Hi Everyone

Ive done a search and was unable to find anything. How do I replace the mast in an electric antenna?
Ive pulled it all apart, taken the broken rope out and fed the new mast in as much as I can.

I then installed back in the car to try and get the motor to draw the new rope/mast in with no joy

I cant seem to manually feed the rope in due to the cog not enabeling me to do so

How do you install a new mast??? I few posts say they are easy to do but no clues as to how

Any assistance much appreciated

Rod

For starters, this can only be done on the 8 pin unit, not on the 3 pin unit

Once you have taken out the old mast, you then turn on the radio, let the aerial cycle itself up, then oyu need to get the rope to catch the gear and have someone switch off the radio. Can be a little tricky as you have found as the cord will be slightly curved from being in the packaging, you need to try and straighten the end of it out, you will feel it catch on the gears

You mention that you have taken it apart, provided nothing has been disturbed you should be fine but these are very fragile so you can actualy damage the unit when you take it all apart

Hey mate i did this the other day. There's a really easy way to do it (that i only found out after taking hours doing it the hard way once before). With the aerial on your car, turn on the radio so the motor extends out all the way (as in if the mast was in there it'd be all the way up). Then, with the teeth in the rope facing towards the body of the car, slide the rope down as far as it will go. Turn the rope towards the back of the car so that the teeth mesh with the drive cog. Give it a light pull after this, if it comes out it didn't mesh, try it again. If it did mesh, then turn off your radio and the rope should wind up and your aerial should be good to go after you replace the ring nut on the top.

Edit: What Mal said pretty much lol

This technique - described so well by Timmy B above - is also explained in the PDF downloadable Mitsi Workshop Manual. Search for "Workshop Manual Thread".

Mal is right in that a bit of straightening at the tip of the new rope helps, and TimmyB has it nailed with the advice to advance the rope with the rack/teeth facing to the side, and when you feel it bottom-out THEN twist the rope so that teeth face the back of the car before having someone turn radio off.

You def need an accomplice to turn radio on/off for you, and a third pair of hands wouldn't hurt to wrangle the mast and rope with you when it gets pulled down and the motor cycles back in...... need good reflexes and no tangles in the mast/rope at this stage! It usually takes me a few try-out before I get the rope to mesh and retract.

(I had a fairly new rope bugger-up in about a year, end of rope looks fine but it disengages when the mast goes up..... so had to rinse and repeart the procedure again. New one is going great. These were Aerpro masts, by the way, cheaper and look identical to the genuine as far as I can tell).

Thanks guys. Well I have pushed the new mast rope in a bit while I have had the motor housing apart. I take it this is NOT the way to go about it then as when I get my bro to turn radio off/on nothing happens ( I can hear the motor driving but mast is not being pulled in)

I thought if I put the mast in this way it was almost guarenteed to work as mast is already meshed with the cog so to speak. ARGhhhhh

Hey mate i did this the other day. There's a really easy way to do it (that i only found out after taking hours doing it the hard way once before). With the aerial on your car, turn on the radio so the motor extends out all the way (as in if the mast was in there it'd be all the way up). Then, with the teeth in the rope facing towards the body of the car, slide the rope down as far as it will go. Turn the rope towards the back of the car so that the teeth mesh with the drive cog. Give it a light pull after this, if it comes out it didn't mesh, try it again. If it did mesh, then turn off your radio and the rope should wind up and your aerial should be good to go after you replace the ring nut on the top.

Edit: What Mal said pretty much lol

Thanks so much,

I'm a newbie to this forum. Just bought a Magna TW ES wagon and first job was to replace the broken electric aerial. Found this post, printed it, bought an Aerpro aerial and followed TimmyB and Elwyn's instructions. 15 minutes later had a new aerial zooming up and down. Thanks guys.:D

Just had to replace my mast and the new one (Aeropro) won't retract fully. There is around 1cm that stays up. The only thing I found was I tried following the above installation advice, however it wouldn't engage when I turned the rope teeth towards the rear of the car, however when I turned them towards the front of the car it did. I did have to pull the cover off the motor to remove a snapped off section of the old rope. Could I have put something back wrong?

