Found the broken wire, found all the materials I needed to fix it, and husband decided he better help me. Win/win for me. We fixed it together and my radio works again after 4 years! 2006 Subaru Outback. Thank you for the awesome tutorial!
Thank You ... When my radio failed last week, I recalled that, a decade ago, I had to reconnect the radio wires after my 2005 Subaru wagon came back from an incomplete body shop repair. I immediately suspected that one of the wires had again broken from numerous open/close gate cycles, but I could no longer remember the details. Your video refreshed my memory and the up-close videos helped me identify the specific wires. I noted that one of the black-with-red-stripe wires is slightly thicker than the other, so once I had one end, I knew which was the mate. Once the wire was reconnected, the again radio worked fine, and hopefully will last another decade. Subaru owners should be aware that the wires to the Clarion EF1214IC amplifier not only power the amplifier, but the wires carry the radio frequency electrical signals back into the passenger compartment. Hence once should avoid the use of some black electrical tapes to insulate the new connection as those containing lots of carbon will absorb the radio frequency signal. Also, I suspect an adapter will be required if one seeks to retrofit a fender stick antenna, that terminates in a standard Motorola plug, instead of fixing the rear window connections.
My 2008 subaru radio signal is weak, and my hatch door finish trim is busted all to hell. Thanks to you, I'm going to repair that wire while I have all that trim work off the hatch door. THANK YOU, SIR! SALUTE!
Awesome. My radio reception has been out for a year and until I saw this video today, I haven't listened to the radio. Thank you for making this video. I followed your instructions and now my radio works.
Thanks for the very useful video. It got me started correctly to fix poor radio reception on stock radio. I found two broken wires in the rubber boot, with short stubs sticking out of the lower hole. Not having the skill or gear to pull off two mid-air solders right at the wear-and-tear part of the wires, I removed more panels and inserted some splices to get more length in the wires. Recommended pattern of panel removal: first take off the driver side pillar panel on the hatch, then the horizontal panel on the hatch just below the window. Next, pull off the driver's side pillar near the rear window. Then you can pop off one plastic connector on the left side of the top panel and see all the wires needed. Then use scissors to cut the yellow tape and get clear access to the two wires needing repair. I spliced about 4-5 inches of 18-g wire onto the ground wire (heavier black w/red)wire, using butt splices. Then I could fix the broken wire with another butt connector down below the hole, away from the repeated folding and with some extra length for flex. Then I spliced 5 or 6 inches of wire onto the smaller black-red wire connected to the antenna amplifier, and made another splice to its broken-off end, also below the hole and away from the constant folding. Since the wires are now longer than they were, it didn't seem useful to bind them together tightly with a lot of tape, as they were before -- that would prevent some play and flex which is needed. So, minimal taping to hold wires in place. Radio reception is way improved, and I didn't have to do mid-air soldering on little stubs of wire. Whew.
Splicing in a section of wire is a good alternative. I almost did it that way, but fortunately I was able to do solder the ends of the broken wires. It did involve some #%&$* cussing.
Thank you thank you!!! Suddenly lost radio reception, found your video, and within less than a minute found that my black with red stripe radio antenna wire was also broken in the same spot. Thanks to your super helpful video I saved hours of troubleshooting and was able to fix myself. Nice job!
One minor suggestion for others needing to mend a broken wire: rather than try to connect the broken ends directly to each other, if you add a new piece of other wire to one of the ends first, you can then thread that new wire through the flex boot and then have an easier time making the connection with the other end of the wire. I did this and then pushed the 3"-4" of extra wire into the cavity over the rear windshield.
No Radio for a year, intermittent R Wiper for 3 months until it said no more I'm done. Fuse good, that's as far as I got. Makes sense broken grounds. Finally my life allowed time to get into it. Searched. First Video I Tapped, Yours. 3 min in I Laughed and Smiled like the Butchers Dog, hit pause walked to the fridge got a Beer and sat back down and hit play. Thank You, You Don't Mumble, Clear Voice and Cantor. I Clearly know exactly where to jump in and what's in-store for me. Now get to it. Thank You. (1st Tap? That doesn't happen to me, Ever). The Only Slight Negative-- Do you really think that it was necessary to reach deep into the bag and pull out Serpiginous? Were not all Cal Tech High Energy Physicists or Nasa Engineers.😉
Have repaired two black wires but accidently sniped the other black wire which is the coaxial cable. Don't know how to reconnect as it has a small inner cable with plastic coating and wire on the outside of it.
