L322 Awful radio reception

Good afternoon, all.

As per the thread title, the radio in my 2002 L322 Rangie 4.4 Vogue (original widescreen stereo/sat nav combined unit) has real trouble finding and maintaining a signal for radio stations (FM/MW/LW). When it does finally lock onto a station, the signal is weak, it goes in and out of phase, and the sound quality is awful.

The only thing I can liken it to is listening to a car radio with the aerial down (remember retractable aerials?)

As my Rangie doesn't have an external aerial, I am not sure where to start looking. I suppose I have two questions - 1) Is this a common fault with early L322s, and 2) What can I do to fix it?

Thanks in advance.

The radio ariel is part of the rear screen - when the rear screen heater is on, radio reception can be bloody awful.

Even when you turn off the heater, the system pulses power through it for a period of time which can intermittently affect the recption.

Now if you haven't used the rear screen heater (as it is summer) it could be a small electrical leak to the rear screen heater due to age/corrosion of contacts or a small earth leak that is affecting radio performance....try unpluging the rear window heater plug and see if it gets better....if not, it could be the electrical gear in the nearside rear corner getting damp!

Thanks Saint. Radio reception is permanently awful, whether I have the rear heated screen on or not, though I will be sure to check the connectors to the heated rear window.

Will I need to remove any trim panels, or is the location of the rear window heater plug fairly obvious/out in the open?

PS: Not sure if it makes any difference, but my car came to me with aftermarket tints all round - rear window included. Could that be the cause?