Just hold your tounge in a different position, should go in, unless you have broken it...... :)

hmmmm.... the above is good to know.
Not to hijack but...
Q. My electric ariel is no longer providing FM reception... but still goes up and down. What might cause that?

Where do you get a replacement mast?

Will try again tonight....

I got mine from Autobarn for $50. You can get them a few $$ cheaper on eBay.

So it looks like the reason it won't retract fully is because the replacement mast (AP253) is longer than the factory one. Does anyone know if there is a difference between the sedan and wagon antennas (I have a wagon)?

Just did some checking and it looks like the aerials differ between Magnas and Veradas and I need an AP263 instead. I can't imagine why they would use different aerials...

They use different aerials to sell more parts :)

Just did some checking and it looks like the aerials differ between Magnas and Veradas and I need an AP263 instead. I can't imagine why they would use different aerials...

My wife bent the aerial. So AP263 is for the Verada?

interesting, i too attempted to change my mast at the weekend, though it not broken, its bent and doesn't go all way down or up all the way, what would be the mast for the VRX? as i got a ap253 which seems way too long for the motor housing and i couldn't see how it was going to fit or sit flush into the guard.

Am i better off getting a whole new assembly and motor?

My wife bent the aerial. So AP263 is for the Verada?

I suggest pulling it out and taking all of the measurements first. It turned out the 263 wasn't right and I ended up using one for a Pajero.

The aerial on our '01 TJ VR-X is currently a busted up manual one.

Is it at all possible to convert to an auto up/down aerial?

The aerial on our '01 TJ VR-X is currently a busted up manual one.

Is it at all possible to convert to an auto up/down aerial?
Yes... the easiest way to do it is to purchase an after-market Aerpro automatic antenna, take power from the boot light loom and run the signal cable (or whatever it's called) to the back of the head unit. If you're still running a stock HU you'll need a piggy-back loom with a signal cable which might be hard to find, but the after-market HUs I've seen come with their own piggy-back looms.

Of course I didn't do it the easy way - decided I only wanted a genuine accessory, so waited for 6 months for one to become available. Coupled with the fact that I can't ever seem to get the damn HU out, it wasn't so easy!! The only advantage to waiting for the genuine article was because it was supplied with the piggy-back loom. :)

The aerial on our '01 TJ VR-X is currently a busted up manual one.

Is it at all possible to convert to an auto up/down aerial?

Sure is, I did this on my mums '99 Advance. I just went to the wreckers and pulled one out of a wreck including the wiring to run to the head unit, was pretty cheap from what I remember.

The aerial on our '01 TJ VR-X is currently a busted up manual one.

Is it at all possible to convert to an auto up/down aerial?
Didn't the VR-X come with a power antenna as standard...?

Didn't the VR-X come with a power antenna as standard...?

Yes it did

Yes it did
Assuming that the TJ series 1 VR-X did as well (I think it did), it should be as simple as buying one from a wrecker and swapping it out... I believe new TL/TW antennae are quite a lot cheaper than the original TJ units too, at least they were when I was researching my conversion.

Yes changing the whole unit out is allot easier that just doing the mast, however there are members out there that can replace the mast no probs. Not so with me :(
Anyway as far as price goes not sure what the difference is between models but I would go for the latest series that fits a TJ hence having lower repeat use being newer
If a TW series fit's then go for that.

Mal (Madmagna) would be able to confirm this for you

HI
New to this site. I have a KH xi verada and need to replace the aerial mast how do i tell if it is a 3 pin or 8 pin

thanks
rob

I reckon, being an Xi, it'll be an 8-pin ... but the easiest way to tell is to pull out the carpet walls in the boot on the antenna side, find the connector and have a look. :)

If it's an 8-pin you should be able to simply replace the mast... I have to replace the entire unit if/when mine breaks. :(

I reckon, being an Xi, it'll be an 8-pin ... but the easiest way to tell is to pull out the carpet walls in the boot on the antenna side, find the connector and have a look. :)

If it's an 8-pin you should be able to simply replace the mast... I have to replace the entire unit if/when mine breaks. :(

Easiest way to tell is the top nut. 3 pin have av17mm hex nut, 8pin have a round nut with 4 slots cut into them

This is the chrome nut outside the car where the mast comes out of

Will try again tonight....