Hello David, good video. Hey I have a 2009 Subaru that has that problem so will fix it. I also have another problem where the rear hatch does not always indicate that it is locked and the interior lights flicker and if I don't get it seated my battery is drained. Is that the right side harness that I may need to replace or a switch on the rear hatch?
Does anyone know if impreza/wrx WAGON have an antenna amplifier? My Fm SUCKS on this car for certain channels. Slightly better with "pwr antenna" wire hooked up to 12v (aftermarket radio)
You went through all that trouble and got the wire exposed.....and then you cold soldered it.. why. Its going to break right in half again. It would have took another 30 seconds for an unbreakable lifetime bond. Also that little bead of solder adds a lot of resistance opposed to the correct way which is twisting the wires together and FLOWING solder into them. Good quick fix but since you went through all the effort its worth doing right.
@Robie Sterling my advice is to strip a lot more wire back then you did. first add a long thick piece of waterproof heat shrink which has hot melt glue built in. Next twist the quarter to half inch of exposed wire together on either broken end. Next tin(melt solder)on your soldering iron and hold that blob to the bottom of the exposed, now twisted wire. take a length of Sauter and poke it on the top of the exposed wire until it flows into the twisted wires and turns everything silver. it should only take a few pokes of the solder stick if your soldering iron is up to heat. you shouldn't have to hold it on long enough for the insulation to start smoking and melting it literally should take less than 12 seconds. lastly slide your heat shrink over the soldered wires and heat it with a lighter or heat gun until the hot melt water proof glue melts out on either end
thank you for a great video. I have a similar radio problem I checked out the wires like you suggested but they are OK, what should I troubleshot next? Thank you
A radio reception problem could have many causes. One to consider is the antenna amplifier. It is located under the upper trim piece on the rear gate. See this video if you do not know how to remove the rear gate trim: th-cam.com/video/N4oBHTjmsvs/w-d-xo.html
Thank you I will have to buy the amplifier then. I have other unrelated problems hope you could help. 1-The cruise control is not working and the airbag alarm is on went to dealer he said you need a new steering roll connector, so I found videos on how to remove the steering wheel, but the "roll connector" would you know if it is connected with bolts/screws or does it snap in place? 2-Just recently the rear wiper went dead any tips (checked the wires/fuses, they are OK)? Thank you and happy holidays
I can not help you with the "roll connector". I have no experience. The rear wiper motor problem could be the wiring harness. It is a common failure. The wires to the wiper motor are in the harness on the passenger side. Pull back the rubber covering on the passenger side and look for any broken wires. If it is just one wire, I would fix just that. If there are several broken wires, I would consider replacing the entire harness. Warning - It is a big job. See this video: th-cam.com/video/naQ81eG-Trk/w-d-xo.html
This should give me something to do over the holidays, if it wasn't for the freezing weather it would have been much more enjoyably. Thank you again for all your help and happy new year
Found the broken wire, found all the materials I needed to fix it, and husband decided he better help me. Win/win for me. We fixed it together and my radio works again after 4 years! 2006 Subaru Outback. Thank you for the awesome tutorial!
Thank You ... When my radio failed last week, I recalled that, a decade ago, I had to reconnect the radio wires after my 2005 Subaru wagon came back from an incomplete body shop repair. I immediately suspected that one of the wires had again broken from numerous open/close gate cycles, but I could no longer remember the details. Your video refreshed my memory and the up-close videos helped me identify the specific wires. I noted that one of the black-with-red-stripe wires is slightly thicker than the other, so once I had one end, I knew which was the mate. Once the wire was reconnected, the again radio worked fine, and hopefully will last another decade.
