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How to Repair an
Electric Antenna on a
C3 |
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Disassembly instructions begin HERE Reassembly Instructions begin HERE
Note: This
has been prepared as a guide only. If you would like to offer
any constructive criticism to improve the article - please feel free
to contact me by clicking here...
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| Disassembly | |
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- If need be - remove the muffler. Some cars have after market mufflers and you can work around them and avoid this step. |
- Muffler removed. Note - the wires were cut in this situation as a temporary "repair" previous to Ron working on the car. Normally they would be intact and running from the motor up into the car. |
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- When a wire breaks inside the power antenna unit, the motor in the power antenna keeps running. Cutting the wires as was done here solves the problem of the motor continually running.
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- A better solution would have been to pull the "Radio 10 amp" fuse to temporarily disable the entire unit. There is also a relay behind the drivers seat with the same three color wires that could have been unplugged. Remove the nut and bolt as indicated to released the entire unit from the vehicle.
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- With the muffler out of the way, remove the nut on the top of the fender at the base of the antenna mast. |
- After the nut is removed go inside the car under the carpet and insulation on top of the left rear wheel. There is a wire connector there that needs to be disconnected.
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- Wire connector behind the driver seat on the left rear wheel well with the green gray & white wires that lead to the antenna. You need to remove the carpet and insulation to get at this connector.
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- Unplug the connector and go back under the car and remove the rubber grommet that the antenna wire and the power wires go through.
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- Disconnect the ground wire and antenna wire from the unit.
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- The antenna wire looks like a cable TV wire. You should now be able to remove the unit carefully now. It is easier with the mast down, but if it is up - you should still be able to get it out.
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- On the bench. Remove five small clips
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- One of the clips removed. |
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Drill out the rivets or cut them with a hammer and chisel. |
- Drill out
the rivets or cut them with a hammer and chisel. |
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- After rivets are removed the mast will separate from the main body. |
- Carefully separate two halves and look
for a broken wire and clean off old silicone. Example of a
broken plastic wire is shown right below. |
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- Unscrew knob from the top of the antenna. You will need to hold the antenna in a vice lightly and be careful not to damage the mast or lose the nut. It will go on the new mast that comes with the kit.
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After the nut is off - pull on the broken wire and slide the mast out. Here is what the broken wire looks like. |
Reassembly |
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- Lube new mast insert were old one came out. You will need to wiggle and jiggle to get it all the way through. Once through install the small nut on top and snug it up. |
Now here is where you need to pay attention. You need to hook the cable into the wheel (the big gear). |
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-The gear can rotated if lifted out and it needs to go back in exactly as shown above. If it is not indexed as above the antenna will under or over extend when the unit is reinstalled. After installation, double check to make sure things are all lined up. |
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- Silicone one of the halves. You don't need too much - just enough to seal it. I used the clear stuff - but if you like colors - go crazy. After applying the silicone, mate the two parts together; don't force anything, they should fall into place. Install 4 bolts in place of the rivets. I used lock nuts and a little Loctite. Be careful not to over tighten - the housing is just plastic. |
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Reinstall the unit and connect the wires and VOILA - you are done. Take your time - it is easy to do. The broken antenna on this page is courtesy of Dave Jeggo and his 1981 Corvette. Thanks Dave !! |
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