New arrival..

Okay, will have to try a bit harder :)

I'm reluctant to go anywhere near Adrian Flux though, I had a policy with them a while ago, after a year the renewal was way higher, and I got much cheaper quotes elsewhere. They refused to budge on their quote, so I did indeed go elsewhere. For months afterwards I got about 5 phone calls a day from them, and if I blocked the number they would just start calling from another number. :eek:
 
I thought seeing as I was cleaning the starter Earth on the grey dolphin today, I might as well do the Blue one as well. She tends to start as if the battery is flat, so could well help.

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This one has a Concert Radio, which has no reception, the CD player works fine, but no radio signal. I put this radio into the grey car, and sure enough, the radio was fine, so an aerial issue me thinks. So I look up how to diagnose reception problems, and omg, classic A2 stuff, connections all over the place, and aerial in a random place. So lot's of reading, most of which I have forgotten already. Not the highest priority, but another A2 challenger to overcome 🤞
 
If there is no reception, but there is noise, and you can tune different frequencies, then it's likely to be the aerial that's the problem.
First check it's plugged in to the radio.
Next, check if your car has a Diversity controller at the right hand back corner of battery and tool storage area. If the Concert is original fit you should have it, but if the Concert is an upgrade from an original Chorus, you won't.
The aerial set up is very different between the two, so we need to know a bit more info, in order to help you more.
The Diversity is just to the left of the wheel jack stowage, at the jack handle end. There is an empty slot, which looks like something is missing, and then there's a narrower slot behind it, use a torch, and look into that slot.
Mac.
Picture credit to @Andrew

image.png
 
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PlasticMac said:
If there is no reception, but there is noise, and you can tune different frequencies, then it's likely to be the aerial that's the problem.
First check it's plugged in to the radio.
Next, check if your car has a Diversity controller at the right hand back corner of battery and tool storage area. If the Concert is original fit you should have it, but if the Concert is an upgrade from an original Chorus, you won't.
The aerial set up is very different between the two, so we need to know a bit more info, in order to help you more.
The Diversity is just to the left of the wheel jack stowage, at the jack handle end. There is an empty slot, which looks like something is missing, and then there's a narrower slot behind it, use a torch, and look into that slot.
Mac.
Picture credit to @Andrew

View attachment 119546
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Mac, the symptoms are exactly as you describe. All the connections on the back are okay, so the problem is definitely elsewhere.

The concert was original, so should have the diversity controller, but will go down and have a look soon, the rain is supposed to stop any minute :)
 
This is what I have Mac..
IMG_20240221_132456_HDR.jpg
It's funny, when I first owned this car many years ago, the radio didn't work then, and it never occurred to me to try and fix it for some reason. We just listened to CD's and ended up just having one CD in it, a First Aid Kit album. We had it in there so long that it seemed like bad luck to take it out, so we heard that album an awful lot. Fortunately it is a brilliant record. 🥸

I also found this , which I had never spotted before..
IMG_20240221_132821_HDR.jpg
An AUDI compressor, very handy..
 
DaveySprocket said:
This is what I have Mac..
View attachment 119550
It's funny, when I first owned this car many years ago, the radio didn't work then, and it never occurred to me to try and fix it for some reason. We just listened to CD's and ended up just having one CD in it, a First Aid Kit album. We had it in there so long that it seemed like bad luck to take it out, so we heard that album an awful lot. Fortunately it is a brilliant record. 🥸

I also found this , which I had never spotted before..
View attachment 119551
An AUDI compressor, very handy..
Click to expand...
Yes, you do have a Diversity controller, so the aerial lead to the radio, (the one at the corner, not the yellow Fakra in the centre, which should also be present and connected), comes from the white Fakra on the Diversity controller.
To rule out the radio, an aerial connector, the same as the one removed, with a length of wire attached to the centre pin, will act as enough of an aerial to pull it a strong station, such as BBC Radio 4.
I'm suggesting a step by step approach, to avoid going to unnecessary lengths.
Mac.
 
PlasticMac said:
Yes, you do have a Diversity controller, so the aerial lead to the radio, (the one at the corner, not the yellow Fakra in the centre, which should also be present and connected), comes from the white Fakra on the Diversity controller.
To rule out the radio, an aerial connector, the same as the one removed, with a length of wire attached to the centre pin, will act as enough of an aerial to pull it a strong station, such as BBC Radio 4.
I'm suggesting a step by step approach, to avoid going to unnecessary lengths.
Mac.
Click to expand...
Hi Mac, both my A2's have the same radio, so I switched them over and the Radio in this one worked fine in the other car. That should be sufficient to rule out any issues with the head unit I would imagine?
 
