2006 Sonata - Antenna Amp?

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OU97CPA

Just replaced the stock stereo w/ a Kenwood head unit. Everything is
great except AM reception. FM is good, but that could be because I'm so
close to the transmitters.

Is there an amp on the antenna I need to connect to the head unit? If
so, which factory wire is it? Thanks for any help anybody can give.
 
Just replaced the stock stereo w/ a Kenwood head unit. Everything is
great except AM reception. FM is good, but that could be because I'm so
close to the transmitters.

Is there an amp on the antenna I need to connect to the head unit? If
so, which factory wire is it? Thanks for any help anybody can give.
Click to expand...

Where did you find a head unit that would fit the Sonata? Or did you nake
modifications?

Thanks.

Eric
 
Eric said:
Where did you find a head unit that would fit the Sonata? Or did you nake
modifications?

Thanks.

Eric
Click to expand...

I bought the head unit from Crutchfield; they supplied the wire harness
(which is actually one used by Ford, but fits '06 Sonata); Cardomain
has the Scosche Dash Kit, which they claimed was "factory color and
texture," but which was actually black and didn't match texture. Still,
after install, I'm happy with it. The kit can be used either as
double-din or single-din with a pocket. Metra also makes a dash kit;
I'm not sure if it's higher or lower quality.

The only problem with harness is that it omits 4 wires. A brown and
green at pins 18 & 19, which are the steering wheel controls. I used
Pac Audio's steering wheel adapter to work around that. There are 2
other wires, which I assume may be for an amp for the in-glass antenna.
Not sure; I tried to connect the antenna power wire from the Kenwood HU
to them, but it didn't help my non-existent AM reception.
 
This isn't really my area of expertise, but any antenna amps I've seen go
inline with the antenna wire. There isn't anything like this on the
vehicle-- you'd have to purchase something and install.
 
hyundaitech said:
This isn't really my area of expertise, but any antenna amps I've seen go
inline with the antenna wire. There isn't anything like this on the
vehicle-- you'd have to purchase something and install.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! Do you know where I can view/download the pin
diagram for the factory harness? The only ones I've been able to locate
are for aftermarket harnesses, which omit the wires that the harnesses
omit. I'm just curious what the 2 other wires on the factory harness
are for.

Thanks
 
I bought the head unit from Crutchfield; they supplied the wire
harness (which is actually one used by Ford, but fits '06 Sonata);
Cardomain has the Scosche Dash Kit, which they claimed was "factory
color and texture," but which was actually black and didn't match
texture. Still, after install, I'm happy with it. The kit can be used
either as double-din or single-din with a pocket. Metra also makes a
dash kit; I'm not sure if it's higher or lower quality.

The only problem with harness is that it omits 4 wires. A brown and
green at pins 18 & 19, which are the steering wheel controls. I used
Pac Audio's steering wheel adapter to work around that. There are 2
other wires, which I assume may be for an amp for the in-glass
antenna. Not sure; I tried to connect the antenna power wire from the
Kenwood HU to them, but it didn't help my non-existent AM reception.
Click to expand...

Could the extra wires be for the facotry sub-woofer? Just a thought.

Eric
 
OU97CPA said:
Thanks for the info! Do you know where I can view/download the pin
diagram for the factory harness? The only ones I've been able to locate
are for aftermarket harnesses, which omit the wires that the harnesses
omit. I'm just curious what the 2 other wires on the factory harness
are for.

Thanks
Click to expand...

The one that was on pin 24 - I think it's G/B, but I can't read it for
sure - is for the antenna amp. It needs 12 volts when the radio is on. If
the amp's not powered, it's likely that the only thing you'll hear is what
leaks through the amp, and cable. VHF (FM) is able to do that more easily
than HF (AM).
 
If they still use the same plugs, its the wire above the black ground wire
on
the factory harness, it may be grey(i think) connect the blue wire from the
aftermarket H/U to this wire, if it doesnt have a blue wire use the blue
wire
with a white stripe (it will have this wire)
 
Bob said:
The one that was on pin 24 - I think it's G/B, but I can't read it for
sure - is for the antenna amp. It needs 12 volts when the radio is on. If
the amp's not powered, it's likely that the only thing you'll hear is what
leaks through the amp, and cable. VHF (FM) is able to do that more easily
than HF (AM).
Click to expand...

