Pressing Brakes causes AM radio Static

Appealing though it sounds, I'll resist "removing your skin" and simply ask why you are listening to AM radio in the first place?

There are several reasons I listen to AM.

1: I get traffic reports every 6 minutes. When driving around Southern California, these can be a blessing saving me countless hours on a jammed freeway.

2: I'm a news junkie. We have no FM news channel here.

3: Most of the FM station here suck. Depending on my mood I'll listen to several FM stations or my MP3 player via cassette interface. (the stock stereo has no AUX capabilities.

OK OK!! Most electrical interference eg. domestic fridges, hoovers etc. are best dealt with at source. The most common sources of interference are electric motors and switches... not sure what the source could be here other than maybe the switch that turns your brake lights on??? Hopefully more experienced group members will have some sort of electrical suppressor for am radio insights...... Cheers - '92 9000 CS 2l(non turbo :(

Actually, on further thought, it might be worth checking your brake bulbs are working OK. The 9K seems notorious for grounding problems, in places like brake circuits... I think an intermittent ground could theoretically cause radio interference???

On the c900, the wiring for the brake lights runs back through the car pretty much along side the wiring for the antenna (4 door anyway). Not sure what the setup is in the 9000, but it might be something to consider.

John

yup - sparks (even small ones caused by poor connections) are notorious RF transmitters....

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I was thinking pretty much the same thing. C900 rear lamp clusters cause some odd problems when they aren't earthed properly - so no doubt 9Ks could too! Check too for loose/corroded earth at the dash & ditto antenna connections.

Could be worse though ... I was working on a friend's Fiat 128 once. Everything was earthing through the speedo cable - including the starter motor. Talk about heat .... Cheers

And the electric antenna is at the back near the rear cluster, so close to the light cluster grounds as well.

Let us know how you get on!