Antenna Problems, Changed head unit, antenna now wont go up or down Options

[RoadRage]

Hello fellow 6gc'ers,

I am new to the forums because I only just bought my Celica this weekend. It came with the factory casette and CD player that looked awful and was damaged and had buttons missing, so i bought a new Sony head unit and a pocket underneath, and I was going to install it myself but I got an offer if I pay extra 50 they'll do it within the hour, so I said sure why not.

Now in the old radio the antenna would go up when I turned the radio on and down when I turned the radio off in accessory mode and If i left the radio on (therefore the antenna up) and took the key out the radio would flash every 2 seconds and make some electrical buzzing sound and would keep doing it till I put the key back in on accessory and turned it off,

When I came back to the guy installing it, he said he could not get the antenna working because there were inside the car a bunch of extra useless wires (that were once probably used for something) and if he plugged the antenna in to the head unit there would be a constant source of power to the head unit even when the car off and it is draining my battery and he is surprised the battery hasn't died yet, so he left it unplugged with the antenna up so I would get radio reception, and even if he left it plugged in he said the antenna should go down when I turned off accessory not when i turned the radio off (actually I'm not even sure from what he explained if the antenna would even work properly if he plugged it back in anyway), now it just annoys me to have the antenna always up.

Does anyone know any ideas about a fix or some sorts or will I have to fork out some more money for an auto electrician to fix it up?

Also, I noticed now when I go off accessory the clock turns off too, while before it was always on, which i did find suspicious

[richee3]

I say ditch the ugly fishing pole antenna and get a hidden antenna. They're about $20 USD and money well spent to ditch the factory antenna.

Honestly, the only thing to do is dive right in and get your hands dirty. Time to tear your dash apart and figure out what those "extra wires" are for and get rid of them. They shouldn't affect your antenna if it was functioning properly before. The antenna has constant power anyway but works on switched power- radio on, antenna up and vise versa. I've never heard of the radio "buzzing" until you shut the radio off. USDM Celicas automatically retract the antenna when the key is turned off or if the radio is set to play a CD or cassette.

[RoadRage]

Ok, after tearing the dash apart and spending almost 3 hours fiddling with the wires I have come to the conclusion that the power supply for the antenna is running from the wrong wire, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what the 'extra wires' are and the 'buzzing' from before

I think I'll get someone with some more knowledge to check it out

Thanks

-Another note, maybe I keep the 'fishing pole' permanently up just buy a small aftermarket one
Can someone link me to some good ones please?

[njccmd2002]

Sounds like whoever did ur antenna did not know what he was doing. Post a pic of the harness to see the condition. I have the wiring diagrams.

You know there are harnesses to connect radios now a day that anyone can do. Unless the car harness was cut by the previous owner. But it can still be repaired. There is a wire that signals the antenna when to go up or down.

[njccmd2002]

Stupid dbl post

This post has been edited by njccmd2002: Dec 17, 2013 - 9:40 AM

[RoadRage]

Well thats an issue.. there is no harness used, all that was done was he tapped into each individual wire, so it's hanging there unplugged

I'll take a pic when I get home

[Special_Edy]

Connect the wire for your antenna mast to the blue wire on your radio. The remote turn on for amps. I'll check which color wire it is on the celica harness but this should make your antenna mast go up or down whenever the radio is turned on or off, regardless of key position. So if you kill the ignition or turn the power off the antenna will go down and if the stereo is on the antenna will extend.

Pulling out the key will kill the blue wire signal from the stereo which triggers the antenna to go down. The antenna mast will fully retract and the antenna will go into hibernation mode.

When you turn on the radio the blue wire has 12volts and the antenna unit activates, extending the antenna mast.
There is no way to interrupt this other than to disconnect to antenna or battery.

This post has been edited by Special_Edy: Dec 17, 2013 - 7:49 PM

[richee3]

Next step then, get in the FS section of 6gc and look for a partout. You can fix that harness yourself but it's easier to just buy a replacement. They are pretty cheap when someone is parting out. You just need to get a picture of your complete harness so you know you are buying the right one. It's only about a foot long.

[njccmd2002]

Or go to a yard and cut those...

[RoadRage]

Ok, after having a second look in clear daylight, the extra wires are from a relay that goes nowhere, I wired up the antenna from the remote wire (following the install guide given by sony) and after blowing 2 fuses, I unplugged the blue wire from the relay and everything seems to be going fine.

The antenna goes down when I take the keys out, or turn it off when im in acc, but from what richee3 said, it doesn't go down when I play CD, it's always up when its on no matter what I'm playing, which doesn't bother me at all as long as it goes down when I'm out of the car

Thanks for the help guys, really appreciate it

now to install a sub

-also i wish i could go to a yard but here in Melb finding a celica part in a yard is damn rare

[njccmd2002]

Some radios have a wire for antenna and wire for amp, which is usually blue. If it's the blue wire the antenna will be up, since the radio should be turning an amp, not an antenna.