aerial disable advice, please

BahnStormer · August 25, 2017, 12:01

What is the easiest way to stop the aerial winding itself up and down every time you turn the ignition on (with the radio face installed)?

A switch would be nice, but honestly even something as blunt as unplugging the aerial wiring (or a fuse?) would do fine by me.

Can I just dig around the back of the head unit and unplug the aerial or are the electrics to wind it up and down controlled elsewhere?

I have a Pioneer mini BlueTooth headunit in my car... I've only ever really used it on BT audio streaming as I like having Waze alerts / phone calls able to fade in and out with my music. Normally my music is all via Spotify - I get it free with Vodafone and it is designed to work with Waze too.... even if I want to listen to the radio, I'll do that on the BBC / TuneIn app and I have 32Gb of storage on the headunit with pretty much my entire music collection as a backup. Radio unlikely to be required, ever.

All that said, I'd like to leave the car in a state where I could change it back to normal functionality and I don't want mount any switches on the dash or anything... so if I can find the wire on the (Toyota - Pioneer) wiring loom, then I'll just splice a little RS catalogue sliding switch in there? Just not sure how to identify the correct one!

Topdownman · August 25, 2017, 13:14

I have an aerial disable wired to the old passenger window disable switch (could just as easily go to a switch of your own though). This means that the aeial does not go up and down everytime I put the stereo on, only if I put the stereo on and then press the disable switch.

Trouble is I did it so long ago I have forgotten how I did it but seem to remember a wire down near the pertol flap release area. Have you looked in the how tos as there is probably something in there?

wotugonado · August 25, 2017, 13:56

Top sticky in this electrical section, use the window disable switch for something else...... has some good info

BahnStormer · August 25, 2017, 14:04

I've seen a couple of references to "the blue wire" on the wiring harness - which sounds like a great place to do it... just need to check the wiring diagram on my head unit to see if they label that wire clearly and I'll just cut it there and fit an inline switch. If I want to wind it back completely: just replace that 10cm long harness!

There's a lot of appeal to re-using the passenger window switch, but I think I'd rather just leave that and have a mini-switch that I can reach under the stereo - I'm almost certainly never going to need it and I'd prefer to leave everything else intact.

Call the midlife! · August 25, 2017, 14:42

Quote from: "BahnStormer"I've seen a couple of references to "the blue wire" on the wiring loom/harness - which sounds like a great place to do it... just need to check the wiring diagram on mine to see if they label that wire clearly and I'll just cut it there.

There's a lot of appeal to re-using the passenger window switch, but I think I'd rather just leave that and have a mini-switch that I can reach under the stereo - I'm almost certainly never going to need it.

Is it a double din head unit? I'm sure mine has a separate lead plugged in to power the aerial?

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BahnStormer · August 25, 2017, 14:47

Quote from: "Call the midlife!"Is it a double din head unit? I'm sure mine has a separate lead plugged in to power the aerial?

Single DIN, but that won't make any difference.

I got somebody else to install mine, so not certain on the aerial connector... but I'm pretty sure there was a big fat aerial line.... but this is for the SIGNAL that gets fed into the headunit... I'm fairly certain that the trigger that tells the aerial to bounce up and down every time the stereo/ignition goes on and off is actually a separate control wire from the back of the headunit (in the middle of the cluster of wires somewhere)....

BahnStormer · August 25, 2017, 15:07

Okay this isn't going to help anybody else THAT much as the exact solution is headset specific, but I've found it HERE (Pioneer MVH-390BT manual).

On pg.23, it shows the pin mappings for the wiring harness, including:"#17 (Blue/White) Connect to the system control terminal of the power amp or auto-antenna relay control terminal (max. 300mA 12V DC)."

So I'm expecting to be able to just look for the little wiring loom/harness and snip whatever looks like pin 17 on one of these:

If it all goes horribly wrong, it's a £5-£10 job at Halfords to get it back to how it was before.

As suspected - if you put a switch on the big fat aerial/antenna line, then you're just going to control if the reception comes through.... but the aerial will still go up and down regardless!

