E39 Radio Fault

[tonyinbrighton]

I have the standard BMW radio system in my 2001 525i and it seems to have lost the antenna (or amplifier I suppose).
CD and tape work perfectly and the radio is OK in town but as soon as I am out in the country it loses signal.
Any comments/suggestions gratefully received.
Cheers
Tony

[Collectingbrass]

1. Are you listening to a station that you should be able to hear in your out of town location (eg Absolute dont have a licence to broadcast nationwide)
2. Are you listening on the right frequency, do you need to reset the AF / TA / RDS choices?
3. Has the antenna lost it's connection to the vehicle earth?

Sorry these might be a bit basic but if I started with the basics every time I would have saved myself a fortune in parts...

[RichardM5]

There are two common failure points for the E39 diversity antenna system:-

- The amplifiers in the C pillars, easy enough to replace.
- The element in the rear window, requires new rear screen.

[helix402]

Is the car a saloon or touring?

[tonyinbrighton]

Guys - thanks for the comments.
It's a saloon and none of the radio stations on FM/MW/LW are available once I'm out of town so I'm leaning towards the amplifiers as the most likely cause.....
Thanks
Tony

[helix402]

Diversity modules are very cheap on eBay, pop your chassis no into realoem and match yours up.

[tonyinbrighton]

Guys - again, many thanks.
Is the amp in the n/s, o/s or both C pillars?
Meantime I'm off to Ebay.
Have a good weekend.....