Jump to content

Disable power antenna


Mel87

Recommended Posts

Well my Cutlass has the power antenna that still works surprisingly. Since I don't listen to AM/FM all too often there is no need for the antenna to go up. There is an older aftermarket radio in my car and when I power it on the antenna goes up. Is there a way to disable this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There is a plug by the antenna. Remove the carpet on the right side of the trunk and you will see a two prong connector unplug it when it's in the down position and next time you start the car it will remain down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I might go ahead and unplug mine as well since I also don't listen to radio (radio here is unbearable). I have the ipod connection via modified tape deck. I was hoping that I would be able to tap into that harness and find a wire I could use to create a circuit that would keep/put the antenna down whenever the cassette drive is in operation, but the thing is completely controlled through network bussed messages. So it has all it's powers and grounds present whenever the radio is on, and I don't see any way to do that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You sure about that? A '96 doesn't have an antenna controlled by the serial data, just a 12v signal from the radio. Most aftermarket radios have 2 12v outputs, one for an external amplifier that's powered all the time and one for a power antenna that's only powered when the unit is in AM/FM mode. The factory radio just supplies 12v to the antenna any time the radio is powered on.

 

If you're looking to keep the factory radio AND be able to put the antenna down while listening to a tape, about the only way you're going to be able to do it is to put a switch in-line with the trigger wire. That way you can put the antenna down manually when you're using your adapter.

 

Then again, you could study the circuit that the older ford's used to use. The late 70's through mid 80's crown vics/grand marquis's had an actual switch in the dash to manually raise the power antenna. Actually even my boss's '94 crown vic has a switch in the dash for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You sure about that? A '96 doesn't have an antenna controlled by the serial data, just a 12v signal from the radio. Most aftermarket radios have 2 12v outputs, one for an external amplifier that's powered all the time and one for a power antenna that's only powered when the unit is in AM/FM mode. The factory radio just supplies 12v to the antenna any time the radio is powered on.

 

If you're looking to keep the factory radio AND be able to put the antenna down while listening to a tape, about the only way you're going to be able to do it is to put a switch in-line with the trigger wire. That way you can put the antenna down manually when you're using your adapter.

 

Then again, you could study the circuit that the older ford's used to use. The late 70's through mid 80's crown vics/grand marquis's had an actual switch in the dash to manually raise the power antenna. Actually even my boss's '94 crown vic has a switch in the dash for it.

 

The remote cassette player doesn't interface on the class 2 serial data bus, but it doesn't have it's own dedicated bus line with the radio for communication between the two modules. It's a slave to the radio. I think it was a pink wire. I checked with a DVOM and the power and ground were all present to the remote cassette player as soon as the radio was turned on. Switching from AM/FM to cassette changed nothing in this regard. And yeah one could always rig up a manual switch, but personally I'm not about to go that route.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...