LivingSter

For some months I've been intermittently getting the word "Antenna" flashing on my display when attempting to listen to Sirius/XM, and no sound. Then, maybe after twenty minutes or maybe the next time I'm in the car, things are fine again. On my last service, to check this out, the mechanic took the antenna apart and put it back together again. That seemed to fix the problem for a few days, but now "Antenna" flashes constantly and I never get sound. The troubleshooting page in the owner's manual says this is either because of a loose connection or a "short circuit" in the antenna--I'm not sure what the latter would mean. I've got a 2006 LS430, antenna mounted on the trunk lid near the rear window. Anyway, has anyone else experienced this? Do you think a complete replacement of the antenna would solve the problem?

miniz

This happens when there is a short circuit or loose connection to the antenna. It could be on the back of the receiver.

LivingSter

Miniz--if it is not a loose connection but rather a short circuit, what might cause it?

Also, if the problem is a loose connection on the back of the receiver, where is the receiver located?

The crazy thing is how (up until the last couple of days), the problem has been intermittment. "Antenna" flashing when running one errand in the car, then not flashing (and satellite radio working normally) when running the next errand. This suggested to me that the problem was something "computer" related, and that my next turn of the ignition effectively "rebooted" the computer to make it work again. But I guess not.

miniz

Checked under the passenger side front seat. I think the tuner is located there. Does this happen when you go over bumps?

LivingSter

No, bumps don't affect it. Haven't found a consistent pattern. But if I get an antenna connection when I start up the car such that satellite radio works, it stays connected for the duration of that drive. The next time I get in the car, it may be unconnected and flashing "antenna" and stay unconnected for the duration of that drive.

Thought for a while that I was noticing that opening and closing the trunk before a drive was more likely to make the connection not work on that drive, but this isn't consistently so.

All day long today I was getting no connection. But on the way home from the restaurant where we valet parked tonight, the satellite radio came on right away.

Could rain cause the connection to "short circuit"? The satellite radio was working consistently for a few days recently and then began consistently not working, and a rain happened in between those two periods. But this could be coincidence.

miniz

The tuner isn't detecting the antenna for some reason. I would check the wiring from the antenna back to the tuner and then on the back of the tuner, I would check the connection plug-end from the antenna. It almost sounds like a firmware issue with the tuner. If it was a short, it would go out, then come back on, over and over within the same drive.

LivingSter

The firmware sort of thing is what I'm thinking, too. Since coming back on Friday night, the satellite connection has remained consistently on, through various drives yesterday and today. Invariably, if it is on at the beginning of a drive (or comes on after an initial absence), it stays on until that drive is over. Never once has it been on and then stopped being on within that same drive. But sometime in the next few days (if the pattern holds), I'm going to turn on the ignition and get the flashing "antenna" light again instead of a signal.

The dealer has suggested replacing the antenna (about a $300 item), which I would be more than happy to have them do, if I thought it would solve the problem. My concern is that this is not really where the problem lies. If it's firmware (or something in the receiver's computer system), it concerns me that the dealer isn't thinking in this direction.

It would be fantastic if there were some set of buttons to push to cause a "reboot" of the radio, because it seems to me this is what it needs, but that's probably not really possible.

kelnelmelf

Were you ever able to determine what the cause of your "Antenna" issue was. My 2007 GS450h just lost satellite signal a couple weeks ago and I'm getting the "Antenna" flashing with nothing else. The dealership has stated that they can't find any electrical issues with the radio so they are simply recommending that I replace the entire assembly for $1,244. Seems absurd considering the other 99% of the radio functions work perfectly fine. Any recommendations?

jimbosr1

The op has not logged on in 8 years.

Johnhav430

Had a situation like that on the Maxima forum, and suddenly the guy was back after around 12 years. Said he just got out of prison..

BubbaB

I also have the flashing Antenna message...