- Joined
- 22 September 2005
- Messages
- 77
I replaced the antenna mast this weekend, following the guidelines posted on this site. After I fed in the new mast assembly, I found that the mast was protruding between 4-6" when the motor thought it was fully retracted.
Here's a tip on how I finally fixed it:
Follow the instructions posted elsewhere on this site about how to remove the antenna motor assembly.
0. Measure how much of the antenna is not retracting into the motor when the antenna is fully retracted.
1. With the antenna motor plugged in to the wiring harness, switch the radio on so the antenna mast fully extends. Angle it backwards so the mast has space to extend out of the trunk without hitting the trunk lid!
2. Unplug the wiring harness to the antenna motor so the mast is fully extended but has no power.
3. Remove the large white plastic panel on the antenna motor by unscrewing the 4-5 Philips screws. It is mounted on the opposite side of hte motor to the panel that has the circular metal plate secured by two Philips screws - don't take this one off as you don't need to.
4. Lay the motor flat (or close to) to remove the plastic cover by lifting the cover upwards towards you.
5. You'll see a white plastic sensor 'wheel' with a metal disc to which three sets of electrical "brushes" are connected. There are two cutouts in the metal that stop the flow of current when the mast reaches the fully extended and fully retracted positions. The wheel should be aligned over the fully extended cutout. There may well be some grease on the components that makes this difficult to see properly at first.
6. To the left of the sensor wheel is a large plastic gear with a smaller rotating ratchet in the middle. The ratchet grabs the circular cutouts in the sensor wheel as the antenna mast is extended and retracted. This wheel is attached to the spool that winds the plastic antenna mast up and down.
7. Make a note of the position of the rotating ratchet in relation to the sensor wheel. During reassembly, this needs to be realigned exactly as it is now. It's likely to be right next to one of the circular cutouts on the sensor wheel.
8. Unscrew the two philips screws that hold the plastic brush assembly onto the sensor wheel and lift up the sensor wheel so it no longer engages with the large gear wheel to the left. Take care not to rotate the sensor wheel off its fully extended cutout position.
9. Remove the metal spindle from the middle of the plastic gear wheel that is located to the top right of the sensor wheel. Pliers can be used to pull the spindle and then you can just remove the gear wheel with pliers or fingers.
10. The purpose of these steps has been to disengage the sensor wheel from the antenna mast spindle and electric motor so that the mast can be pushed in a few inches while the motor sensor still "thinks" its fully extended.
11. With the gears disengaged as described, push the very end of the antenna mast (the very last section at the very top of the antenna) in by the amount you measure in step 0. When you're doing this, be sure to push in the very last/top segment, as this is directly connected to the plastic mast. I noticed that some of the metal telescoping segments lower in the mast can be pushed in without feeding the mast into the assembly.
12. While performing step 11, make sure that once it is complete, the position of the ratchet wheel is as it was noted in step 7. It will rotate a 1-2 of times as you're pushing in the mast, depending on how much mast is sticking out in the fully retracted position.
13. Now reassemble the motor as follows:
a) Drop the sensor wheel back in, making sure that it has not rotated away from the 'fully extended' cutout
b) Reattach the brush assembly using the two Philips screws
c) Replace the gear wheel to the top right of the sensor wheel and drop in the spindle
d) Replace the plastic cover with the 4-5 Philips screws
14. Reattach the wiring harness to the antenna
15. Switch the radio off and see how the antenna mast retracts
I had to repeat this process a couple of times to get it to fully retract, but it now performs exactly as it should.
Here's a tip on how I finally fixed it:
Follow the instructions posted elsewhere on this site about how to remove the antenna motor assembly.
0. Measure how much of the antenna is not retracting into the motor when the antenna is fully retracted.
1. With the antenna motor plugged in to the wiring harness, switch the radio on so the antenna mast fully extends. Angle it backwards so the mast has space to extend out of the trunk without hitting the trunk lid!
2. Unplug the wiring harness to the antenna motor so the mast is fully extended but has no power.
3. Remove the large white plastic panel on the antenna motor by unscrewing the 4-5 Philips screws. It is mounted on the opposite side of hte motor to the panel that has the circular metal plate secured by two Philips screws - don't take this one off as you don't need to.
4. Lay the motor flat (or close to) to remove the plastic cover by lifting the cover upwards towards you.
5. You'll see a white plastic sensor 'wheel' with a metal disc to which three sets of electrical "brushes" are connected. There are two cutouts in the metal that stop the flow of current when the mast reaches the fully extended and fully retracted positions. The wheel should be aligned over the fully extended cutout. There may well be some grease on the components that makes this difficult to see properly at first.
6. To the left of the sensor wheel is a large plastic gear with a smaller rotating ratchet in the middle. The ratchet grabs the circular cutouts in the sensor wheel as the antenna mast is extended and retracted. This wheel is attached to the spool that winds the plastic antenna mast up and down.
7. Make a note of the position of the rotating ratchet in relation to the sensor wheel. During reassembly, this needs to be realigned exactly as it is now. It's likely to be right next to one of the circular cutouts on the sensor wheel.
8. Unscrew the two philips screws that hold the plastic brush assembly onto the sensor wheel and lift up the sensor wheel so it no longer engages with the large gear wheel to the left. Take care not to rotate the sensor wheel off its fully extended cutout position.
9. Remove the metal spindle from the middle of the plastic gear wheel that is located to the top right of the sensor wheel. Pliers can be used to pull the spindle and then you can just remove the gear wheel with pliers or fingers.
10. The purpose of these steps has been to disengage the sensor wheel from the antenna mast spindle and electric motor so that the mast can be pushed in a few inches while the motor sensor still "thinks" its fully extended.
11. With the gears disengaged as described, push the very end of the antenna mast (the very last section at the very top of the antenna) in by the amount you measure in step 0. When you're doing this, be sure to push in the very last/top segment, as this is directly connected to the plastic mast. I noticed that some of the metal telescoping segments lower in the mast can be pushed in without feeding the mast into the assembly.
12. While performing step 11, make sure that once it is complete, the position of the ratchet wheel is as it was noted in step 7. It will rotate a 1-2 of times as you're pushing in the mast, depending on how much mast is sticking out in the fully retracted position.
13. Now reassemble the motor as follows:
a) Drop the sensor wheel back in, making sure that it has not rotated away from the 'fully extended' cutout
b) Reattach the brush assembly using the two Philips screws
c) Replace the gear wheel to the top right of the sensor wheel and drop in the spindle
d) Replace the plastic cover with the 4-5 Philips screws
14. Reattach the wiring harness to the antenna
15. Switch the radio off and see how the antenna mast retracts
I had to repeat this process a couple of times to get it to fully retract, but it now performs exactly as it should.
