I seem to be stuck on this. I'm reinstalling the new cable and reassembling the unit and when I plug it back in it seems to start running and messes up the cable. Is there any tricks?

 

Not sure what you mean by messes up the cable. Can you explain a bit more what's happening and when? You shouldn't plug the unit back in unless the antenna casing is completely closed up again. If it isn't closed up, the roll up wheel may bounce out of sequence and cause the entire system to keep running and cause a mess. There is an internal switch that senses fully up or fully down when there is tension on the cable. If there is no tension, the motor keeps running.

 

I have a feeling the cable might not be spooled tightly on the drum when reassembled, then the cable is getting entwined on itself and knotting up.

 

I gave this a shot today and did not have any luck with pipe solder. What did you guys use? The solder just runs off the piece. It won't hold to the galvanized cable either. I may have to take it to get welded. Any suggestions?

 

Flux and the parts need to be heated properly. hot solder and cold parts with no flux =s no sticky

 

Should I use an acid flux? I used a paste flux and it didn't work. I heated the parts till they turned red.

 

Thanks for this. I've been looking for something like this, will reach out to him...

 

Wow...what a lasting problem. I just found this thread today after taking my GTA out for the first time in 6-9 months and it broke on me this morning. I've been pulling the accy fuse every time when getting out of it to turn the motor off.

The steel cable certainly seems like the option. The only thing I wonder about is over time the rough and hard surface of the steel cable wearing into the nylon spool/gear and eventually failing it. Maybe no one will drive there car enough to realize that but I figured it might be a possibility. Maybe that is why the one guy mentioned uses plastic coated steel cable? If Home Depot doesn't have that I bet McMaster does and it likely wouldn't be too much. Unless they make you buy 1000' of it... Or maybe another option would be to glue some brass shim stock to the rubbing surface of the spool.
In addition to wearing the spool maybe it could wear through the thin walled tubing of the mast and cause it to hang? Just some thoughts about longevity for infrequently driven 20-25 year old cars...

I'm going to see about removing mine this weekend and pull it apart.

 

So McMaster does have an assortment of plastic coated "wire rope" (aka: steel cable). They have nylon coated, vinyl coated, and polypropylene coated versions with the nylon and vinyl available in 3/32" post-coated sizes. The only kicker is the minimum length to buy is 25' but at $0.39 per ft that's still less than $10. More than a few inches from Home Depot but should last forever if the steel isn't already going to (IE: wear of other parts due to steel on plastic). I would think you could just remove a bit of the coating near each end for the soldering (and likely some more will burn away with the heat) and follow the same procedure.
Go to www.mcmaster.com and enter PN: 8923T125 to see the 3/32" nylon coated type. I'd think nylon is likely what the original plastic cable was made out of?

 

I am going to try the 3/32 coated cable from Home Depot. I just hope it is not too thick. I purchased uncoated and thought about the wear issue and I will be going back to purchase the coated cable. I am waiting for my acid flux to be delivered so I can give it a try again.

 

The problem with the plastic coated stuff is it gets brittle and flakes off, maybe cause a jam up?
Maybe someone can make a billet wheel?

 

Never thought of that. You think it would wear that quick?

 

I think I've seen some plastic coated stuff flake off though I think it's been on things like dog yard chain/stakes or bike lock cables and maybe UV exposure plays a part in that? What kind of coating is on the stuff at home depot?

 

It is a clear coating - possibly vinyl.

 

I don't think the drum would be the first thing to wear with a steel cable. It would be the two halves of the motor case, right at the point between the drum and where the cable exits the case.

 

Ok, so I've gotta ask... I've got an '88 IROC-Z, low miles (34k) and in pristine condition. I've got the same problem with the power antenna that you guys are describing above - motor runs constantly, but the mast never comes up. So based on what you guys have said, sounds like the nylon cable in the mast itself has snapped. I'm into it now, got the fender skirt pealed back and the power antenna motor unbolted (one bolt) from against the body, leaving the brace still attached to the motor itself. Problem is - is the complete assembly I.e. the mast tube housing (if that's a correct description?) and the motor together is too long and won't slide out of the through hole that's in the top of the fender. Obviously I'm trying to avoid yanking the fender off. Any suggestions as to how to get the motor out of there without doing so is greatly appreciated! 👍😎

 

It has to come out through the bottom. Take out the trim nut on top of the fender holding the mast and the bolt holding the assembly inside the fender. Then you have to disconnect the antenna and either go inside the car and disconnect the three power wires or do like I did and snip them and install a connector in the fender area to make servicing easier. Then the whole assembly can be maneuvered out the bottom where the fender skirt is that you peeled back for access.

 

Thanks man! That's where I'm at now.. But that harness is in the way! Lol. The white power wire had been snipped (to stop power), but the rest are still all hooked up. I don't mind cutting the other two wires to get the motor out, but that massive harness is what's stoping me from having the room to get it out. The thing is is that it's all sealed up and perfect from the factory, I kinda hate trying to rip it apart just to have room to get the assembly out. Thoughts?

 

...

 

Looks great! Thank you! I'm gonna tackle it tomorrow after work. Looks like I probably should take that bracket completely off from the assembly and rotate it like you did. Really hoping not to have to break the bottom of the fender loose tho. Either way, that isn't so bad either. The pics are great - thanks again for your help!

 

When i repaired my antenna it was much easier to remove/refit the antenna if i removed the Fuel injection harness that goes inside the car in front of the antenna. Its easy to do from inside the car, just remove the kickpanel and then the u-shaped clip for the harness. But first remove the negative on the battery so you dont short out the harness when you move it. From that point it was possible to remove the antenna assy with the mast extended. Hope it helps!

