New Aerial & Fitting Help Needed

[Anonymous]

I have recently bought a Roadster and therefore I am new to the owners club. Like many before me, I am having trouble with the electric aeriel. It will probably repair but I have bought a replacement from E Bay. Either way, I need to get to the unit and here is where my trouble starts. Firstly, i have noticed that the rear wheel locking nut is not standard. It is different to the locking nuts on the other three wheels (pin type) and I do not have a removal tool. Secondly, I am struggling with sussing out how to remove the plastic inner wing. As I am sure you are aware, there appears to be a series of black plastic studs holding it in place.

I would be grateful if anyone could give me some tips on overcoming the wheel locking nut problem and tips on removing the plastic inner wing - I dont want to rag it about and break the fixings or plastic inner wing.

Many thanks in anticipation of your valued assistance

Steve

[Anonymous]

Steve, hopefully you've got this sorted by now but just in case...

To remove the clips you lever out the centre to release them then pull out the clip. I lost a few in finding this out which is why I'm back here. To ask if there's anywhere I can buy more.

Also, thank you Liz for the guide; it was really useful. It seems that someone has been in there before me and removed the cogged piece. Is it possible to replace this?

[Anonymous]

Great advice on here guys, My Girlfriends aerial making a loud noise when going up and down. From what Ive been reading on here it could either be the end of the mast itself or the white plastic teeth rings in the bottom of the motor...Is that right?

Also why do you slighlty melt the end of the broken teethed ring  before re -fitting?

Cheers, Stephen

[Anonymous]

The original end that snaps off has a small lump on the end as an endstop. You are  modifying the broken end to form a new endstop.

[Anonymous]

The original end that snaps off has a small lump on the end as an endstop. You are  modifying the broken end to form a new endstop.

The original doesnt have an end stop it just has a plastic teeth section long enough that the aerial cant extend any further when all the metal telescopic bits have reached full height but when it breaks then the aerial cant extend fully so the cogged motor just spins on the end of the broken part so by melting an end stop you are creating a point that the motor has to stop thinking the aerial is fully extended.Hope this makes sense.  s:D s:D

[zen200]

in an attempt not to make a new thread and after searching using the search button I have decided to use this thread. - Hope that makes sense.   s:? :? s:?  

Anyway, in short I just need a tutorial on how to change the mast in the electric aerial as my white whip is broken. - this is the replacement part - ebay Item number: 360381835352.


I already used the above tutorial to remove the broken bits from inside the motor and tried to just continue using as is but everytime the mast goes up it make a horrible noise cause the whip is to short and the motor keeps spinning and grinding.

thanks for any replies in assisting me.

Zen

[wbarrwebster]

Hi,

 I assume that you viewed Liz's original post which should answer all the queries.

If I read you right..If you used the original mast, the plastic whip is too short, that's why the motor is still attempting to put the aerial up. You need the new replacement longer whip.......  From memory the job is relatively straight forward, as I mentioned in my original post, I actually lubricated the whip just 'cause rightly or wrongly that it made sense.

B

[Anonymous]

Hi,

 I assume that you viewed Liz's original post which should answer all the queries.

If I read you right..If you used the original mast, the plastic whip is too short, that's why the motor is still attempting to put the aerial up. You need the new replacement longer whip.......  From memory the job is relatively straight forward, as I mentioned in my original post, I actually lubricated the whip just 'cause rightly or wrongly that it made sense.

B

motor stops when it hits the ball on the end of the whip, not done on length. mine broke so just melted a new ball on the end. it a bit shorter now but it still stops when it up as much as it will go and back down to its stop postition.

OP if it still trying to go up after its fully up then the ball on the end of the whip just not big enough, also a bit for insulation tape around the ball will give it a bit of a cusion and should help it to not brake again in the future.

[zen200]

B[/quote]


motor stops when it hits the ball on the end of the whip, not done on length. mine broke so just melted a new ball on the end. it a bit shorter now but it still stops when it up as much as it will go and back down to its stop postition.

OP if it still trying to go up after its fully up then the ball on the end of the whip just not big enough, also a bit for insulation tape around the ball will give it a bit of a cusion and should help it to not brake again in the future.[/quote]

i made a ball when trying  a cheap repair. Worked but motor kept spinning so I made the ball bigger and still the same result. The motor just keeps spinning and grinding. So i thought that the only way is to get a whole new whip and try that.

[Anonymous]

mine does stop. hard without looking. possible to upload some pics of the inside ie size of ball etc.

[Anonymous]

Sorry for once again ressurecting an ancient post but I'm stuck right on step one here.

How on earth do you get the chrome nut off at the base of the aerial. It is no doubt an extremely daft question but I wanted to make sure there isnt some sort of special tool to do this job?

[trevsmr2]

if you look at the chrome bit it has slots either side of the aerial mast ,A pair of bull-nose pliers, or carefully with a large blade screwdriver one
 side at a time ,dont slip and scratch the paint though

[Anonymous]

Thanks Trev! I did consider this but I thought it best to consult the experts first.