Topdownman · August 25, 2017, 15:21

If you have got the stereo fitted and working with the aeral going up and down with the stereo, the blue&white wire should be the one that sends the signal to the aerial to go up and down.

If you cut this wire, the aerial should stop working. If you then fit a switch in line on the blue and white wire, you can control when the aerial works. You shouldnt do anything to the aerial coaxial cable.

Call the midlife! · August 25, 2017, 15:43

Quote from: "BahnStormer"
Quote from: "Call the midlife!"Is it a double din head unit? I'm sure mine has a separate lead plugged in to power the aerial?
Single DIN, but that won't make any difference.

I got somebody else to install mine, so not certain on the aerial connector... but I'm pretty sure there was a big fat aerial line.... but this is for the SIGNAL that gets fed into the headunit... I'm fairly certain that the trigger that tells the aerial to bounce up and down every time the stereo/ignition goes on and off is actually a separate control wire from the back of the headunit (in the middle of the cluster of wires somewhere)....

Yeah, mine's a double din Kenwood but looking at the manual the blue lead I was thinking of gives power to a remote unit, sorry. It's a while since I installed it.

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wotugonado · August 25, 2017, 16:29

Put a switch in place of the coin holder ? It can be put back in easily enough and I can't ever remember using mine.

brettfield999 · August 25, 2017, 21:13

Have you tried unplugging the aerial motor relay in the drivers side bin?

paulj · August 29, 2017, 20:18

I replaced my aerial with a non standard one and learnt a few things about the factory fit one. The relay box under the drivers bin sends a pulse signal to the OEM aerial to control up then down, whereas the aftermarket needed a live source to stay up. By using the OEM wiring replacement Ariel went up then dropped back after the pulse ended!

So I didn't use the relay box and sourced a new signal wire from the back of my head unit, its the original pfl sony and had two versions of the blue lead (luckily) one as a pulse and another as a constant live when the radio was on. With that swap done I was happy.

If your radio doesn't offer a blue which stays live, use the window switch as mentioned before.

m1tch · August 30, 2017, 07:37

Or just unplug it using the plug on the drivers side under the rear bins s:)

s:)

BahnStormer · September 6, 2017, 09:51

Quote from: "brettfield999"Have you tried unplugging the aerial motor relay in the drivers side bin?

Quote from: "m1tch"Or just unplug it using the plug on the drivers side under the rear bins s:) s:)

thanks gents, that sounds like a decent option and probably perfect for me... I wasn't aware it was accessible from those bins... for the number of times I'm going to need it, that would be fine....

I'm going to try that as a short/medium term solution, but keep fishing around for a more flexible alternative.

Quote from: "wotugonado"Put a switch in place of the coin holder?

I honestly wasn't sure what that was for as I couldn't imagine somebody keeping coins there... now that I know, that looks an ideal place to install a switch to wire up to this mysterious "blue wire"...

Any suggestions for an OEM / OEM-like switch that would fit in there and do the job nicely?

m1tch · September 6, 2017, 12:08

I have pulled my OEM setup out the car and am currently running no audio in the car, if you need any spare parts or connectors I am sure I can send them over - will also try and get a photo of where the OEM setup is for you as well.

The aerial itself can be accessed via the rear wheel arch - there are a few clips and screws holding the liner in.

BahnStormer · September 6, 2017, 13:29

Quote from: "m1tch"The aerial itself can be accessed via the rear wheel arch

Thanks - is it the same route just to get to the wiring to disable it? Or is it under the driver side bin as indicated in the two previous posts from yourself and brett?

I just popped out at lunch and had a look in the office car park - and I checked the wiring in the SIDE of the driver-side bin (two plastic lugs) and the only wiring in there is the rear window demister, I think!

