View Full Version : Auto/Manual electric aerial
I remember someone else mentioning the fact that after changing their stereo the aerial popped up everytime you turned it on.
As mine has a slight leaning to the side, i decided to get it sorted as it didn't look totally 'cool' :)
On the aerial relay there is a black and red wire second in from the right/bottom row as you look at the connectors.
Put a small switch in the CD holder/cubby hole breaks the circuit to the relay.
Flick it back on at any point and up pops the aerial :)
Also needed to do this as my electric garage door sometimes doesn't go all the way up, and the aerial goes with a bloody big twang when it catches it :(
Dean..
Flipfinger
14-10-01, 21:28
My aerial popped up every bleeding time the original stereo was switched on, too.
Let me guess - to fit such a switch you need to take the entire bloody dashboard off....
Of course :biggrin:
But with practice you can get it down to about 3 minutes to remove the whole thing !!
Dean..
It was me who was whinging about my aerial being up all the time, as opposed to only up when I was listening to the radio (like it was with my old J-spec double DIN lump).
Wouldn't it be a easier to just cut the feed to the aerial from the radio and wire it via an up/down switch to the ignition-switched 12v supply?
You would still need to take the dashboard out of course!
My original plan was to stick a +ve into the harness..
I found 2 x +ve's feeding the relay harness when the stereo was energised. Cut one and tried manually sticked a feed onto it, just made a click noise and nothing happened..
Guess theres a feed for up and a feed for down.
My solution seemed to work ok....
Dean.
That reminds me of the afternoon I spent trying to work out how to wire up the electric aerial to my MR2 - that had two wires as well.
At first I found the one which sent the aerial up and connected it to the radio aerial control wire. Switched on, aerial went up (great!) switched off, aerial still up (b*gger!).
Connected the second wire and the reverse happend. I could send the aerial up by spiking the first wire with +12v, and then switching the radio off would bring it down.
The "up" wire needed a rise from 0v to 12v to raise the aerial, and the "down" wire needed a fall from 12v to 0v to lower it.
After a full hour of head scratching I realised that I could get this by simply connecting both wires to the aerial control. DOH!
If you are running and want to use RDS systems you need the aeria.l
I hadn't thought of that. Do the Japs have RDS? If not, does this explain why their radios all seem to retract the aerial then you switch to CD?
So if I am playing CDs with the aerisl down, which functions will be affected?
Traffic Programmes? (not that I ever use them)
Clock?
Any more?
Darren,
I need to "fix" my aerial too.
Can you show me what to do? and which parts I need?
Not very good with electronics but I get annoyed at having to turn off the cd to go at mental speeds...(I worry about the aerial at high speeds...I don't want to break it.)
If you can photo your work that would be terrific! I have no problem with missing out on a few travel bullitins....
Thinking about it is there a way of making it only go up say a foot?? Or would I need a different aerial to do that?
I have done 165 mph with the stereo on and aerial up and it still as straight a when I got it. Never thought it would break.
I presume you will loose or have very unreliable service from any RDS functions that rely on FM signal.
Quote: from Alex Holdroyd on 12:11 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[br]Darren,
I need to "fix" my aerial too.
Can you show me what to do? and which parts I need?
If you can photo your work that would be terrific! I have no problem with missing out on a few travel bullitins....
Thinking about it is there a way of making it only go up say a foot?? Or would I need a different aerial to do that?
Hi Alex,
I would be delighted to help, except for a few crucial things...
Dean has already done a mod that works based on modifying the aerial relay wiring. My idea *should* work by replacing the signal from the radio (which is 12v when the radio is on for "up" and 0v when the radio is off for "down") with a simple switch from the igntiion switched supply in the radio connector. This should allow you to send the aerial up when you want, but will always bring it down when you key off.
I stess "should" because I have not actually done my mod yet. I am now having second thoughts because of Phil's comments about the RDS functions...
Also I don't have any immediate plans to take my dash apart again just yet - oh, and I don't have a digital camera!
Maybe Dean "three minute dash out" Arby can be persuaded to take some pictures of his handywork in his next coffee break? :-)
Does your stereo connect via an ISO block to the stock Toyota loom? If so then it should be easy to identify which wires are the switched 12v supply and which one controls the aerial, because it will be the same as mine and I can tell you without taking my own dash apart.
As for sending the aerial up only a foot: I don't know where the "start" and "stop" brains for the aerial are, but I would have thought they were in the aerial box itself. Having said that, the relay looks a bit more complex than I would have expected... I have not looked at the wiring at the aerial end yet. Your best bet might be to try to rig up some kind of hidden aerial in the boot and do away with the stock mast altogether.
Has any one tried to use the rear screen heater as an aerial?