DaveySprocket said:
Hi Mac, both my A2's have the same radio, so I switched them over and the Radio in this one worked fine in the other car. That should be sufficient to rule out any issues with the head unit I would imagine?
Click to expand...
Yes, reckon so. If you have access to VCDS, (any version), under Select Controller, choose Radio, the check DTCs. This will tell you if the radio is communicating with the Diversity controller. If no DTCs, then the Diversity is, probably, working.
If no DTCs, unplug the yellow Fakra, at the radio, (there's a latch release on the side, press it, and pull it out at the same time), and check for Radio DTCs, should be one now.
Mac.
 
Unfortunately after all that rain yesterday, the garden where I have this A2 is a mud bath, so will wait for a while until it has dried up a bit.

I've got the grey one up at the house though, so will focus on that one for now. I've been looking at how difficult it would be to remove the diversity amp though, doesn't look too bad.. Might go rogue and do the swap and see thing..
 
DaveySprocket said:
Unfortunately after all that rain yesterday, the garden where I have this A2 is a mud bath, so will wait for a while until it has dried up a bit.

I've got the grey one up at the house though, so will focus on that one for now. I've been looking at how difficult it would be to remove the diversity amp though, doesn't look too bad.. Might go rogue and do the swap and see thing..
Click to expand...
It's a bit awkward, to be honest, but easier the second time!
You remove the empty housing, and the Diversity is clipped to the back of it.
The housing is held in by four hex head screws, two at the top, and two at the bottom, you'll need an extension. Not sure of the metric size, but a 5/16" socket fits. Lift the housing out, it's a bit awkward, as the cables are tight. Lean the housing forward, to see the Diversity. It's held in with two tight clips on the right, which when released, allow the tongue on the left to slip out of it's slot. The Fakras are all keyed, so only fit in the right place. The power plug is a pain. It has a dimple on the side of the plug, and a matching hole on the side of the socket. Not sure how it's supposed to be released, so I'll leave it to you, I couldn't find any latch release.
Mac.
 
I went ahead and got the good Diversity unity out of the grey Audi this afternoon, it wasn't too bad to remove at all.
IMG_20240222_152454_HDR.jpg
So later on I ventured down to the muddy garden and got the one out of the blue Audi. Whilst working on it, I spotted what seems to be the result of a frustrated dog or angry beaver, oops
IMG_20240222_153740_HDR.jpg
With the other unit swapped in, the radio worked a treat. I thought I would swap them back again just to see, and curiously enough, the radio still worked.. 😆 So I fiddled with the connectors and soon found that one of them would stop it working when moved.
IMG_20240222_155028_HDR.jpg
With the connector off, I could feel that the plug on the diversity unit was loose, so I took it home and opened it up. You can see that the solder joints have broken on that connector. Once I've found my soldering iron I should soon have it working again.
IMG_20240222_162852_HDR.jpg
A massive thank you to PlasticMac for the advice and guidance, it's so satisfying sorting out even little things like this.
 
I don't think much of the build quality of the Diversity. The centre pin on the Fakra is, on yours soldered. On mine none of them are, just reliant on contact. I have soldered them. I have one Diversity that has tamper proof cover screws, and one that doesn't. Which type are yours?
I'd look closely at all the connector joints. Strike while the, (soldering), iron is hot 🙄.
Mac.
 
Mine are tamper proof, but I have the appropriate screwdrivers to allow me to tamper away :cool:

I've had a close look at everything under a big magnifying glass, and it all looks pretty good. I originally trained as an electronics technician, so somewhat unusually, I have a fairly good idea what I'm doing with this 🤣

I should mention that the unit was not properly clipped in to it's housing, so that might not have helped if it was getting shaken around.

Cheers.
 
DaveySprocket said:
Mine are tamper proof, but I have the appropriate screwdrivers to allow me to tamper away :cool:

I've had a close look at everything under a big magnifying glass, and it all looks pretty good. I originally trained as an electronics technician, so somewhat unusually, I have a fairly good idea what I'm doing with this 🤣

I should mention that the unit was not properly clipped in to it's housing, so that might not have helped if it was getting shaken around.

Cheers.
Click to expand...
My original job, back in the late 60s, early 70s was avionics, not sure if it was known as that at the time though. The very first ICs, in missile system were incredible. Ti "beetles" 8 leg flat packs.
Couldn't find the appropriate driver, can you post a pic of it please?
Mac.
 
Interesting stuff! I was in Navigation systems, land based and then GPS when it came along, for the Oil industry, Fishing, Dredging and such like.

Not sure if yours will be the same, but it's actually just a T8.
 

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It's odd, the original Diversity, from the car, is T8, while my spare is tamper proof.
Here's the tamper proof, and the unsoldered Fakra. Seems to rely on contact, but the solder on the track will oxidise I think. I soldered them all, a bit of flux, and low temp solder.
Mac.
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I'm thinking those screws maybe "one way" screws. Might try drilling the heads out later.
Anyone know for sure?
Mac.
 
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