I'm guessing I need to get the tools out and take out the screws and bolts holding the bin in place to look for the relay.

m1tch, thanks for the "OEM audio" offer, but I've taken most of mine out (HU + speakers) and I'm looking to run it with the bare minimum of complexity (half depth, 1DIN head unit and some decent components). I had considered removing the aerial entirely s:)

s:) , but I'll content myself with just disabling it and live with the weight for now...

m1tch · September 6, 2017, 16:01

Quote from: "BahnStormer"
Quote from: "m1tch"The aerial itself can be accessed via the rear wheel arch
Thanks - is it the same route just to get to the wiring to disable it? Or is it under the driver side bin as indicated in the two previous posts from yourself and brett?

I just popped out at lunch and had a look in the office car park - and I checked the wiring in the SIDE of the driver-side bin (two plastic lugs) and the only wiring in there is the rear window demister, I think!

I'm guessing I need to get the tools out and take out the screws and bolts holding the bin in place to look for the relay.

m1tch, thanks for the "OEM audio" offer, but I've taken most of mine out (HU + speakers) and I'm looking to run it with the bare minimum of complexity (half depth, 1DIN head unit and some decent components). I had considered removing the aerial entirely s:) s:) , but I'll content myself with just disabling it and live with the weight for now...

You should be able to disable it via the relay which sits under the driver side bin, there is then wiring that goes through the firewall area to the actual aerial - previous owner disabled mine due to the retract mech being broken and was simply unplugged via the relay.

BahnStormer · September 6, 2017, 22:17

Quote from: "m1tch"You should be able to disable it via the relay which sits under the driver side bin

sounds good - just so it doesn't pop up and down when I put the ignition on and off again repeated - when I need to put the windows down to close the roof, then forget to close the windows: I've got lazy and forgetful with the Audi - where I can auto-close everything on the remote, while I walk away.

BahnStormer · September 21, 2017, 15:51

Done! Seems to work perfectly (i.e. the aerial DOESN'T work any more!)

[attachment=0:1029zp5d] ia0 2017-09-20 17.23.43 aerial relay.jpg ia0 [/attachment:1029zp5d]

tools required: 10mm socket and soft-edged plastic trim manipulation tool* (Phillips screwdriver is actually optional since the two bolts in the back of the bin are dual-headed).

*this tool SHOULD have been optional, but not the way I did it - in hindsight I would have undone all six bolts along the storage bin hinges (3 each side) and then the 4 bolts in the back of the bins (2 in each bin)... and both bits of plastic side trim (with the two tiny press-studs holding them in place).... then taken both storage bins out together... I only took out the one, but putting the driver's side one back in with the passenger's bin still in place was a right pain due to the way they splice together and overlap in the middle - I ended up having to loosen the passenger side one so much, I might as well have taken it out and put myself at less risk of snapping plastic lugs... I got away with it, but older plastic would probably have been more brittle and snapped.

billyw · November 6, 2017, 12:41

Thanks for the all advice here. My aerial got stuck up but I was able to push it back down so this fix seemed ideal as I only listen to cds.

Nice to not hear that motor noise anymore. Great fix .

BahnStormer · November 6, 2017, 14:19

Quote from: "BahnStormer"Done! Seems to work perfectly (i.e. the aerial DOESN'T work any more!)...

Slight correction here: the aerial doesn't go up and down with the ignition any more (when the radio facia is on).... but the aerial does actually "work" - I still get reception for FM radio in town.... although presumably just with a lot less range since the aerial is still fully retracted... so it's just using the wiring as an aerial!

Enjay · November 6, 2017, 21:04

I actually did this at the weekend without actually realising it was something that people did. My car had a HU that must have sent a signal to the blue wire only when the radio was being used (listening to CDs, for example, did not cause the aerial to go up). Anyway, the HU did not have a USB socket and was also a bit tired looking so I swapped it out. It all worked fine but the aerial went up whenever the HU was on, not just when the radio part of it was being used.

I knew that the blue wire was the important one so I just cut the wire and extended it slightly to reach the 2-switch panel to the left of the steering wheel. Both slots were blank and I had a bunch of spare switches in the garage so I picked a simple on/off one (it was a window lock switch), buffed the picture off the front with some T-Cut (I may put something on it if I can figure out a good way to do it) and now my aerial can be switched off and only extend when I want it to.