TL_S_Driver

As i'm sure many of you have read recently i have had trouble getting my radio to accept the radio code. Well today i dropped it off at the dealership and i was informed that this has become quite common in our cars. they had approximately 20 vehicles with the same problem in the last week.

Thankfully they repaired it for free and they described the simple procedure to correct the problem. Apparently the antenna for the radio is some how shorting the radio and causing it to reject the code. To correct it just disconnect the antenna and punch in the code but i forgot to ask if the code is punched in before you reconnect.

Either way i get home and disconnect the battery to make sure the problem doesnt repeat itself, i shouldve done this at the dealership, and of course it does so again i'm w/o a radio b/c i dont know where the antenna is to disconnect.

Can anyone point it out for me???? PLEASE

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

behind your radio you have to wire harnesses and one black wire.. the black wire ( i believe is on the bottom left) is for the antenna.

TL_S_Driver

is it neccessary to pull out the radio or can i access the wires some other way

Blazin_TL

iTrader: (1)

if u take off the side panels on the driver side you MIGHTT be able to get it but im not really sure.

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

Are we talking about antenna that's integrated into the rear window? I thought there was a harness back there, but I'm not sure.

fsttyms1

nope the TL has a standard radio plugin. its on the drivers side about a inch in from the side dead center

Pure Adrenaline

iTrader: (2)

OK, I'm lost now.

TL_S_Driver

can anyone confirm that the black wire represents the antenna?

i'm a lil lost too but i'm sure it will make sense once i open it up.

fsttyms1

yes the tl HAS a black ROUND antenna wire. its a plug all by its self. its on the rear of the radio on the drivers side, about a inch from the side and half way up (center) of the radio

TL_S_Driver

i dont know what i'd do w/o this tread..........

mclarenf3387

you'd suffer

to the power that is Acurazine

TL_S_Driver

ALL HAIL ACURAZINE

fsttyms1

Mr Hyde

Yup its the round black wire, and you can reach it from the drivers side. Just need to dig around a bit. After my video-nav install, one day my antenna worked its way out; guess it was loose. I reached behind the radio, and was able to plug it back in.

TL_S_Driver

well its done. oddly enough after unpluggin the antenna and entering the code the radio worked. a lil difficult manuvering in their but no more long boring drives for me.

aazeez1975

you guys are awesome!!!

ResidualFreedom

I'm pretty sure adrenalin was right when he said the antenna goes to the glass in the back... I believe it goes from the radio (Yes, it is the big black wire, resmbaling co-ax TV cable in size) through the car to the back window....

now I'd be interested to see if the disconnecting of the antenna works if you just unplugged it from the window connection (in the trunk) and not the rear of the deck...


either way nice post on the fix....I'm guessing you are driving a 2nd gen TL even though your avatar shows a 3rd gen?

TL_S_Driver

yes i have a 2nd gen but a huge fan of the 3rd so i used it as my avatar to help me move toward the goal of buyin one in a year or two.

peroulas

2003 TL Type-S:

I stumbled on this issue over this last weekend also. My radio would not accept the code, and I drove it to the dealer, and sure enough, they typed it in, and it worked. I thought I was going crazy.

I continued to work on my car later that day, installing an ipod adaptor (neo), and had to disconnect the battery, and sure enough, it would not accept the code AGAIN!

At this point, I thought I was really going crazy.

So, I traced back my steps, and for some reason, I concluded that if I drive the car around, and stop after a few minutes, it ACCEPTS the code. It does not work if you just keep the engine running. I tried this sequence a few times, and when it does not accept the code, driving around seems to temporarily fix the radio for some strange reason so that it accepts the code.

Anyways, just something that you may want to try before tearing apart your dashboard to get to the back of the radio.

SC2.2CL

This is good info. I would much rather take a 10 min drive than spend 1/2 taking the console apart

fsttyms1

why when it only takes 2 min to pull the side off and unplug the antenna and reinstall the side

otomiko2

I just had the same problem with my '02 tl radio and the "1" "6" method worked. Just turn on the car and make sure the radio is off then hold down presets "1" and "6" and turn the radio on. Keep holding the buttons until the receiver finishes displaying its serial number (this should happen twice) the display will then switch to Err_ (or Code i'm assuming if you haven't tried the code yet). At this point enter your code and it should work. I tried it a couple times and it worked every time with no need to remove the antenna cable. Good luck.

03CoupeV6

Plus a recall has to be for a safety issue, I thought.