Subaru owners should be aware that the wires to the Clarion EF1214IC amplifier not only power the amplifier, but the wires carry the radio frequency electrical signals back into the passenger compartment. Hence once should avoid the use of some black electrical tapes to insulate the new connection as those containing lots of carbon will absorb the radio frequency signal. Also, I suspect an adapter will be required if one seeks to retrofit a fender stick antenna, that terminates in a standard Motorola plug, instead of fixing the rear window connections.
My 2008 subaru radio signal is weak, and my hatch door finish trim is busted all to hell. Thanks to you, I'm going to repair that wire while I have all that trim work off the hatch door.
THANK YOU, SIR!
SALUTE!
Awesome. My radio reception has been out for a year and until I saw this video today, I haven't listened to the radio. Thank you for making this video. I followed your instructions and now my radio works.
I am happy it worked for you. Thanks for the feedback.
Best advice, my Subaru dealer didn't know. It took me 15 min and the radio works like before. Thank you very much!!
Thanks for the very useful video. It got me started correctly to fix poor radio reception on stock radio. I found two broken wires in the rubber boot, with short stubs sticking out of the lower hole. Not having the skill or gear to pull off two mid-air solders right at the wear-and-tear part of the wires, I removed more panels and inserted some splices to get more length in the wires. Recommended pattern of panel removal: first take off the driver side pillar panel on the hatch, then the horizontal panel on the hatch just below the window. Next, pull off the driver's side pillar near the rear window. Then you can pop off one plastic connector on the left side of the top panel and see all the wires needed. Then use scissors to cut the yellow tape and get clear access to the two wires needing repair.
I spliced about 4-5 inches of 18-g wire onto the ground wire (heavier black w/red)wire, using butt splices. Then I could fix the broken wire with another butt connector down below the hole, away from the repeated folding and with some extra length for flex. Then I spliced 5 or 6 inches of wire onto the smaller black-red wire connected to the antenna amplifier, and made another splice to its broken-off end, also below the hole and away from the constant folding. Since the wires are now longer than they were, it didn't seem useful to bind them together tightly with a lot of tape, as they were before -- that would prevent some play and flex which is needed. So, minimal taping to hold wires in place. Radio reception is way improved, and I didn't have to do mid-air soldering on little stubs of wire. Whew.
Splicing in a section of wire is a good alternative. I almost did it that way, but fortunately I was able to do solder the ends of the broken wires. It did involve some #%&$* cussing.
Thank you thank you!!! Suddenly lost radio reception, found your video, and within less than a minute found that my black with red stripe radio antenna wire was also broken in the same spot. Thanks to your super helpful video I saved hours of troubleshooting and was able to fix myself. Nice job!
I am glad it helped you. Thanks for the feedback.
One minor suggestion for others needing to mend a broken wire: rather than try to connect the broken ends directly to each other, if you add a new piece of other wire to one of the ends first, you can then thread that new wire through the flex boot and then have an easier time making the connection with the other end of the wire. I did this and then pushed the 3"-4" of extra wire into the cavity over the rear windshield.
A good suggestion. If I had been unable to make the direct wire to wire solder connection, my plan-B was to incorporate a length of wire, as you did.
No Radio for a year, intermittent R Wiper for 3 months until it said no more I'm done. Fuse good, that's as far as I got. Makes sense broken grounds. Finally my life allowed time to get into it. Searched. First Video I Tapped, Yours. 3 min in I Laughed and Smiled like the Butchers Dog, hit pause walked to the fridge got a Beer and sat back down and hit play. Thank You, You Don't Mumble, Clear Voice and Cantor. I Clearly know exactly where to jump in and what's in-store for me. Now get to it. Thank You. (1st Tap? That doesn't happen to me, Ever). The Only Slight Negative-- Do you really think that it was necessary to reach deep into the bag and pull out Serpiginous? Were not all Cal Tech High Energy Physicists or Nasa Engineers.😉
Thank you, I’ll look for wear and tear there! I’m losing reception and you fix it there. 👍
You just fixed my radio today , thank you
Dude, you are a youtube subaru antenna fixit master! Thanks.
I have a problem with the FM antenna for the sedan version. Where are the FM antenna connections for the sedan version?
