My car, check sig, has the power antenna disconected, in the up position. I am going to assume it still works, if it were wired up. I want to reconnect it and install a manual switch to control its function. I figure I'll use a SPDT (Single Pole/Double Throw) switch to control it in an attempt to make things simple; with a up-off-down configuration. I have a basic knowledge of electrical circuts, thanks to a couple of college physics courses, but I figure a mistake wiring this up could leave me with a puddle of a camaro. Can anyone pose some suggestions on how to integrate this switch into the original antenna wirring circut. I have attached a schematic of it for refference.

Thanks for any help you can offer! :hail:

 

If it's in the up posistion, and a previous owner unplugged it, i'd almost bet my life that the thing's broken.

Go under the hood, near the antenna, and find the plugs. Plug them back in. You'll probably hear the antenna motor going on and on and on, but the antenna doesn't move. Something has broken inside, probably the cable that draws the mast in.

Because GM is a stupid company, when the mast cable breaks, the motor runs continuously. This way, you'll be sure to buy a new battery from them at the same time you go to pick up the antenna parts.

You should be able to buy a replacement mast from the dealer, with the cable attached. I'm not sure how to install it. (Replacing the entire antenna is a painful procedure, involving undoing the lower part of the fender and jamming it away from the car with a block of wood, so you can reach inside.)

When it's in working order, activation of the power antenna is simple. There's a single (pink?) wire behind the radio; whenever it receives positive power, the antenna goes up. This happens whenever the radio is turned on..... and since the radio gets no power with the key off, neither does the antenna.

If, for some reason, you need to control the antenna yourself:

Buy a simple, single-pole, single throw switch.

Cut the pink wire in half. Tape off the side that comes from the radio. The other side, the one that goes into the dash, hook that to one leg of your switch.

The other end of the switch...it's your choice. Hook it to the orange wire, and you will have COMPLETE control any way, any time. Hook it to the yellow wire, and you'll still have complete control, but the antenna will automatically lower when the key is switched off.

TIP: When you pull out the radio, look at its metal case; there's a wiring diagram on it.

P.S. This is all assuming that you have the factory radio. If you have aftermarket, you should be cutting and splicing on the side of the wiring where the aftermarket adapter is; no need to hack up the car's factory wiring unless necessary.

On an aftermarket radio, the blue/white wire will show power whenever the unit is switched on. If there's a solid blue wire (Alpine, Sony), it will only show power when in AM or FM mode...it'll switch off when you play a tape or CD.

 

Wow! Thanks Chris! That should give me what I need to address this problem. You're probobly right about it not being in working condition, I think I might of been a wee bit optimistic about that. Later

 

You're welcome, and good luck.

If you come up with a custom control setup that's really cool, be sure to let us know about it.