My SSR has a antenna that printed on the inside of the windshield. It's the same tech as you see in rear window de-frosting elements. There is a powered amp between this and the stock radio.

All summer long I've had great reception. This was after having the radio warranted for a different issue. Reception had been unacceptablly good. Which is to say poor but not poor enough to get the dealer to move on it. Anyway the problem I asked to have repaired didn't get fixed, but reception is now excellent.

Last week we had what for this area an unusual thunderstorm with rain. Happens every 5-10 years or so. The next day, crystal clear, I had poor reception that improved over the next few days.

Having written that, It sounds like something got damp. My question is "What would the wisdom of the Empeg gestalt find to be at fault? I guess what I really mean is, What's likely from most to least? Me naming what I can think of in no particular order, Antenna, amp, coax to radio, radio, chassies(body), dash harnesses.

How old is this vehicle?
Sounds like a bad ground,loose connection, to the antenna,or even to the radio if the antenna is grounded through it.
It might have somehow also gotten wet and caused a short(and bad reception) until it dried out.
It appears as though you've already figured that out.

Antenna, especially if it's powered and screws into a socket or flange on the bodywork. Dismount it, brush clean it, grease it with Vaseline and replace.

Like he said, it's one of those that looks like window defroster elements.

In that case, a putty knife might help in the "dismount it" phase.

Oop! Moral: learn to read.

There's two types, glued to glass, or embedded in glass. The glued to type always has problems with condensation.

The embedded ones still need to have an electrical tapoff with a connector for signal and possibly ground (usually decoupled from the power connectors of a heater element). Disconnect these, brush clean, vaseline, replace.

18 months old.

The trace is bonded to the inside surface. Not embedded.

I'd never heard that the bonded on style had problems with moisture. I'll have to try damp ragging it to see if it becomes worse.

There were some people with SSR's where during dealer prep, the trace was severed by people using razors to remove stickers from the inside window. Not mine. The trace is intact and yields consistent continuity/resistance throuout.

I'll look into the connections, cleaning and lube.

PS Means absolutly nothing but the vehicle, originally, was slated to have an antenna made from a see thru metallic film on one of the inside surfaces of the safety glass.