2004 vw beetle antenna issue?

I have terrible radio reception and the dealership has already replaced the:

1. deck

2. antenna

3. antenna holder on the roof

All that's left is the antenna wire itself, and the dealership has quoted over $500 and 2 days as the whole interior of the car has to come apart...I would like to troubleshoot it a bit on my own, however, I cannot get the deck out as it looks like it requires two flat tools to slide into the face of the deck...is there a makeshift tool that I could use that might be in my toolbox?

I think you can get the release keys from your local autoparts store. you could also just go to your local Circuit City/Best Buy and talk to the installers. sometimes you can get one of the guys to loan you the tool rihgt in the parking lot, or throw them a couple bucks for the use of the tool.

Ok, where to start ( Bob slowly shakes his head ). First your problem sounds like it might be the antenna is not getting 12 volts, you know it's an amplified antenna ,right? Second your dealer is a complete ripoff ( surprise! ) it would take a good installer about 2 hours for that job. Now for the last part. Why would you go to Circuit City or Best Buys to ask a vehicle specific question? Better chance of getting the right answer at Burger King. Loan tools!?!? You must be out  of your mind! Let's see, I could charge you for this job or I could risk losing my job becuase I'm doing work on the side while I,m clocked in. Yea that's worth a couple bucks. GRRRRRRRRR.

By the way, the tools you nedd are Metra part # 86-9001. They cost about $10.

For $500 I could put a new head unit in , and run your antenna wire.

If the antenna wire is in question, why hasn't any one done a continuity check with a meter?

Oh, crap. I forgot Bob. Thanks for the ugly reminder. Dealers never cease to amaze me.

By the way to the original poster, do you have both terrible reception on AM and FM?

Thank you guys for the quick responses.

If it's a metra part, I may be able to get it locally.  Thank you...12V amplified antenna...didn't know that...any suggestions on how to test it? I have a DMM, but the cables are no where near long enough to reach the antenna holder and the rear of the deck at the same time...

Haven't tried AM yet Dan...

On the flipside outtaluck is on the right track, I know a guy that works at a local stereo shop (future shop actually).  He's a friend, he'll let me use the tools.  But once I'm in there...how do I test the antenna/antenna holder/antenna wire?

Audiomaniac, thank you for the suggestion...I might just do that, once I get the bloody deck out, I will have a look, I'm not too shabby at troubleshooting stuff once I can see it...and I have an idea what I'm looking for :P

Wrenches...it's poor when in the cities, meaning it will cut out when going under a bridge or big power lines, and it will fade in and out within a city of say a million people...probably 100kW radio station...or 1MW...not sure which..and when I'm about 30km away from the city, it cuts out all together...other vehicles I've driven will go typically 100+kms, some will go 150-200kms, and if you have an fm booster, some will go many hundreds more :)

I will be going to the car audio shop this weekend....weekdays are doodiee for me as I seem to be working long hours these days.  I'll keep you guys up to date as things transpire.

Ok, here's the poop, I took out the deck (thanks to a vw keyset loaner from a good friend) and I had a look (took out part of the headliner) at the antenna, and the connector, etc.

The rear of the deck where the antenna attaches looks great, brand new in fact, solid connection, no burn marks, everything is great there.

I have a full spare antenna set (the part that holds the antenna, and the antenna itself, this also has the wire running from the antenna housing), and I connected that to the wire in the headliner, no noticeable difference.

I have a few more questions. 

1. How is the antenna grounded? Through the deck? If so, where is the deck grounded to? Through the wire harness?  Could this be a grounding issue?  Although the wire harness looked good, it's tight, maybe one of the wires is loose?

2. The 12V you guys talk about, if it's through the centre pin, how would you suggest I test to make sure it's good? I have a DMM.  Also, is there a way to test to make sure the ground is good? The ground and the power coming from the deck and near the antenna itself?

3. I just want to narrow down the issue, because if I go and get an aftermarket antenna and find that that doesn't fix the problem, I don't want to have wasted all that money.