Symptom Table - Sound Quality

WARNING: This page is about a different car, the 2010 Mercury Milan, 2010 Lincoln MKZ, and 2010 Ford Fusion. However, it is still accessible from the selected car via links, so may be relevant.

SYMPTOM TABLE - SOUND QUALITY

Condition	Possible Sources	Action
Poor reception - AM/FM	Wiring, terminals or connectors AM/FM antenna AM/FM antenna cable Charging system Ignition system Noise suppression equipment Antenna module (MKZ only) Audio Control Module (ACM)	Go To PINPOINT TEST A .
Poor reception - satellite radio	Obstructions to the antenna line of sight Satellite radio antenna Satellite radio antenna cable ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST B .
Continuous seek/scan - AM/FM	No channel found in the selected category AM/FM antenna AM/FM antenna cable Noise suppression equipment ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST A .
Continuous seek/scan - satellite radio	No channel found in the selected category Obstructions to the antenna line of sight Satellite radio antenna Satellite radio antenna cable ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST B .
Poor sound quality/no sound while in satellite radio mode - all other functions operate correctly	Satellite radio antenna Satellite radio antenna cable ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST B .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound from one or more speakers (not all speakers) - base, mid-level sound	Wiring, terminals or connectors Speaker ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST C .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound from one or more speakers (not all speakers) - premium sound	Fuse Wiring, terminals or connectors Speaker Audio amplifier Subwoofer amplifier ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST D .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound from one or more speakers (not all speakers) - Sony® sound	Fuse Wiring, terminals or connectors Speaker Audio Digital Signal Processing (DSP) module Subwoofer amplifier ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST E .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound from one or more speakers (not all speakers) - THX® sound	Fuse Wiring, terminals or connectors Speaker Audio DSP module ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST F .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound from all speakers	Fuse Wiring, terminals or connectors Audio DSP module (Sony® sound, THX® sound) ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST G .
Poor quality/distorted/no sound while in SYNC mode	Wiring, terminals or connectors Accessory Protocol Interface Module (APIM) ACM	Go To PINPOINT TEST H .