1992 Es 300 Factory Radio Tuner Goes Out?

[pete1rayce]

I am having an intermittant problem with my old 92 es. Factory Head unit with functional elec. antena in the trunk.

Music goes in and out like I am too far from the radio signal, "ST" light flashes on an off respectively.

I have TWO theories, and am trying to narrow it down.

1. The tuner in the head unit is slowly dying >>> Need to replace

2. The antenna or antenna wire is bad / loose, and need to replace.

The problem is that BOTH items are pricy, and even used, I don't want to buy the wrong part .

Has anyone met with similar problem or know how to deturmine exact issue?

[amf1932]

I would suspect the antenna to be at fault, mainly because the signal strength is probably very low, and this type fluctuation will cause the sound to go in and out and the stereo light will go on and off. There is test equipment that checks RF signal strength from the antenna, but it's generally pretty expensive, so maybe you can bring the car to an auto radio company to have them test it.