I got mine from Autobarn for $50. You can get them a few $$ cheaper on eBay.

There about 100-150 brand new from aeropro or fleabay

I got mine for 45 from a store in adeleide second hand

Same thing is happening with my 2nd Gen Verada KS.

Any idea what aerial i would need for that one or how to fix one in a KS ?

Sorry to drag up an old thread guys

I have to replace the antenna mast for my KH verada. I couldnt find a verada mast part number anywhere at the shops so purchased a Aerpro Magna one (part number AP253) but this wont wind all the way in. After the motor cycle down finishes there is still about 10cm of rope hanging out. No good.......

Is a difference between the verada and magna replacement masts or am I not doing it right???

Need help on this before I buy another mast that turns out to be the same as what I already have now....

Yes, there is a difference.

Magna: AP253 (http://www.aerpro.com.au/list.php?pcode=AP253&cat_name=New+Products&cat_no=&product_name=MAGNA+PAJERO+REPLACEMENT+MAST&cat_sno=)

Verada: AP263 (http://www.aerpro.com.au/list.php?pcode=AP263&cat_name=New+Products&cat_no=&product_name=MIT+VERADA+08/2000+R/MAST&cat_sno=)

Hope that helps :)

But the specs for each are almost exactly the same....

Similar specs, but still different in many dimensions... although mast diameter does look pretty different to me (Verada mast diameter: 8.5mm, Magna mast diameter: 10mm).

Edit: I've never tried to install a magna mast in a Verada though, so don't know if they are 'similar' enough that it should work... but I can't see why Aerpro would go to the bother of having tooling for 2 different masts when 1 would fit both the Magna & Verada.

fair call. the rope length (not specified) must be much shorter on the verada as when I try to install the magna version, excess rope of about 100mm hangs out.... Oh well worth a try

OK guys, I really need some help here
Just purchased the verada rope - Aerpro AP263 or whatever it is.

The motor winds in the mast but only half way down..... I don't understand what I am doing wrong.......
The motor seems to cycle up for quite a while but the cycle down is shorter and I'm not getting all of the rope to wind in.
I have a 1999 KH and the mast & rope I now have suits Verada 8/2000 onwards but I wouldnt have thought there would'nt be a difference
Can anyone tell me whether the electric antenna assy was different between these models??
This is doing my head in, surley it cant be that hard to change

The only thing I can think of is I have the wrong part but only US sellers sell Mast&Rope replacements for my year of car (Diamante)

Any assistance appreciated, I hate things not working properly. Especially the electric antenna

Prob have some of your old rope still in the unit, is often the case where it breaks and some is still inside the winder

I have if you are interested 2 proper Verada complete units here now that came in this week, both have been tested and work, shoot me an email if you want one

Hi Mal

Yes I have taken the broken rope out but it still wont wind the new one all the way in. Yes is you have an 8 pin verada assy I will grab one. The only concern I have with those is the plastic rope's are well worn and will end up in the same situation I am in now.

I just cant think why it wont work...

It is possible, though a total $%&# pain in the arse, to remove and dismantle the unit and rewind the rope manually, feeding the reassembled unit up from the inside (at least on a TJII wagon). You'll need patience and a rag 'cos they're full of nasty grey grease, but you might be able to see why loading the new rope in externally isn't working. I did this the first time mine broke before I learned it could be done externally the way you are trying. Best bet though is to grab one from Mal, install it, then maybe fiddle the new mast into your old one in your own time and keep as a spare.

EDIT: Also, in my opinion, the replacement mast/rope doesn't give as good reception as the original. My radio reception is rubbish until the mast is fully wound up, and then is just ok. The original received much better I reckon, even while it was still extending.

OK guys, I really need some help here
Just purchased the verada rope - Aerpro AP263 or whatever it is.

