850 GLT 1996 FM Radio Problem

osmium · Post by **osmium** » 08 Jul 2009, 11:57

I just bought a 96 850 GLT.

We had a severe thunderstorm yesterday and now when I turn on the radio, I get nothing but static on FM for a few minutes and then reception is fine. During the time with the FM static, both the CD player and AM radio operate normally.

Anyone have any ideas?

BTW, love the car.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 08 Jul 2009, 13:35

Is this a wagon or a sedan? On the wagons there is a funky little amplifier on the antenna in the side glass that has been known to get corroded connections. It is located behind the trim panel below the antenna.

...Lee

osmium · Post by **osmium** » 08 Jul 2009, 14:53

Ozark Lee wrote:Is this a wagon or a sedan? On the wagons there is a funky little amplifier on the antenna in the side glass that has been known to get corroded connections. It is located behind the trim panel below the antenna.

...Lee

It is a sedan.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 08 Jul 2009, 20:53

Unless the radio is just plain bad the only thing I can think of is that the antenna drain is plugged up.

It is a kinda of a PITA to get to but if you remove the side panel on the driver's side of the trunk it will reveal the antenna. On the bottom of the antenna there is a drain hose. Make sure the drain hose itself is clear and then see if the hole that it drains into from the antenna is open.

Beyond that I am stumped.

...Lee

osmium · Post by **osmium** » 09 Jul 2009, 13:25

Ozark Lee wrote:Unless the radio is just plain bad the only thing I can think of is that the antenna drain is plugged up.

It is a kinda of a PITA to get to but if you remove the side panel on the driver's side of the trunk it will reveal the antenna. On the bottom of the antenna there is a drain hose. Make sure the drain hose itself is clear and then see if the hole that it drains into from the antenna is open.

Beyond that I am stumped.

...Lee

OK, will give that a try when time permits.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Os

ChiNorm · Post by **ChiNorm** » 10 Jul 2009, 13:49

My original head unit had an FM failure that sounded just like what you describe, b4 it entirely died. Volvo had (has?) an exchange program, rebuilt HU for $225. Apparently more than a few had failures.

Post by **Matty Moo** » 10 Jul 2009, 15:59

I had the exact same problem in my old wagon with the sc-815.

AM was fine, as were cd's. I could only get one fm station. I checked and replaced everything, and the only thing that worked was another head unit.

osmium · Post by **osmium** » 11 Jul 2009, 19:13

fattymatty wrote:I had the exact same problem in my old wagon with the sc-815.

AM was fine, as were cd's. I could only get one fm station. I checked and replaced everything, and the only thing that worked was another head unit.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

Os

jmichons · Post by **jmichons** » 23 Mar 2010, 18:03

I have a 98 850 wagon with this radio problem. Dealer sells replacement but is something like $140. I have been unsuccessful at the junkyards and online. If I did find a replacement how do I disconnect the connector at the window? Is that where the corroded connection is? I have tried all the other connections. I really think the amplifier is bad because of the way it acts. When the weather warms up it starts to work again after a couple minutes of being on. Cold I get nothing.

Missaim · Post by **Missaim** » 28 Dec 2010, 01:25

I have a 1996 850 Turbo T5 sc-816 radio with these exact same issues..Sedan BTW and I was about to post a query when I found this post. When the weather is cold it takes alot longer for the FM to come in. When the weather is warm it takes about 15 minutes and then the FM pops on. During this cold winter....about an hour but that is about an hour of continuous FM being on. If I listen to a CD for an hour and then go to FM I have to still wait that hour. I have a factory amp that sits behind the rear passenger seats that I happened to find when looking for my tire iron to pound on my PNP Switch yesterday. Could it be an amp issue? I'm going to check the antennae drain hose tomorrow and the other things listed in this topic. I am not going to switch out my radio or anything like that but would like to fix the issue at hand. I think it may be an amp thing but who knows?! I'll check back here later for any new thoughts. Thanks so much all!