Okay, I cant get this electric antenna to work and just want to put a fixed one on that I can unscrew at the end of the year when I store/cover the car.


Will any universal one work or do you guys know of a good one out there that is a good fit?

 

Go to the junkyard and remove a fixed antenna from an FBODY the wiring and plug. Should run about $5-$10...

 

What's wrong with the electric antenna? I'm assuming the nylon cable snapped and the motor just keeps running. If so, do a search on the History forum for power antenna repair and you'll find a way to fix the antenna permanently.

 

I had to do mine last year. And I did lots of other thing while I was in there. That topic starts here.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ml#post5841264

This is the fellow who rebuilt mine.

 

The process he used is the same one that I used. I just don't remember if I used a plastic coated steel cable or just a plain steel cable for mine. I think I just used a regular steel cable. The issue with doing it my way, on a daily driver, is the steel cable could start wearing on internal components. My car isn't a daily driver, so it will be the rest of my lifetime before things wears out.

 

Yeah, it's a double edged sword Scott. I have examples of plastic coated cable where the plastic coating starts to crack and break down. Granted, that's on decades old travel trailer with lots of UV exposure.

But to save the plastic pulleys, I figured plastic cable was best. If it fails again, I'll have it fixed again, or do it myself next time.

 

A member in FL had a fixed one for sale only a couple of weeks ago.

*I went this route for now but will probably attack my defective one anyway at some point once it's out and maybe reinstall when I'm in a stocker mood.

 

Mine is not broken. It's a brand new unit. It just runs the whole time. I think the wiring is all messed up or something. Who knows what's gone in there over the years. I even replaced that relay that's under the dash on the passenger side.??

 

Have you opened it up? The only reason I can think that the motor will continuously run is if the nylon cable inside is broken. I believe there's a limit switch that shuts off the motor when the mast reaches full up or full down and resistance is experienced. When the nylon cable breaks, there is no resistance and the motor continues to run.

If you purchased a NOS antenna, the nylon cable is still 25 years old and will be brittle. I purchased a couple of the NOS repair kits when they were about $15 and they all broke within 1 year of installation. That's why I took mine apart and soldered in a cable that will never break. Mine, on the other hand, will eventually wear out the internals because it's a metal cable rolling through plastic internals.