Disconnecting antenna

Hey guys,

Like many of you, my antenna does not like to go down all the way when I turn the radio off. Sometimes it stops at when it has six inches left to go, and sometimes it stops with only two inches to go. I have cleaned the antenna but that did not really resolve the issue.


I could go and buy a new antenna at the dealer but I have found that the antenna is very high when fully retracted. Our car looks better when the antenna is down. Thus, I decided to disconnect the antenna. I pulled the carpet back in the trunk which revealed the mechanical/electrical antenna equipment. There is quite a bit of stuff back there so I was a bit confused as to what to "disconnect". I saw that there was a grey electrical connector about two inches behind (towards rear of car) the antenna motor (metal round device). Said grey connector had two wires coming out of it. The wires were yellow, white, and black. Anyway, I noticed that this grey plastic electronic piece is designed to pull apart. I did so and now my antenna no longer extends (The desired result!)

My question is, did I "pull the right plug"? There were quite a few connectors back there. Also, assuming I did pull the right plug, do I need to do anything to the dangling connectors for safety or reliability reasons (I don't want the connectors damaged)?

Thanks a lot guys.

Yup, you pulled the right plug and nope, you don't have to do anything else. You can just leave the two parts dangling and put back the carpetting. I did that with my car. Still haven't decided whether or not I want to install the Smartenna. It's a lil pointy for my tastes. But in the end it may be the best option. =)

Dark,

Thank you for the reply. Yesterday it was cloudy here in Dallas. After disconnecting the antenna, my reception for fm and am was not crystal clear. I really do not listen to the radio very often so I am not sure if I want to go with a dali.

I think I read that some NSX owners connected a rubber antenna down under the carpet where the plug is pulled. Can anyone comment on the reception one attains when one installs one of these rubber antennas?

Thanks

Edwardo said:

I really do not listen to the radio very often so I am not sure if I want to go with a dali.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure I'm following unless you also don't listen to CD very much?

I think the smartenna is ideal if you rarely use the radio and often use CD - I'm about to install my second one (and my antenna also isn't going all the way down occasionally...)

Sorry I was unclear. I was trying to say that it is not worth it for me to buy the Dali because I do not listen to the radio. Thus, I do not need the antenna to retract.

There are those times where I do turn the radio on though. I do this sometimes when I am stuck in a traffic jam where a clear recpetion is desired. I just don't think those incidents are enough for me to go with the Dali Smartantenna.