Sirius looses signal at same locations around town

[SallyStang]

Hi all, I've been reading and reading these forums. I have had this problem and should have brought it in while my 2016 convertible was under warrante but didn't. When I am driving around town I loose signal always at the same place on certain roads. When I am on I95 in Ft. Lauderdale it loses and has to acquire the signal 4 times within two miles. I have navagation and that works fine. (my understanding is the gps and sirius are in the same antenna). I had a problem with the backup camera and had to re-solder that cable . I know of the issue with the harness at the trunk lid but I have fiddled with wires and felt the antenna wire in the harness and I can't feel a break and messing with the harness at the wear area doesn't change anything.
I would think I would get no signal if there was an issue with the wire.

Is there any way to check the signal strength? Or test the antenna. I have an old sirius antenna but it won't connect to the harness. I was reading the bulletin I found on this site and I says not to slice the antenna wire and I would have to run a new antenna wire from the trunk all the way to the head unit. I might be willing to spend the 2.8 hours to do this if I knew it would work.I wanted to reactivate my subscription but it's not worth it unless I can figure this out. I updated to sync 3.4 and still have the same issue - though I don't have a current subscription it losses signal on the preview chanel.

I would love to hear any suggestions you all may have!

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[AUSTIN316]

When I had my 2016 coupe, my Sirius would loose signal in the same places. Now that I have a 2020 I don't have those issues. I think the problem is in the Sirius antenna design on 2016 models or perhaps some were faulty?

 

[16Fastback]

Tall buildings and mountains affect the single I believe that the satellite is lower on the horizon in the spring/summer I lose signal all the time here in Pennsylvania.

 

[Mastodon2k]

I live in Vegas, and have nothing but clear skies for miles around, and I’ll still lose signal. Wife’s 2020 Explorer never loses signal, while my ‘16 GT can almost never keep it.

Leading theory is that it’s an issue with the antenna, and how it’s a combination Sirius and Nav receiver. Apparently there’s interference between them, or the system isn’t good at splitting off just the Sirius signal. There’s a new antenna for the 18+ models that supposedly works a lot better. ~$40 or so. I have one on order from Tasca.

There’s a whole thread about it, and here’s the post that talks about the 18 antenna.
Poor Sirius reception?

 

[16Fastback]

I live in Vegas, and have nothing but clear skies for miles around, and I’ll still lose signal. Wife’s 2020 Explorer never loses signal, while my ‘16 GT can almost never keep it.

Leading theory is that it’s an issue with the antenna, and how it’s a combination Sirius and Nav receiver. Apparently there’s interference between them, or the system isn’t good at splitting off just the Sirius signal. There’s a new antenna for the 18+ models that supposedly works a lot better. ~$40 or so. I have one on order from Tasca.

There’s a whole thread about it, and here’s the post that talks about the 18 antenna.
Poor Sirius reception?

That may be true but I'm running a different radio and antenna and still lose signal:(

 

[Multitask]

It's my understanding that the ACM (which houses the radio CD player etc...) has newer circuitry in it for the Sat stuff... my 2018 FFH would lose signal in one spot, and my 2020 MKZ does not lose it there...

 

[Mastodon2k]

Well, there's only 4 main components that make up the system:

1. Satellite
2. Antenna
3. Cabling
4. Receiver

We know it's not the first one, because it works fine on other vehicles.

It could be circuitry in the receiver itself, but that's the most expensive to swap, so I'd rather save that for last.

Ford issued a TSB for this, regarding the cabling, so that's definitely a possible option, especially if people are already hacking into that wiring loom to use as a remote turn-on for their amps..https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2019/MC-10165702-0001.pdf

But, I'm just thinking basic signal-to-noise ratio. It has to be a strong enough signal to be picked up by the receiver. And because it's a digital signal, it's either is or it isn't. It's not like the old analog radio stations that just fade into static.There should be a low noise amplifier at the base of the antenna that boosts the signal enough to not worry about attenuation or interference as it travels through the car's wiring harnesses. If that LNA is faulty, it would easily cause problems. Two other reasons that make me think it's an antenna issue is that people say it seems to fix the F-150s and Escapes that had this issue, and Sirius's own picture of a Ford dash shows an antenna fault on a Sync 2 system (it's obviously been a long-term problem)

 

[SallyStang]

I live in Vegas, and have nothing but clear skies for miles around, and I’ll still lose signal. Wife’s 2020 Explorer never loses signal, while my ‘16 GT can almost never keep it.

Leading theory is that it’s an issue with the antenna, and how it’s a combination Sirius and Nav receiver. Apparently there’s interference between them, or the system isn’t good at splitting off just the Sirius signal. There’s a new antenna for the 18+ models that supposedly works a lot better. ~$40 or so. I have one on order from Tasca.

There’s a whole thread about it, and here’s the post that talks about the 18 antenna.
Poor Sirius reception?

Thank you! Please let me know if this helps.. I'd rather do that install then running a new antenna all the way to the head unit!

 

[shogun32]

That may be true but I'm running a different radio and antenna and still lose signal:(

localized interference. The FCC might have a public transmitter list you can search by location. The signal strength for SIrius isn't all that high and if there is channel interference or a big noise spike and the tuning circuits go into protection mode, you'll lose acquisition.

Sorry, meant to respond to @SallyStang
Put a GPS app on your phone and drive 'slow' along that same stretch of highway and see if satellites drop out.
Get a hand-held Sirius head unit (borrow one from friend) and too see how it behaves with it's own antenna.

 

[SallyStang]

localized interference. The FCC might have a public transmitter list you can search by location. The signal strength for SIrius isn't all that high and if there is channel interference or a big noise spike and the tuning circuits go into protection mode, you'll lose acquisition.

Sorry, meant to respond to @SallyStang
Put a GPS app on your phone and drive 'slow' along that same stretch of highway and see if satellites drop out.
Get a hand-held Sirius head unit (borrow one from friend) and too see how it behaves with it's own antenna.

Thank you for your suggestion. My husbands f-150 doesn't drop while driving the same route.Nor my son's Mazda. So I don't think it's interference- I have ordered the updated antenna from a ford dealership in Florida.. I thought I would get it faster but it's been 5 days and it still hasn't shipped out. As soon as I get it I will install it and report back.

 

[SallyStang]

Thank you all! Replacing the antenna worked. One thing to note when I ordered the part for th 2018 antenna the dealership sent me the older version first. I had to call and tell them I needed the newer model number. Once HR3Z10E893ACPTM came in I switch my painted cover and installed it no more acquiring signal.

Thanks to this forum I can enjoy sirius again and I am in the process of having my hood replaced due to rusting!

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