Power Antenna Trouble

[wiigamer99]

New problem for Bonnie, but not a big deal. Power antenna has been acting funny just recently. The antenna mast has not been going up and down whenever I turn the radio on or off. I can hear the antenna motor run when it's supposed to, but the antenna doesn't move. When I got out to look at it, I could move it up and down by hand very easily. Duct taped it up for now, but does this call for a replacement mast or a new power antenna (motor, mast, mount and all)?

[Bob Dillon]

They're sold on e-Bay for about $40. When mine puked, I got one of these and installed it, lasted about a year, same thing.

Went to the dealer and bought the parts for the fixed antenna, about $28 total, tossed the electric one in the trash, and took 10 minutes to install it. No more worries, and much better radio reception, especially AM.

[human]

What's happened is the nylon cable inside the antenna has broken. It eventually happens to all of them. Check the self-service junkyards in your area. I got one from Pull-A-Part near me last summer for $13. Took me all of five minutes to remove from the donor car and maybe ten to install on mine. I could have gotten a dollar back for the old antenna, but it wasn't worth the gas to make a special trip and by the time I got back over there, the 30-day window had expired. A fixed mast antenna would have been around $6 or $7.

Oldsmobile used the same antenna on the 88, 98, and LSS in that era.

[RPACODY]

mine started hanging up a couple years ago pulled it up cleaned with fine steel wool and lubed it a little still works

[reb]

Try lubricating the extended antennae with some motor oil on a rag.

[Bob Dillon]

Try lubricating the extended antennae with some motor oil on a rag.

Or powdered graphite, which doesn't thicken in the cold.

[wiigamer99]

New update on the problem. I got a replacement mast from AutoZone and I tried to replace it today. Turns out, a portion of the wire that feeds the antenna up and down seems to be stuck in the motor. I think I'm at a point where I need a new antenna. Would it be easier to go with a replacement power antenna or something that's easy to install, like an AntennaX EuroStyle antenna or something similar to that?

[human]

By EuroStyle, are you referring to those short, thick, plastic antennas? Yeah, they're fairly easy to put in, but the radio reception is crap, at least in my experience. Better to go either with a fixed mast antenna or visit your favorite junk yard for a used power antenna. They're really easy to install.