cfair

So I was in the boneyard yesterday and scored a working 90's era power antenna for $24 bucks from a 98 with the "touring package" and the Bose stereo -- got the rear speaker boxes for my 66 starfire...For $5/ a piece. Nice.

Anyway I've managed to make it go up & down once, but I can't figure out the wiring. It has one black, one pink, and one orange wire that come from the front. They go into a relay, then the relay has three wires that to the motor. I assume this an auto on, auto off antenna controlled by the radio, not semi automatic like my 66's.

I thought black would be ground, so when I connected it to 12v negative and pink, the motor put the nice straight antenna up, once. Then I tried a bunch of combinations & got it to go down, once.

Is this maybe a bad relay? Hints most appreciated...

cf

joe_padavano

Black is ground. Orange is fused power (hot at all times). Pink (yellow on some cars) is radio antenna control The pink wire gets 12V applied whenever the radio is on (which makes the antenna go up) and no voltage when the radio is off (which makes the antenna go down). This way, the antenna will retract even after you turn off the key.

cfair

Joe,
Thanks for your guidance. I have a bench power supply that provides 12 volts DC. What do you suggest I do to get the mast to go up and down?

I've tried most all the combinations I can think of leaving Black as ground. I may have fried the rely in the process...

The end of this road would be hooking this 90's era power antenna to my 60's era power antenna switch with two leads - I think black & white. Ground is pretty obvious, no problem there, but how would you solve the pink/orange problem with the switch?

Any suggestions on making that work?

Thanks in advance.

cf

Lady72nRob71

On your power supply current needs to be at least 3-4 amps or power supply ~could~ go into over current protection when motor starts up.

Connect black to negative, orange to positive 12V.
To make mast go up, hit the pink wire to 12V and leave it there. To make mast go down, pull pink wire off the 12V terminal.
If it keeps failing, most yards will exchange stuff.

You would have to change your dash switch to provide 12V, not ground. The pink wire would connect to one side of the switch, ignition switched 12V to the other side.
Black antenna wire to ground, orange to constant 12V source like the clock or trunk light feed.

joe_padavano

Well, as I noted above, connect black to ground. Connect orange to power. Connect pink to power (and leave it connected) to make the antenna go up. Disconnect pink from power to make the antenna go down. If that doesn't work, there's something wrong with the antenna.

Joeypete

Both of my power antennas do no work on my Olds. Seriously those and cruise control GM couldn't get to last. haha

The antennas do require regular maintenance though. I'm sure most people never even thought about it. You should lubricate the mast at least once a month with oil, or even ATF. I remember my mechanic telling me that years ago.

Lady72nRob71

Often overlooked but important. The manual for my 86 Olds actually had this in the maintenance section. However most people do not think of oiling the antenna, even fewer read the manual to find those instructions...

The GM antennas have been pretty reliable in my fleet. One thing that will break them easily is when water gets in the mast and freezes. The motors do not have overload clutches, so the plastic cable gives. Oiling periodically in winter with WD40 can lessen the chance of freezing, but I just try to leave the radio off in cold wet weather...

Bent masts should also be straightened as best possible as soon as possible.