2016 Antenna Power to aftermarket Stereo?

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BBQ Ribs

Member
Recently had a Pioneer 4200 installed, having the poor AM reception issue.
Installer added the adapter for the antenna, however the AM is still very bad.
I assuming the Antenna is not getting power.
Is there a separate power wire that needs to be hooked up, if so where is it?
I have been to 2 different installers and still no resolve.

I even sent them to some threads in this forum but they indicated they were
for older models and did not help them.
 
DieselFumes

DieselFumes

2015 4x4 2500 170 Crew
The antenna power wire attaches to the antenna up near where it fits through the roof. Purple/black on my vehicle. It's not like some other vehicles where the FM line carries power too.



Traditionally AM reception isn't from a whip-type antenna though - it's from a coil of wire around a ferrite core inside the unit. Don't know how that works inside a modern-day head unit but your antenna might not be the issue. It could just be the sheer quantity of metal around the place the head unit occupies in the dash. In other words, what you've got could be all you're going to get.
 
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ScottShelley

Member
I'm having the same problem and I have gotten part way there, but not all the way. I have found that in the adapter harness the blue(or blue white in some cases) wire that is suppose to be the power antenna wire is going to a spot on the Mercedes harness that is blank. Does anyone have a wiring diagram or know which pin on the Mercedes side is the power antenna wire?
 
DieselFumes

DieselFumes

2015 4x4 2500 170 Crew
ScottShelley said:
I'm having the same problem and I have gotten part way there, but not all the way. I have found that in the adapter harness the blue(or blue white in some cases) wire that is suppose to be the power antenna wire is going to a spot on the Mercedes harness that is blank. Does anyone have a wiring diagram or know which pin on the Mercedes side is the power antenna wire?
Click to expand...
The blue/blue white wire is normally the wire that tells a retractable antenna to extend when the head unit is switched on. It's not the same as a wire that gives power to the amplifier in an amplified antenna.

These days, the blue or blue white wire is seldom used for antennae (who has retractable ones any more?) but is used to signal to other devices that the head unit is turned on. For instance it's used by audio amplifiers and subwoofers.

Like I said above, there is no power wire from the head unit to the amplified antenna. The power comes from a 12v source elsewhere in the vehicle.
 
S

ScottShelley

Member
DieselFumes said:
The blue/blue white wire is normally the wire that tells a retractable antenna to extend when the head unit is switched on. It's not the same as a wire that gives power to the amplifier in an amplified antenna.

These days, the blue or blue white wire is seldom used for antennae (who has retractable ones any more?) but is used to signal to other devices that the head unit is turned on. For instance it's used by audio amplifiers and subwoofers.

Like I said above, there is no power wire from the head unit to the amplified antenna. The power comes from a 12v source elsewhere in the vehicle.
Click to expand...

Interesting, since when the stock radio is put back in place AM works fine. Do you actually have more information and a wiring diagram to support this? Where is the mystical wire and why would the antenna work fine with the stock head unit in? From my conversations with Crutchfield the blue or blue white is used to power the antenna amplifier.
 
V

vavaroutsos

Member
Has anyone figured out where the purple/black antenna power wire comes form? I'm about to run another wire from the antenna to my aftermarket head unit to power it.

@dieselfumes, is your antenna getting power with your Sony head unit? Mine is not, but I used a canbus interface from PAC.
 
B

br0nline

New member
Hi all, better late than never- and came here to say that this did the trick for me! Finally have AM reception, and that’s nice since the weather bulletins in Yosemite are broadcast on 530kHz AM.
 
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