Anyone know about car stereos?

[BobbyRoberto]

When I play the radio, my FM stations come in fine but the AM stations have a lot of static and the static gets worse when I accelerate. There seems to be some connection with the engine revving that makes the AM stations come in worse.

Anyone have any idea why this would be happening?

It's a 1995 Ford Thunderbird, V-8 engine.

[Oat Soda]

Did you get a friend or somebody to install your stereo?
My first car was a 1976 Toyota Corolla I called the Toyovette. When I honked the horn the sound came through the speakers. Great conversation starter.

Sorry, but I know nothing about electronics or cars or anything.

[cubsrock]

its not your radios fault, it just happens. AM signals frequencies are close to the frequencies of electricity, so anything electric will change the reception. When your accelerating, your engine is making more electricity and that makes more static. when your honking the horn, its a new electric signal, so static. Whenever I turn the lights on in my truck, I loose just about all AM stations. Thats AM radio for ya, nuthin you can do about it.

[TheRock]

Yeah, AM and FM are recieved differently. The antenna sticking out your windshield pillar is for FM, the AM one is usually internal. Could be something messed up with it, or maybe you just get lousy reception. Engine noise can get in your system from improperly run speaker wires, or poor grounding. This a new stereo? New problem? Anything else change recently?

[BobbyRoberto]

I bought the car a couple years ago and it's been this way ever since I've owned it. The car I had before got AM fine, so it's not that the reception where I live is bad, it's definitely something going on with this car. Maybe the wiring or poor grounding, like you mentioned. I haven't looked into any of that yet, I just thought I'd ask on here to see if anyone could point me in the right direction, if someone's heard of this before.

[TheRock]

Probably not much you can do about it, really. Unless it's a top of the line aftermarket system you'll spend more money trying to find it than you would just buying a new stereo. Especially if it's the manufacturer's system still in it, they notoriously suck. Or... '95 T-bird, time to trade up?

[davidmarver]

You can change antennaes. Some materials work better than others and you can get nice antennaes that pick up reception where some wouldn't. That said, AM frequencies are weaker than FM frequencies, so it will be harder to pick up reception of those stations regardless.

[Madison]

Yeah, AM and FM are recieved differently. The antenna sticking out your windshield pillar is for FM, the AM one is usually internal. Could be something messed up with it, or maybe you just get lousy reception. Engine noise can get in your system from improperly run speaker wires, or poor grounding. This a new stereo? New problem? Anything else change recently?

That was my first thought .

Two choices, either try to chase the wiring yourself to see where it's grounded, and switch grounding points, or buy a new stereo. If you pay someone to find the grounding point, it's cheaper to just buy a new stereo and have it professionally installed. Take your pick.

[Lofunzo]

I immediately thought of a grounding issue as well. AM stations are very finicky but the static during acceleration is odd. Is it a factory stereo?? Aftermarket?? Either way, I would try a ground loop isolator. I had a similar issue in the past and it did the trick.