Quote: from Darren Blake on 12:39 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[brDoes your stereo connect via an ISO block to the stock Toyota loom? If so then it should be easy to identify which wires are the switched 12v supply and which one controls the aerial, because it will be the same as mine and I can tell you without taking my own dash apart.
As for sending the aerial up only a foot: I don't know where the "start" and "stop" brains for the aerial are, but I would have thought they were in the aerial box itself. Having said that, the relay looks a bit more complex than I would have expected... I have not looked at the wiring at ^the aerial end yet. Your best bet might be to try to rig up some kind of hidden aerial in the boot and do away with the stock mast altogether.
ISO...err.. PASS! :)
I haven't even bothered to look at it yet...
What's the order in which you have to take the dash board apart?
If I remember correctly
1, Top binnacle cover
2, Top instruments
3, Break, gear, (illuminated) ash try panel centre console cover
4, Stereo side panel,
Job done.
Quote: from Phil Wall on 12:46 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[br]Has any one tried to use the rear screen heater as an aerial?
I think my dad's Mondeo has a heater-aerial. Might be worth talking to a Ford garage to see if there is anything special about the heater element. I'm picturing some kind of additional box that the aerial lead and the heater supply both plug into...
Quote: from Alex Holdroyd on 1:16 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[br]
ISO...err.. PASS! :)
I haven't even bothered to look at it yet...
An ISO block is easy to spot (its a standard connector for aftermarket stereos). It is a 16-pin connector which is divided into two 4x2 pin sections. One half carries the + and - wires for four speakers, and the other half carries all of the usual power supplies, illumination, etc. There will be some extra connections that are not in the ISO block, like slave amp control. (Actually the more I think about this the more I think that the aerial control isn't in the ISO block, but I'll press on anyway.)
The Toyota harness has two seperate connectors. One carries all of the power supplies plus the feeds for one pair of speakers. The other carries the feeds for the second pair of speakers only. I can't remember which speakers are on which connector.
I need to refer to my Kenwood instruction book to see which pin does what.
Darren - I think you'll find that when you installed your Kenwood, that the blue electric aerial feed was redundant.
I dont think the stock toyota stereo used an individual feed, as it was not a case of always on, and the fact that the aerial relay has about 12 connections to it.
I think the ISO adaptor that is fitted probably combined the original toyota aerial control signal together into a switched feed only.
Without some serious effort i think mines the easiest.
I never use RDS - when you've got The Offspring cranked up to 25, there's nothing worse than local radio blasting out - especially as they never end it at the end of the announcement !!
Mine idea requires the very minimum of effort, just a simple SPST switch, 2 x connectors, and two bits of wire.
I dont particularly want to take dash apart again, but i can do, and i'll take some pics.
Dean.
Quote: from Alex Holdroyd on 1:16 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[brWhat's the order in which you have to take the dash board apart?
Have a look at http://www.trlperformance.com
Pete gives full detail of the dash removal. - plus its a nice website... done by me :biggrin:
Dean..
Quote: from Rolec on 9:03 am on Oct. 17, 2001[br]Darren - I think you'll find that when you installed your Kenwood, that the blue electric aerial feed was redundant.
I dont think the stock toyota stereo used an individual feed, as it was not a case of always on, and the fact that the aerial relay has about 12 connections to it.
I think the ISO adaptor that is fitted probably combined the original toyota aerial control signal together into a switched feed only.
Without some serious effort i think mines the easiest.
I never use RDS - when you've got The Offspring cranked up to 25, there's nothing worse than local radio blasting out - especially as they never end it at the end of the announcement !!
Damn my memory! I know I was making the aerial go up and down by zapping the pins in the ISO connector when I fitted my stereo, but I can't remember which pin I was using. I *do* remember now that you are right about the blue lead from the head unit: a seperate one is provided, but you do not need to wire it up.
Maybe the relay senses the current going to the radio or something whizzy like that?
At any rate, I've decided not to fudge around with my aerial for the time being.
The Offspring....Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm :-)
I really must get the "his" MP3 CD burnt soon. The "ours" one is getting a bit boring. (The "hers" one is on the low-priority list).
Quote: from Phil Wall on 12:46 pm on Oct. 16, 2001[br]Has any one tried to use the rear screen heater as an aerial?
You don't have to. The J-spec already has a rear-screen antenna as stock.
Yours,
J
You don't have to. The J-spec already has a rear-screen antenna as stock.
Yours,
J
Ash, please explain as my GZ came with a normal aerial.
Mine too. J-spec SZ aerotop with traditional aerial.
Are they separate circuits or in one?
In Japan did the electric aerial only operate when the signal was too weak for the screen aerial? Would that explain why the auto aerial ecu is so big?
Or is that to sophisticated?
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