 

I will be doing this next year. Thanks for this info!!! That is a great thread!

 

It's out! Had to break the injector harness loose to make more room to wiggle it out from behind the fender... But nevertheless it worked. Now.. I'm following your thread and picks on how to get this dude apart, I'm reading where you drilled the rivets out. Did you just leave 'em out on re-assembly and just use the little clips to hold it all together, or did you put new rivets in?? Thanks again for your guys help!

 

Use a nut and bolt where the rivet was.

 

...

 

Ok.. Repaired it... But the motor just keeps running, even after the car is completely shut off. Bad motor? What tells it when the mast is all the way up or down, I don't see any limit switches? Thoughts?

 

There are 2 limit switches in there - a high limit and low limit. When the motor spins all the way in one direction and cannot spin any longer, it causes tension on the motor shaft, tripping the limit switch. If yours keeps spinning then it was not assembled properly because once it reaches the end of its travel it cannot spin anymore, unless something is broke, or assembled improperly.

 

This pic is from Luis' build thread. These are the limit switches.

 

I've did two things wrong. I didn't crimp the mast end of the repair, nor did I let the epoxy cure long enough. So the cable pulled out of the mast. I'll make sure that doesn't happen again when I fix it tomorrow. 👍😡😈

 

OK - at least you figured it out. Give it some time to cure - maybe a day.

 

I just checked it out... I see now what you guys are saying. Wow, it takes a lot of load to trip the limit switches in either direction! No wonder that Steel cable pulled out. Gonna have to crimp it and let that epoxy set up really well.

 

Just reading... my antenna broke too! I bought a whole new assembly, traced the wires back. Wow, GM had alot of Extra wire, cause my old antenna wire goes all-about the interrior of my dash, and my pwr/sig/neg go to a relay under the dash.
I am getting a New MP3 radio (but looks original), what did this realay do? Can I just omit it, and go srtaight from my new antenna to the new stereo?

 

The relay allows you to control the antenna without drawing a lot of current through the signal circuit.

 

Hey guys, doing the rebuild and having trouble getting the ball off the top mast. I tried holding the top mast section with pliars and using a 9/32 socket to get the ball loose and have had no luck. Any tricks to this or advice?

 

Using pliers might damage the finish on the ball. If you don't care, that's fine, but just wanted to let you know. The way I did it was to use vice grips on the ball and the mast. The top mast piece will be replaced if you bought the repair kit. If you are doing what others have done and replacing the nylon with a cable, use care with the top mast so as not to crimp it since you will be reusing it. Try spraying it with some WD40 and see if that helps release it. Just be careful. You can also try using a vice to stabilize the mast while you carefully twist the ball off with vice grips.

 

I know this is an old posting, but I hoping some can help me out. I have an 88 iroc with 35k original miles, and the power antenna will no longer go up. i bought an AC Delco antenna mast on Amazon. Although Amazon says it fits, it does not have the same mounting tab. The part number I purchased is 22048583. Does anyone know what I can do to get the right part or make this one fit? I've attached a picture that I found on the web to show the issue. Mine is like the one with the mounting tab that is pictured on the left. Thanks.

 

I bought this one for my car and it fits perfectly:

http://www.antennamastsrus.com/

 

Thanks yankeeman. Does it have the bracket that I show in the picture? That is the only mounting point at the bottom of the antenna to keep it in place.

 

Well, I'll be going down this rabit hole myself pretty soon. My antenna is stuck in the up position. Just thankful to have a garage to park it in (lessens the opportunity for something/someone to snap it off.

 

Morning all.

Here are the links to a thread and the vendor I posted on Turbotransam.com. It's an great replacement for the ENTIRE UNIT. Check it out. I bought 2 units for cheap.
Bob

http://www.turbotransam.com/forum/in...-antenna.7708/

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sk.../56003151.html

 

Good info Bob!
I may pick one up as well.

 

Thanks for the info! This is great news. I followed the link on turbotransam.com and none of the images are available. Would you be willing to repost the pictures?

 

I'll look them all up again and post here. Tonight/tomorrow

 

Found this didn't work as well for my 88 Conv, found the AutopartsWarehouse to work much better without the high mast attachment. The autopartswarehouse one is for a jeep, fits and plugs right into the 88Conv harness

 

Your post didn't make sense. It either worked or it didn't

 

My post makes sense, though the Autoparts is complete unit is for a jeep, it fits like a glove into the 88 conv, even plugs into the underdash relay without altering it.

The other mast by http://www.antennamastsrus.com has the antenna attachment way too high on the mast, it had an interference fit problem on the inter fender hole, which you could modify the hole, but that is a whole lot of work.

 

In for info

 

OK, here goes. Here are the pictures. The replacement antenna retracts completely into the fend like the OEM did. The length,size, 3section mast, motor assembly,and mount tab bracket is identical.
There is two differences though, no biggie.
1. The antenna cable is shorter than original, but just use your old one
2. 3 pin Power connector is shorter than original, again, add to it if needed.



Below is details of a EXACT MATCH OF ENTIRE UNIT for our cars available at Auto Parts Warehouse.
It is listed for a Jeep Grand Cherokee, years I believe is 88-92. This was when Jeep was changing from American Motors to Chrysler/Dodge. They used the same assembly as the 82-92 Camaro/Firebirds.
This unit is a direct fit with relay plug, antenna cable,and fender grommet.
It is available for $78ish.

 

 

Thanks the pics are very helpful. Sure beats paying 200 for a rebuild.