3 months and no where else has there been any leaking. And yes when I switch the FM/AM screen goes blank with no connection to stations and no static just complete silence. And i'm just assuming it's the antenna because the only thing not working is the FM/AM radio. All other lights and signals work fine and no matter what I move or touch the FM/AM radio wont connect. I'm thinking maybe an issue with the receiver or maybe it's not making connection to ground? Because I see rust where the water was leaking from which shows in the picture.

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Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 AT 4:31 PM

KASEKENNY

MECHANIC
18,907 POSTS

Okay. I think I am on the same page. Unfortunately the AM/FM antenna not working would most likely just cause static. The reason is, an AM/FM antenna is just like a range extender. In other words, it extends the range in which it picks up a radio signal. So even without the antenna (or a defective) antenna, if you are close enough to the radio station you will still pick up the channel. So the fact that it goes blank points more to the radio. Plus the AM/FM antenna is shared with the satellite antenna. Does your XM service work? What happens when you switch to satellite? You should be able to pick up the preview channel even if you don't have a subscription. If you can, then the antenna and receiver is working.

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