The motor winds in the mast but only half way down..... I don't understand what I am doing wrong.......
The motor seems to cycle up for quite a while but the cycle down is shorter and I'm not getting all of the rope to wind in.
I have a 1999 KH and the mast & rope I now have suits Verada 8/2000 onwards but I wouldnt have thought there would'nt be a difference
Can anyone tell me whether the electric antenna assy was different between these models??
This is doing my head in, surley it cant be that hard to change

The only thing I can think of is I have the wrong part but only US sellers sell Mast&Rope replacements for my year of car (Diamante)

Any assistance appreciated, I hate things not working properly. Especially the electric antenna

KH Verada has half height antenna control on the head unit doesn't it? --- I don't know if it would make a difference, but have you clicked the button on the head unit so that the aerial is "fully" extended?

I used the AP263 to replace the mast in my 98 Verada a couple of years ago, so it certainly works with 3rd gens prior to 2000. I'm out of ideas...

KH Verada has half height antenna control on the head unit doesn't it? --- I don't know if it would make a difference, but have you clicked the button on the head unit so that the aerial is "fully" extended?

I used the AP263 to replace the mast in my 98 Verada a couple of years ago, so it certainly works with 3rd gens prior to 2000. I'm out of ideas...

Well this is the other thing I was thinking of why it's not retracting all the way down. I have removed the original KH stereo and fitted a KW 'Premium' stereo so that one does not have the half height function for the aerial. Would that mean something?? Prior to the rope breaking the aerial was going up and down all the way so I figured it cant be that. But no I cannot select the half height function anymore

Ok, bought an Aerpro replacement antenna for our newly acquired TW Magna wagon as the other one would simply not work, so I took the entire unit out and removed the remainder of the old "rope" and rewound the new one in place and popped it all back into place. Initially all good ie turn on radio and antenna goes up, turn radio off..it goes down, but the issue lies when I turn the radio on and it goes up and then once it reaches it entire extension it seems to think the antenna must be 700 feet long and keeps grinding away to push it higher ! I have pulled the bugger out and rewound the antenna a few times now but no fix. I'm guessing that a micro switch or what ever is stuffed when it tries to extend the antenna ????? Any ideas would be appreciated :-)

Ok, bought an Aerpro replacement antenna for our newly acquired TW Magna wagon as the other one would simply not work, so I took the entire unit out and removed the remainder of the old "rope" and rewound the new one in place and popped it all back into place. Initially all good ie turn on radio and antenna goes up, turn radio off..it goes down, but the issue lies when I turn the radio on and it goes up and then once it reaches it entire extension it seems to think the antenna must be 700 feet long and keeps grinding away to push it higher ! I have pulled the bugger out and rewound the antenna a few times now but no fix. I'm guessing that a micro switch or what ever is stuffed when it tries to extend the antenna ????? Any ideas would be appreciated :-)

Everything I've read the AERPRO mast was sedan only. I'm on my third mast now, last one I got shipped from japan about $42 + shipping .

Wagon MR901762
Sedan MB953709

Normally you would insert the rope from the top with teeth pointing outwards of the left side, then rotate 90degrees so they face the front of the car(Wagon-front, Sedan - rearwards) and lock in to the gear.

You'd have to turn on the radio first to let the aerial cycle itself up, then get the rope to catch the gear and have someone switch off the radio to retract the antenna.

I had difficulty getting mine to lock in.

I suspect the shutdown is current sensed and timer controlled as it will stop if the motor continuously runs.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=101868&highlight=MR901762

Thanks TW2005....I have read the entire thread re "Replacing electric antenna mast" and must admit have the same problem as the originator of this thread ie if you insert the mast when the radio is on it won't reverse when the radio is turned off and so won't pull the rope in which is why I wound the rope manually in the spool (boy was that fun !). I must be goofing somewhere.
Cheers
Ron

if you have a 3 pin antenna it is sold as a whole unit(not sure for wagons, definate for sedans)

mine has the nut with 4 slots ???

