Low Cost Power Antenna Repair

[Hunter Dog]

Over the last two years two our of GNs had the power antenna quit working where the motor runs but the antenna never comes back up. Given the price and difficulty in finding these I wanted to post some tips that may help save you some money and time when yours eventually fails. There are some previous posts and videos out there about this topic but I have not seen any that were exactly like what we have done twice successfully without spending any money on a new cable or repair service. The time this project will take you depends on how careful and particular you are but I would say anywhere from 2-5 hours depending on how handy you are, if you have any help and if you run into something unexpected.

First and foremost, apply tape around your fender and door to avoid scratching either one which can easily happen. Suggest you do something to cover top of fender area near the antenna as well to avoid scratching this area as you will be removing and replacing the nut and washer in this area.

Tools and Supplies Needed:
10 mm ratchet wrench and/or 10 mm wrench (smaller the better)
10 mm socket and ratchet
Large flat head screwdriver
Small, angled phillips screwdriver if you have one. If not you can do it but this helps to avoid scratching paint.
Drill with selection of drill bits
Silcone or RTV
Degreaser of some kind
Scuff pad/sandpaper
Crimping tool
Bearing grease or similar

1. Unplug battery
2. Disconnect the connector that goes to the power antenna. Tie a string, wire, anything that can stay connected to the portion of the plug that will go into the fender and out the bottom. I suggest 3 feet length or longer and at this point you can place this connector into the hole along the fendor that the string and connector will drop through. You do not want to have to try and get this connector back up into the engine bay without doing this or you will spend a lot of time and increase chances for scratching the paint.
3. Remove nut and washer on the top of the fender that supports the antenna mast. You can use the tool made for this if you have one or use a small hammer and small punch or flat head screwdriver and carefully remove the nut.
4. Remove 10mm nuts (4 of them) in the wheel well. These are located near top of the tire down to back of the tire.
5. Remove 10mm nuts (5 of them) between the fender and passenger door. It helps to pull the door open as far as possible. A second person who can do this would be helpful. The further the door can remain pulled open all the way the less the chances for scratching the paint. The one in the middle that should look like a star (or maybe not if it was removed previously) is the bolt that supports the power antenna bracket. Once this is removed, the antenna moter and mast will fall down inside the fender.
6. Once all the 10mm nuts have been removed from these two areas you can begin to carefully by hand pull the fender away from the car directly under the antenna. Be sure the cable you have tied can go down without restriction or getting bound up in the engrine bay area. You should only need to move the fender out 1-2", just wide enough to pull the motor housing through the bottom of the fender. Be gentle and do not pull quickly or hard. It will come out enough to get the job done without being damaged.
7. Once you have the motor in hand carefully pull it and the mast down along with the connector and wire. You can remove your string at this point but leave it on the ground as you will need to use it to reel the connector back up through the same hole.
8. Take the two very small nuts off the antenna mast with phillips screwdriver.
9. Take motor and unit to workbench for disassembly and remove four brass/copper appearing sleeves with drill. Try to use bit of similar size or drimmel tool to grind them out. We used a drill each time and forced them out of the unit downward or they came loose by sticking onto the bit. You do not want to drill these out and make a hole any larger than you have to which could allow moisture inside the case.
10. Remove the five brass/copper appearing clips that hold the two parts of the case together. Be careful not to loose them as they can easily "spring" away from you.
11. Now for the fun part..carefully open up the case with flat screwdriver going around the edges to avoid damaging the case.
** If you open the case and your cable is NOT broken and you can move the antenna up and down freely without restriction then this post will only help you to remove and install the antenna and you can skp the steps below about repairing your original cable. If your cable is broken in many places you will have to replace the cable. We suggest a steel replacement if you can find one as that worked will for us on another GN we repaired.
If your cable is broken at the point where it goes into the metal casing/hook at the end of the cable continue to the next step.
12. Take the metal hook that is about 1.5" long and shaped like a J and hold the end and use a small torch or heat supply to the plastic inside the hook and melt it. The hook and plastic will get hot and create a mess so be prepared to avoid a fire by having a metal pan or something to allow the small amount of plastic to be contained. It will also create a bad smell so have adequate ventilation. This will not last long but it will create a brief inconvenience...lol
13. About 1/4" from the end of the metal hook you will notice an area that was previously crimped. You need to try and remove the crimp with a small drill bit by simply making the clip round on the end and inside this area so you can put the cable back into the

 

[Hunter Dog]

Over the last two years two our of GNs had the power antenna quit working where the motor runs but the antenna never comes back up. Given the price and difficulty in finding these I wanted to post some tips that may help save you some money and time when yours eventually fails. There are some previous posts and videos out there about this topic but I have not seen any that were exactly like what we have done twice successfully without spending any money on a new cable or repair service. The time this project will take you depends on how careful and particular you are but I would say anywhere from 2-5 hours depending on how handy you are, if you have any help and if you run into something unexpected.

First and foremost, apply tape around your fender and door to avoid scratching either one which can easily happen. Suggest you do something to cover top of fender area near the antenna as well to avoid scratching this area as you will be removing and replacing the nut and washer in this area.

