Power antennae not working

[96 SSEi]

Hello, I didnt drive my car for about 3 days and now the power antennae is not working. I unplugged the two connectors to the relay of the antennae and tested for power. There is power to I think # 2 wire as it says on the relay. I then plugged in the grey connector leaving the black one off and the relay was clicking as i unplugged and replugged the grey connector.

I put it all back together and antennae still not working........no suprise....LOL

I then posted about the wheel bearing nut size and when I was replying back it magically started working again........YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!

I think the relay is going........anyone else have this issue or other suggestions........Thanks

[Bob Dillon]

Short answer is, power antennas suck. They're not good for radio reception, either, especially AM.

All the parts to trashcan it and go with a traditional antenna are $28 at the dealer. After wrestling with 2 of them in my car, that's what I recommend.

[96 SSEi]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I was thinking of going with a regular antennae but since its working now I'll hold off. This is the original antennae and has given me no problem ( until now )over the years.
I do agree with the AM reception being quite bad. Only time will tell.

[freneticburn]

Welcome to the club

[willwren]

If you take care of them, they last a long time. Take it out, drill out the rivets, lube it well (shaft and gears) and put it back together with machine screws and nuts. Make sure the drain is not plugged and that it's properly connected.

[Bob Dillon]

If you take care of them, they last a long time. Take it out, drill out the rivets, lube it well (shaft and gears) and put it back together with machine screws and nuts. Make sure the drain is not plugged and that it's properly connected.

Mine broke the cable. Twice.

Enough.

[reb]

Original power antennae, never had a problem.....

[Icebound]

You can test your relay as follows:

Take the relay off both plugs, car and antenna.

With a multi-meter, it should show:

Pin 6 is "open" (infinite ohms) to all pins.

Zero ohms (dead short) between pins 1 and 5, and between 3 and 4.

Pins 3 and 4 are otherwise "open" against all other pins.

It should show approximately 50 ohms (the relay coil), between pins 2 and 5, and the same between 2 and 1.

With the relay plugged ONLY into the car harness (Grey plug) and NOT the antenna:

With the RADIO OFF:

Pin 4 (positive) should show 12 volts to pin 5 (negative) (This is the power for the "down" cycle)

With the RADIO ON:

Pin 5 (Positive) should show 12 volts to pin 6 (negative) (this is the "up" cycle)

If the relay checks okay, then it is probable that the antenna motor is gunked up and is not reaching the limit switches.

The limit switches are mechanical, and the motor is designed to "move" slightly when it reached the end of its travel. This small motion "opens" the limit switch, which cuts power to the motor and stops it from trying to go further. BUT IT ALSO "turns on" the OTHER limit switch, which is necessary for REVERSING the motor. So if the motor does not travel far enough to trigger the limit switch, it will never reverse.

That is when you take it apart, clean out the gunk, regrease, reassemble with new bolts.

Note that the motor also has a circuit breaker built in, which might trigger..... although I am not aware that either of my cars ever have.

By the way, it does not appear to be that difficult to find these antennas in good condition. I scored two of them in one day this year... for cheap... at a "U-pick-your-own" junk yard in the Toronto area. Any of the Luxury GMS (Caddy, Olds, big Buicks) from the mid nineties all used the same one. The Caddy one was a nice find, because it had a chrome tip instead of the usual black plastic. (And it also had a noise-reducing capacitor on the "down" travel..... the normal ones only have noise reducing on the "up" travel, built into the motor)....

One of mine lasted 17 years and had to be replaced when the worm gear corroded so much that it was failing to engage the nylon line push-puller. Another one is now 14 years old, and has never been opened.

I have never had a problem with the line breaking.

...

[impala67]

i think this belongs here, although slightly off topic;
where to get new power antenna motor? mine has broken cable.
i surfed rockauto but could not find it in their listings, only antenna cable is available.
thanks

[00Beast]

Dealer.

Or get a non-power antenna and be done with it.

[96 SSEi]

Thanks Icebound, I will check that tomorrow.

Impala67 maybe you can try to repair it..........viewtopic.php?f=21&t=23767&p=245530&hil ... le#p245530

[Bob Dillon]

E-bay has auctions for the power antennae.

[renchjeep]

I bought a used one from a wrecker on eBay for $25.00, and it has worked for 2 years now.

Of course, having said that, it will fail soon, maybe tomorrow!

[human]

I picked one up at Pull-A-Part this past summer for $13. I couldn't care less about AM reception. I haven't listened to AM radio in over 30 years.