Thanks TW2005....I have read the entire thread re "Replacing electric antenna mast" and must admit have the same problem as the originator of this thread ie if you insert the mast when the radio is on it won't reverse when the radio is turned off and so won't pull the rope in which is why I wound the rope manually in the spool (boy was that fun !). I must be goofing somewhere.
Cheers
Ron

You know I think something like that happened to me too, I forget how I got around it, probably cycled the radio first and if that did not work I must have turned the whole ignition off and started again. Obviously i worked around it somehow.. i know i had to dismantle it to get the broken rope out which I was not to excited about, gave it some fresh lithium grease which has made it a lot quieter and smoother.

I think it was after this I thought I'd broken it but turning the ignition off and starting again sounds familiar.

Are the teeth the correct way? Can't imagine trying to wind it on hand.

I had a read too and seemed like some have managed to use these in wagons? I chose the safe option and went OEM, very little difference in price provided you go offshore. One Ebay seller makes the point they do not suit.

mine has the nut with 4 slots ???

i think he means electrical connector not the chromed nut.

I believe there were 2 types covering the number of pins....3 pins has a hex nut and 8 pins has the 4 slotted nut ???

I believe there were 2 types covering the number of pins....3 pins has a hex nut and 8 pins has the 4 slotted nut ???

Fair enough, not something I'd correlate that to. So your next plan of attack is?

As "MadMagna" said back in his post on 26/5/2012..."Easiest way to tell is the top nut. 3 pin have av17mm hex nut, 8pin have a round nut with 4 slots cut into them. This is the chrome nut outside the car where the mast comes out of ". What to do next .....
1./ Retry numerous times a manual feed thru the mast opening (and get totally frustrated)
2./ Wait for a suitable wreck and rip out the whole unit
3./ Use the old mast as an interim.
4./ Have another Vodka !

Go with the vodka. has to be a logical reason though. If it pulls it down ok but goes up and then starts grinding and the motor keeps running then I'm thinking it's run out of rope and the antenna has yet to reach the end of it's travel.

You are right and that's that the weird thing as the very first time it goes up it's perfectly fine its just every time there after that the gear will grind on the rope once the mast is fully extended. Keep thinking....

You are right and that's that the weird thing as the very first time it goes up it's perfectly fine its just every time there after that the gear will grind on the rope once the mast is fully extended. Keep thinking....

I did have the old mast of mine looks like I've tossed it but have the rope left. I'm estimating the rope length was about 115cm, no idea what the mast length was. So the mast is fully extended as in if you grabbed the end of it after the motor has pushed it as far as it can you can't extend it by hand any further?

Yep....I'm slowly getting more convinced that whatever it uses to sense or time to stop extending the antenna is basically working only very intermittently ie it's kaput (not working). Just a little while ago I did manage to get it to feed itself into the unit as prior to this I was manually feeding the rope into the take up spool. Hoping this different and easier approach I though I may have clinched it, so I put the four slotted nut on, turned the radio on and same old same old (grind grind grind). The rope length is as you said 1150mm.

Yep....I'm slowly getting more convinced that whatever it uses to sense or time to stop extending the antenna is basically working only very intermittently ie it's kaput (not working). Just a little while ago I did manage to get it to feed itself into the unit as prior to this I was manually feeding the rope into the take up spool. Hoping this different and easier approach I though I may have clinched it, so I put the four slotted nut on, turned the radio on and same old same old (grind grind grind). The rope length is as you said 1150mm.

Well I'm slowly running out of ideas for you. Is the extended mast length the same? If the mast for the sedan was longer but the rope is the same length then it's conceiveable that it's run out of rope. This would suggest that the body length of the antenna unit itself may be shorter in the sedan to the wagon. Clearly there is a difference between the sedan mast and the wagon otherwise they'd be using the same mast and would have the same part number.

Since the ropes appear to be of similar length, that leaves mast diameter, mast length and possibly teeth profile as the difference. the sedan mast is used in other vehicles but the wagon mast appears to be unique and solely used in a third gen wagon produced by MMAL.

I still think I am correct in how motor is shutdown based on current/voltage sense so if it shutsdown going down then it would going up provided the rope is engaged and it's at the end of the travel which would halt the motor and increase the electrical load. if there's no load then it keeps running until the timer cuts it which is definitely the case with a broken rope.

I did a quick google and got this which seems to validate my theory.

