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      07-06-2011, 06:44 AM   #27
sfax
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Drives: BMW X3 2011 F25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr Stig 2 View Post
From your symptoms, I would be checking that the shark fin antenna on the roof is making a connection with the cradle (the dealer will be able to find out what the pin impedances should be and then measure them to see if it is internally connected).

If the antenna was not connected - then your iPhone would be using its internal antenna, which would be working fine with the armrest open, but attenuated when shielded by the closed armrest. (a partial Farraday cage effect)

All theory - would need to do impedance checks on the antenna connections to know for sure.

I never trust that an antenna is connected - my Toyota Kluger (highlander) came with a GPS, but the dealer managed to dissconnect the antenna twice behind the dash, each time was a long argument to get them to pull the dash apart to reconnect it. Even when the LCD display clearly did not show any GPS signal.
Thanks for the advice and the info. I agree and I intend to take it to the dealer and ask them to check.

Ahh, Faraday's cage takes me back to physics at school and watching someone in a cage remain unharmed whilst millions of volts were fired at it...
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