Power Antenna Replacement

[FABombjoy]

This works IF you have the snips and the hole saw.

Well, I guess that is hard to argue with.

Other prerequisites include
-One working hand and/or foot gripping skills
-Vice or gullible friend with insufficient sense
-Eyeballs or suitable adaptive equipment

Admittedly I envy your hardware store if you can walk right in and find a metal washer with .75" ID and > 1.25" OD. McMaster has very limited options, the cheapest being 98370A036, 0.781" x 1.625" @ $2.80/each plus UPS (you'd need 2).

Further economical alternative mounting adapter solutions:
-Plastic milk, laundry detergent, or other HDPE plastic jug. Sharp scissors. Cut and stack rings until suitable thickness achieved.
-Lucky Charms (has to be Lucky Charms) cereal box, shellac, dull scissors. Cut into rings as above but use shellac to waterproof adapter ring stack.
-Plastic pipe strapping and stapler. Cut and staple pipe strapping to close gap. Attach antenna.
-Coffee can, rocks. Stand in front yard, visibly smash coffee can with rocks until concerned neighbor offers to help. Accept offer.

[spikeygg]

I got it! I looked through all my loose hardware and I actually found a couple of gigantic washers that were almost exactly what I needed, I also found some fender washers and an extra nut which I needed. I used my hand drill to ream out the big ones a little and voila, installed! I tested it out, it's perfectly aligned and it's vertical, YAY!

Installed_NewBracket.jpg Installed_NewBracket2.jpg Installed_NewBracket3.jpg

Thanks for the help DMCTalk.

[Metastophales]

The relay may have already been bypassed because that power unit you took a picture of was not original. Just about all antennas now have the relay built in so you don't need the one behind the driver's seat. Just make sure you fuse the power to the antennae.

Is there any way to test the relay to see if it is good? I have the original antenna but the radio that was in the car didn't have an antenna lead. the interior is all apart with open wires everywhere so i cant really put the battery in. any ideas on testing if the relay is good?

[David T]

Two wires feed that relay, a red one and a green one. The red one has power all the time from the door lock module circuit breaker. The green wire gets power from the radio antennae output wire when the radio is on to tell the relay to put the antennae up. Make sure the red wire has power first. It should. Disconnect the green wire and jumper it to power. The relay should click and if it works (and the antennae works) the antennae should go up and when you remove power from the green wire the antennae should go down. If the relay doesn't click you can also make sure it is grounded. The relays don't usually fail. If you don't have an antennae feed you can add a manual switch to put power on that green wire or you can put the green wire on ignition power so the antennae goes up when the key is on and down when the key is off.

[blueshark66]

Is there any way to test the relay to see if it is good? I have the original antenna but the radio that was in the car didn't have an antenna lead. the interior is all apart with open wires everywhere so i cant really put the battery in. any ideas on testing if the relay is good?

I just replace my antenna. The new one didn't need that relay so I took it out. If you need my old one (which works) you can have it. Just let me know.

Chris

[hippieman9]

What's your VIN if you don't mind my asking? My car (4456) pretty much has the same thing so I'm pretty sure it's factory.

Cheers
Steven

My car 6668 Has the same flimsy bracket. The top bolt just broke in two and you can hear the antenna bouncing around.
Ryan

[Dontilgon]

Does it matter if I use a glass tube or spade type for the inline antenna fuse . Also what would the proper amp?

[David T]

The short answer is to check what the specs are for the power antennae and size accordingly. The longer answer is to use the smallest fuse that won't blow all the time. A fuse is a fuse, the body of it doesn't matter, only the rating. NEVER use a fuse with a rating higher than the wiring it is supposed to protect. The whole principle is that the fuse will blow BEFORE you set the wiring on fire!

[peternikkiskinner]

I will need to take a look at my Antenna too. I can hear the motor working but the mast does not go up or down. When removing the charcoal canister does this require a turn before pulling out?

[Dontilgon]

There is a bit of maneuvering but pretty straight forward. I used a plastic flathead to help get peel it away from the car. It was the original antenna so its been on there awhile. Waiting to hear back from DMCH on the proper amp to use. I'm going to use 14GA wire and a spade fuse type. Hopefylly get to it this weekend. Ill photo when done.