[trevsmr2]

Thanks Trev! I did consider this but I thought it best to consult the experts first.

circlip pliers are good if you have some decent ones

 m http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/External-Circ ... 519e0d4421 m

[lozf1]

I'm having trouble with the below:-

3 - Unscrew the chrome surround at the top of the aerial and then unbolt the bottom as indicated in the picture above.

how do I unscrew this bolt? I can see the thread but can't get to the bolt..?

[roger]

Can't recall specifically, how I got to mine, but can't recall any major difficulties, because you will need to get it back on.

 Have you used a long socket, or a socket extension?

[trevsmr2]

I'm having trouble with the below:-

3 - Unscrew the chrome surround at the top of the aerial and then unbolt the bottom as indicated in the picture above.

how do I unscrew this bolt? I can see the thread but can't get to the bolt..?

Not sure why you cant get to it ,a deep socket will go on or a open ended spanner ,or a flexi head ratchet spanner

the bolt is fixed its the nut that comes off from under the wheel arch

[lozf1]

Thanks for your help, how about disconnecting the wiring? This isn't explained in the how-to?

[trevsmr2]

Thanks for your help, how about disconnecting the wiring? This isn't explained in the how-to?

The wiring is connected inside the car under the storage bins ,then fed through into the wheel arch



The aerial lead connects here where the center console ends ,(white plug)

[Feeble]

Right, having nothing much to do today, I thought that I would have a go at this today and take some pictures so that it may be of use to people in the future..

1 - as mentioned = remove the plastic inner wheel arch liner, self explantory really - normal lot of fiddly clips etc!

2 - Once the inner liner is removed - look to your right and you will see this:



3 - Unscrew the chrome surround at the top of the aerial and then unbolt the bottom as indicated in the picture above.

4. Motor removed, I unplugged the power because it gave a bit more room to work, but left the co-ax attached:  This is the motor with the relevant screws removed:



5. Lift off the top once you have unscrewed it and you will see this gungy mess!



It all sort of sprang apart when I undid it!

6. This is the part of mine which had broken off:



7. Get a e cigarette lighter and after wiping off the oil from the end of the remaining cog, burn it until it forms a lump



8. Put the round plastic bit back inside the cover and place the cogged plastic inside it.



Put it all back together again!

Imagine my disappointment after putting it all back on, that I switched the radio on and it didn't work.....do remember to plug the power back in!!

This is the finished result, obviously does not go up as far as before and makes a clunk noise when it goes up, but no longer requires a hand to get it down again!



Save me a few pounds - hope that these pictures are of use to someone!

Hi Liz, If you want to run your wire out of the release I can offer you just our battery charger element. It installs below the section at the front side of the shifter and is operated off the 12v outlet utilize. You could then link a standard USB development cable and path it where needed. The battery charger also has two results so you could power two gadgets if you desired. PM me if you want more information and facts.

[scamper82]

Thank you so much for this post. I had exactly the same issue and following this post sorted it and only took me about 30 minuits.
When I took it apart the part that snapped off was exactly the same

[preeka]

right, chances are that the motor section is fine, if you remove the silver nut at the base of the aerial then turn on the stereo, the aerial willextend, grab it and as it comes out keep a steady and gental pull on it and it'll come out with a long toothed section attached, take a picture of the end of the end of the toothed section and we'll tell you if you need to go any further with the dismantelling

Desperate for help here. How do you get the old aerial out? I bought a new one with the toothed plastic cord coming out the bottom of it on ebay for £20 but I can't get the old one out. I've taken the motor out and opened it up and removed the broken piece as shown earlier and put it back together. Obviously I've removed the chrome nut at the base of the aerial and put the radio on to extend the aerial but no amount of pulling will get it to come out with the toothed plastic bit attached and ready to insert the new one. Is it still attached somewhere? HELP!

Edit: Sorted now. I just had to put it up and down a few times pulling the aerial furiously each time until it eventually popped out. The teeth of the aerial need to face the rear of the car by the way to be drawn in correctly. The Ebay aerial is an OEM aerial and works a treat other than I had to trim the toothed section as it wouldn't fully retract due to being too long, even though the instructions which came with it (for a Lexus for some reason) said not to!   s:crazyeyes: :crazyeyes: s:crazyeyes:   After removing the original and recovering the broken piece from the aerial body casing I simply held them alongside the new one to get the exact length and then trimmed it to match. I'm no mechanic and I found it a bit tricky if I'm honest and it has taken me quite a few hours (not helped by forgetting to put the white toothed coil cover back inside the aerial assembly, and having completely finished the job, finding it on the ground   s:evil: :evil: s:evil:  ), but I'm very proud of myself for having fixed this issue and if you're methodical it is achievable for most people.

[Two's Company]

How do you get the top nut at the base of the aerial undone? It doesn't look like a spanner will fit on it and I don't want to attach it with the mole grips? Cheers!

[trevsmr2]

How do you get the top nut at the base of the aerial undone? It doesn't look like a spanner will fit on it and I don't want to attach it with the mole grips? Cheers!

isnt the top nut sort of slotted ?

[Two's Company]

It is and I did think about using a screwdriver and a hammer but then worried about it slipping and ending up with a scratched wing...