A while ago the GPS in my 2012 1.6 Ford Focus Zetec stopped working. The screen just showed a message saying no GPS in the bottom left corner - similar to the image shown below. I asked the local main dealer about it at the most recent service, he told me it would be £100 just to diagnose the fault as it may require removing the roof lining.
£100 to diagnose the fault! I dread to think how much they would charge for the fix as well. I decided to see if I could fix it myself. After a bit of googling I had an idea of where the problem probably was. It seems it is common for water to penetrate into the roof shark-fin aerial enclosure and start to rust the connections. I had an idea that I could disconnect the current GPS module and plug in a new one. It turns out that many cars use a common format GPS module and they are interchangeable. I bought the following cable from Amazon and it worked a treat!
To access the GPS connection you need to get to the back of the centre console unit. Here the cable with the blue Fakra connector is for the GPS module. To get to the unit you need to remove a small vent piece located in the middle below the hazard lights button, see image. You can just pull down on this vent and it comes off. Behind this two screws hold the centre console, once you remove these bolts you can ease the whole thing forward. Then there are a couple more torx screws holding the screen etc in. Take these out.
You should be able to identify the current GPS aerial connector as the blue one. You can now unplug this and replace with your new GPS lead. The GPS unit I bought had a magnetic base. I just mounted it to the side of the double din metal casing where there was some space, I still get a good GPS signal even though it is a bit buried in the centre console, but no faffing re-routing wires into posts etc.
There you have it a quick and easy fix saving over £100! Hope this helps someone who has the same problem. Below are amazon links to the equipment I used:
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