When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Hi,
well I’ve included the schematic of the installation for this power antenna, the black wire is the one that I thought was ground and connected to the ground, and I put the red wire to Power, I did this on a 12v test battery. Nothing happened? Then I hooked it up to the toggle switch the way it was before I unhooked it and still nothing? By looking at this installation instruction, what have I done wrong? Nothing was hooked up to the car that I can tell and all the fuses are good.
UPDATE….I smoked the motor….Uggg. Lesson, never assume the black wire is a ground, never assume wiring period….
Thanks in advance,
Powe.
Last edited by ETRADIO; Apr 26, 2025 at 12:24 PM.
Reason: UPDATE!
If the power antenna has a built in relay , it looks like it does , one black wire to ground , one wire to 12v battery, the other wire to radio wire that provides power when radio turned on , pretty sure it's blue , not sure why you using toggle, if the car came with power antenna it will not work with factory wiring because there is a relay in the battery box , so wire the new one right to the battery for constant 12v , I don't see how you can burn out the motor wiring it wrong , usually it just won't work till 2 wires have 12v and one ground.
It’s definitely not from the factory, It had a toggle switch in it when I bought it, I was hoping I didn’t ruin it, I tried several ways to hook it up but nothing works. There is no blue wire? Here’s what I have. But I did connect two of the power wires together. Only for a brief moment. Any ideas?
Hi,
well I’ve included the schematic of the installation for this power antenna, the black wire is the one that I thought was ground and connected to the ground, and I put the red wire to Power, I did this on a 12v test battery. Nothing happened? Then I hooked it up to the toggle switch the way it was before I unhooked it and still nothing? By looking at this installation instruction, what have I done wrong? Nothing was hooked up to the car that I can tell and all the fuses are good.
UPDATE….I smoked the motor….Uggg. Lesson, never assume the black wire is a ground, never assume wiring period….
Thanks in advance,
Powe.
The ground at the switch is only for the light on the switch, it will not ground the antenna motor...
The short ground wire with eyelet (near motor in photo) is to land at the "L" bracket assuming the "L" bracket is mounted to chassis ground i.e. frame. .
Ok, that’s good, now if I touch either the red or black to the positive on the battery it should go up or down depending on which wire red or black, which the black is really a white wire as the black wire was added down stream toward the rear of the car. Is this correct ?
First off, is that switch a momentary switch or a maintained switch?
A momentary switch will spring back to center when you release it, a maintained switch is either in the ON or OFF position...
Assuming the red is the fused +12vdc it lands at the switch terminal labeled Power.
The antenna motors switched wire will land at the terminal labeled ACC on that switch...
To make the light on the switch work you need to run a short ground wire to a chassis ground anywhere near where the switch is mounted.
Last edited by bmotojoe; Apr 28, 2025 at 06:07 AM.
It’s a maintained switch. It stays in the up or down position. I hooked up the toggle switch the way it was before I removed it, and it does not work, the light on the switch doesn’t even come on. Ii just tested the fuse, it’s good.
Last edited by ETRADIO; Apr 28, 2025 at 06:06 AM.
Reason: Adding.
Then take your meter and in the ohms position one lead on the Power terminal of the switch the other lead on the ACC terminal and flip the switch, does your meter show 0L or 0.00?
If the motor is grounded correctly you should be able to touch the motors fused & switched wires to battery + side and if the motor is still good it should work...
Ok, I’ll give it a shot, just to be sure, you are saying touch the two wires I have now to the + on the 12v battery? Keep in mind that yesterday for a brief moment I put the acc wire to the neg side of the battery and the red to +.
First, thank you very much for your help this morning. I appreciate you, second, nothing happens when I put those wires to the + side.
No problem!
The way I see your line diagram you need a consistent +12vdc to the motor, that is the fused line.
Then you need a +12vdc switched wire from the switch.
Let's say you are using "A" radio that has a 12vdc switched wire, meaning that anytime you turn the radio on the antenna would go up. And when you turn the radio off the antenna would go down. You are doing the same thing with that maintained switch.
When the patient received the switched +12vdc to the negative post of the battery it was just too much...
It's not going to be surgery, it's more like a autopsy...lol
I've owned my 77 for about 43 years now.
I tried a powered antenna for a short time but went back to the original mast. The powered antennas reception was terrible. And back then you had few choices, AM/FM or 8 track...
Power Antenna Issue Pt 2