What were the other broken wires for?
Really useful video, thank you. Had exactly the same issue as yours
Have repaired two black wires but accidently sniped the other black wire which is the coaxial cable. Don't know how to reconnect as it has a small inner cable with plastic coating and wire on the outside of it.
Hello David, good video. Hey I have a 2009 Subaru that has that problem so will fix it. I also have another problem where the rear hatch does not always indicate that it is locked and the interior lights flicker and if I don't get it seated my battery is drained. Is that the right side harness that I may need to replace or a switch on the rear hatch?
Does anyone know if impreza/wrx WAGON have an antenna amplifier? My Fm SUCKS on this car for certain channels. Slightly better with "pwr antenna" wire hooked up to 12v (aftermarket radio)
Thankyou so much! I thought the Auto Elects were useless - turns out they are if I can fix this problem from a youtube video with zero skills.
Thanks, i was trying to figure out why that antenna amp had no voltage on it.
how is the repair holding up? i am going to temp. fix mine the same way and just curious is its still working. Cheers.
It has been only 3 months, but the radio is still working fine.
Mine was the same! I had to extend with a bit of mains cable and some crimps
I'm glad I found this. I thought it was because I had the windshield replaced. I can't wait to go home and check!
You went through all that trouble and got the wire exposed.....and then you cold soldered it.. why. Its going to break right in half again. It would have took another 30 seconds for an unbreakable lifetime bond. Also that little bead of solder adds a lot of resistance opposed to the correct way which is twisting the wires together and FLOWING solder into them. Good quick fix but since you went through all the effort its worth doing right.
@Robie Sterling my advice is to strip a lot more wire back then you did. first add a long thick piece of waterproof heat shrink which has hot melt glue built in. Next twist the quarter to half inch of exposed wire together on either broken end. Next tin(melt solder)on your soldering iron and hold that blob to the bottom of the exposed, now twisted wire. take a length of Sauter and poke it on the top of the exposed wire until it flows into the twisted wires and turns everything silver. it should only take a few pokes of the solder stick if your soldering iron is up to heat. you shouldn't have to hold it on long enough for the insulation to start smoking and melting it literally should take less than 12 seconds. lastly slide your heat shrink over the soldered wires and heat it with a lighter or heat gun until the hot melt water proof glue melts out on either end
thank you for a great video. I have a similar radio problem I checked out the wires like you suggested but they are OK, what should I troubleshot next? Thank you
A radio reception problem could have many causes. One to consider is the antenna amplifier. It is located under the upper trim piece on the rear gate. See this video if you do not know how to remove the rear gate trim:
th-cam.com/video/N4oBHTjmsvs/w-d-xo.html
Thank you I will have to buy the amplifier then. I have other unrelated problems hope you could help. 1-The cruise control is not working and the airbag alarm is on went to dealer he said you need a new steering roll connector, so I found videos on how to remove the steering wheel, but the "roll connector" would you know if it is connected with bolts/screws or does it snap in place? 2-Just recently the rear wiper went dead any tips (checked the wires/fuses, they are OK)? Thank you and happy holidays
I can not help you with the "roll connector". I have no experience. The rear wiper motor problem could be the wiring harness. It is a common failure. The wires to the wiper motor are in the harness on the passenger side. Pull back the rubber covering on the passenger side and look for any broken wires. If it is just one wire, I would fix just that. If there are several broken wires, I would consider replacing the entire harness. Warning - It is a big job. See this video: th-cam.com/video/naQ81eG-Trk/w-d-xo.html
This should give me something to do over the holidays, if it wasn't for the freezing weather it would have been much more enjoyably. Thank you again for all your help and happy new year
Thanks! This was really helpful:)
same deal,
too bad, this wire is solid through whole car interior and u cant just unplug rear door section and replace it
Hi, Hey Thanks. This was helpful.
Why not just add a few inches of wire?
I could have, I just decided to do it this way. One solder joint instead of two. It still works perfectly.
Well you don’t want too many locations to fix when this happens again, which was the wear and tear’s that Subaru did think about! 🤙👍