Pin 24 it is. Connected it to the wire from my head unit, and I have
radio again! Thanks for the help
 
You can view/print the schematics, shop manuals, and technical service
bulletins at www.hmaservice.com. You'll need to register for an account,
but it's free. The site requires IE.
 
Pin 24 it is. Connected it to the wire from my head unit, and I have
radio again! Thanks for the help
Click to expand...

Let me ask you guys something, since you seem to know your radios and
wiring. I have Sirius radio. I can use it fine with my FM modulator,
but as you probably know, the sound is much less than CD quality. On my
(now traded in) Elantra, I used an in-line antenna adapter to pipe in
the Sirius. Although it still relied on a FM modulator, the sound was
much better - almost CD quality.

When I got rid of the Elantra I removed the antenna adapter and tried to
install it in my Sonata. With it in place, I had great sounding Sirius,
but my AM reception was almost nothing, and my FM was very poor.

Removing the adapter fixed that problem and I have left it alone ever
since.

Could the adapter interfere with the built-in antenna amp? Is there any
way around that?

Thanks for any help you can provide. I am thinking maybe this is some
kind of grounding issue, but I tried a few things with no success. Of
course, I wasn't aware of the antenna amp to begin with.

Eric
 
It could be interfering with the proper passage of the signal along the
antenna wire. I'd think it'd need a built-in amp or some sort of
pass-thru switch to prevent lack of reception.
 
It could be interfering with the proper passage of the signal along the
antenna wire. I'd think it'd need a built-in amp or some sort of
pass-thru switch to prevent lack of reception.
Click to expand...

It is a pass-through switch. It worked just fine on the Elantra without
losing any reception. That is what really has me confused.

Eric
 
Eric G. said:
It is a pass-through switch. It worked just fine on the Elantra without
losing any reception. That is what really has me confused.

Eric
Click to expand...
There may be a voltage on the center conductor which provides either AM/FM
switching to the amp module near the back window (according to the
schematic, there is an AM and FM antenna section). This is unlikely, as
someone else here just replaced their radio with an aftermarket one, and I'm
sure that does not provide a bias voltage. The switch for the modulator is
likely cap. coupled which would block that voltage (if present). Measure
from ground to the center pin from the radio.

More likely is that either the switch isn't working - kill the power to the
Sirius receiver, and see if there's any difference in reception on a sort of
receivable FM station - NOT the channel Sirius is transmitting on - when the
Sirius receiver is turned on. If not, the switch, or the switching output
from the Sirius receiver is broken. If it gets worse when the Sirius
receiver is on, and better, but not good when it's off, it's probably a
problem with the cable between the switch and the car radio - assuming the
tail from the switch is the side the car radio belongs on, and the "hole" in
the switch is where the car radio antenna goes. The modulator from the
Sirius is probably hot enough that the car radio can hear it, even if the
cable is bad.
 
There may be a voltage on the center conductor which provides either
AM/FM switching to the amp module near the back window (according to
the schematic, there is an AM and FM antenna section). This is
unlikely, as someone else here just replaced their radio with an
aftermarket one, and I'm sure that does not provide a bias voltage.
The switch for the modulator is likely cap. coupled which would block
that voltage (if present). Measure from ground to the center pin from
the radio.

More likely is that either the switch isn't working - kill the power
to the Sirius receiver, and see if there's any difference in reception
on a sort of receivable FM station - NOT the channel Sirius is
transmitting on - when the Sirius receiver is turned on. If not, the
switch, or the switching output from the Sirius receiver is broken. If
it gets worse when the Sirius receiver is on, and better, but not good
when it's off, it's probably a problem with the cable between the
switch and the car radio - assuming the tail from the switch is the
side the car radio belongs on, and the "hole" in the switch is where
the car radio antenna goes. The modulator from the Sirius is probably
hot enough that the car radio can hear it, even if the cable is bad.
Click to expand...

I tested for voltage and have none (well, it actually shows 1 mV but I
think my meter is just out of calibration). The adapter gives me the
same reception on all AM/FM stations with or without the Sirius radio
connected. Also, if it is connected, power on or off makes no
difference. Yet I tested it all out on my Entourage, which I believe
hasd the same antenna, and it worked fine. Weird.

Eric
 
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