Tools and Supplies Needed:
10 mm ratchet wrench and/or 10 mm wrench (smaller the better)
10 mm socket and ratchet
Large flat head screwdriver
Small, angled phillips screwdriver if you have one. If not you can do it but this helps to avoid scratching paint.
Drill with selection of drill bits
Silcone or RTV
Degreaser of some kind
Scuff pad/sandpaper
Crimping tool
Bearing grease or similar

1. Unplug battery
2. Disconnect the connector that goes to the power antenna. Tie a string, wire, anything that can stay connected to the portion of the plug that will go into the fender and out the bottom. I suggest 3 feet length or longer and at this point you can place this connector into the hole along the fendor that the string and connector will drop through. You do not want to have to try and get this connector back up into the engine bay without doing this or you will spend a lot of time and increase chances for scratching the paint.
3. Remove nut and washer on the top of the fender that supports the antenna mast. You can use the tool made for this if you have one or use a small hammer and small punch or flat head screwdriver and carefully remove the nut.
4. Remove 10mm nuts (4 of them) in the wheel well. These are located near top of the tire down to back of the tire.
5. Remove 10mm nuts (5 of them) between the fender and passenger door. It helps to pull the door open as far as possible. A second person who can do this would be helpful. The further the door can remain pulled open all the way the less the chances for scratching the paint. The one in the middle that should look like a star (or maybe not if it was removed previously) is the bolt that supports the power antenna bracket. Once this is removed, the antenna moter and mast will fall down inside the fender.
6. Once all the 10mm nuts have been removed from these two areas you can begin to carefully by hand pull the fender away from the car directly under the antenna. Be sure the cable you have tied can go down without restriction or getting bound up in the engrine bay area. You should only need to move the fender out 1-2", just wide enough to pull the motor housing through the bottom of the fender. Be gentle and do not pull quickly or hard. It will come out enough to get the job done without being damaged.
7. Once you have the motor in hand carefully pull it and the mast down along with the connector and wire. You can remove your string at this point but leave it on the ground as you will need to use it to reel the connector back up through the same hole.
8. Take the two very small nuts off the antenna mast with phillips screwdriver.
9. Take motor and unit to workbench for disassembly and remove four brass/copper appearing sleeves with drill. Try to use bit of similar size or drimmel tool to grind them out. We used a drill each time and forced them out of the unit downward or they came loose by sticking onto the bit. You do not want to drill these out and make a hole any larger than you have to which could allow moisture inside the case.
10. Remove the five brass/copper appearing clips that hold the two parts of the case together. Be careful not to loose them as they can easily "spring" away from you.
11. Now for the fun part..carefully open up the case with flat screwdriver going around the edges to avoid damaging the case.
** If you open the case and your cable is NOT broken and you can move the antenna up and down freely without restriction then this post will only help you to remove and install the antenna and you can skp the steps below about repairing your original cable. If your cable is broken in many places you will have to replace the cable. We suggest a steel replacement if you can find one as that worked will for us on another GN we repaired.
If your cable is broken at the point where it goes into the metal casing/hook at the end of the cable continue to the next step.
12. Take the metal hook that is about 1.5" long and shaped like a J and hold the end and use a small torch or heat supply to the plastic inside the hook and melt it. The hook and plastic will get hot and create a mess so be prepared to avoid a fire by having a metal pan or something to allow the small amount of plastic to be contained. It will also create a bad smell so have adequate ventilation. This will not last long but it will create a brief inconvenience...lol
13. About 1/4" from the end of the metal hook you will notice an area that was previously crimped. You need to try and remove the crimp with a small drill bit by simply making the clip round on the end and inside this area so you can put the cable back into the hook. With blade or knife remove some material at the end of the cable, about 1.5" so you can reduce cable diameter slightly so it can be fed back into the hook. Once you do this, crimp the same area where you removed the crimp so the cable remains inside the hook. Pull the cable to test the quality of your crimp.

Steps 14 to 20 coming shortly.

 

[Hunter Dog]

Steps 14 to 20 coming shortly.

14. Once the antenna and inside has been cleanded and grease applied, install hook with cable (facing same direction as removed) and apply silicone/rtv to top portion of the case and close up. We used stainless screws and nuts instead of trying to apply rivets which we felt could do more harm than good. Install the five clamps as they were found. Antenna should be extended all the way, do not try to roll up the cable inside the case.
15. Clean the connector and scuff any oxidation or rust off the metal portion of this connector.
16. Plug the antenna into the connector to test the motor and antenna before reinstalling the motor. When doing this the cable will fold back into the case as it should. Be sure antenna is down all the way into the mast or you will be unable to install it through the fender.
17. Once the unit is back to working, attach the string to the connector and feed it back up through the fender and out the hole in the fender that was used to lower the motor. A pick with a hook on it is very helpful to pull the connector out of the hole. Be sure to position the mast so the bracket is in the same position it was removed in.
18. Re-install the motor/antenna in reverse order. It helps to have two people with one above, one below to feed the mast up into position so the antenna nut can be installed and connect to the mast.
19. Carefully push the fender back into position. A screwdriver or pry tool may be needed to get the fender loose from the wheel well and back in place.
20. Install the 10mm nuts inside wheel well and then along the inside fender next to the door starting with the bolt that supports the bracket holding the entire unit in place.

After the job is done clean any dirt, grease, finger prints off the paint and pat yourself on the back as you just saved yourself some $$$
If you try this and have any questions message me and I will try to help if need be.
Good Luck !