As the motor turns the gears, the rigid rope is pushed or pulled and the mast advances or retracts, stopping based on either a digital counter or timer or on a measured spike in voltage when the motor can't turn anymore.
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/maintenance/4-steps-to-fix-that-pesky-car-radio-antenna

The only other thing is if the profile of the rope or teeth was different but to be honest I've never put this much thought into an electric ariel.

There's a series of reduction gears inside the unit as well as (from memory) a worm-screw type arrangement, you most likely will have seen these when you re-wound the rope by hand (from memory it was necessary or easier to do this if these gears could be disengaged, allowing free rotation of the spool). If the 'off switch' is load sensing as I suspect it is, possibly one or more of these gears have been stripped so the load never reaches the required peak, or possibly they've not been reassembled properly? I guess it's possible for the rope to be skipping on the spool but if my memory is correct about how it looks inside I would have thought this to be unlikely as it is in contact for a good many degrees around the spool with quite a lot of the rope's teeth engaged. In any case, I would suggest either pulling the whole unit out and disassembling (again) to find out what's going on, or get a full replacement from the wreckers (can be a bit hard to find).

If the mast for the sedan was longer but the rope is the same length then it's conceiveable that it's run out of rope. This would suggest that the body length of the antenna unit itself may be shorter in the sedan to the wagon. Clearly there is a difference between the sedan mast and the wagon otherwise they'd be using the same mast and would have the same part number.

I can't comment re wagon/sedan in 3rd gen cars, but I have successfully fitted a mast to my TJ wagon that was sourced from a 2nd gen sedan. The only difference between the masts was the length of the white nylon 'plug' at the base of the mast through which the rope runs, it was longer on the older type. Carefully hacksawing this plug to the shorter length, using the old busted mast as a guide, allowed it to fit and work perfectly and I could see no other difference. Of course, shortening the plug effectively lengthens the rope by the same amount, but there was no way I was able to fit the longer type without cutting down so I can't see this being the problem in this case.

Thanks Ensoniq5......I'll crack the unit open (getting good at this) and have another look at the gear side of life. Think it's time to look for a new unit. EBay has one for around $100 but looks as if it needs some adaption i.e. wiring for starters else keep scouring the wreckers.......thanks again (all).

Thanks Ensoniq5......I'll crack the unit open (getting good at this) and have another look at the gear side of life. Think it's time to look for a new unit. EBay has one for around $100 but looks as if it needs some adaption i.e. wiring for starters else keep scouring the wreckers.......thanks again (all).

how about this. pull it out. hook it up to the wiring , get someone to to turn on the radio, as soon as it reaches the end and starts grinding disconnect the connector then take the cover off with the mast extended and see if you can spot anything unusual with the rope?
Obviously you have to hold it in such a way the mast can extend inside the vehicle.

TW2005...I'll give it a try though not sure (without looking) how I will be able to see with the take up spool and gear in place.....can only try ;-) So dam frustrating for what appears to be a simple issue.....

TW2005...I'll give it a try though not sure (without looking) how I will be able to see with the take up spool and gear in place.....can only try ;-) So dam frustrating for what appears to be a simple issue.....

yeah, I hate being beaten by something too, I guess replacing the whole assembly is the quick fix but it'll be a puzzle unsolved. My Galant actually started doing what you have for a month or 2 recently, then just started working normally again on it's own. weird.

I'm a semi old dude (55) and over the many years since I had a license at 16, the first car with an electric antenna was my trusty/crusty 1983 Camira SL/E Wagon which went through masts like as if there was no tomorrow ie the rope would break every 2 yrs or so, BUT all replacements were successful just like out of the text book...after that we had/have 2 1996 Berlinas and (touch wood) never, ever had a mast fail in over 18 years ! Get this Magna which is a first for us and must say is such an underrated car and of all things the antenna is giving such gripe. Oh well I'll build a bridge and get over it and fix it.

I'm on my fourth mast with this car... about one every 18 months! In all cases however they were due to external forces. 1 - reversed up a driveway with overhanging cyprus pines. 2 - hit a pigeon with it (True! Happily, the damned bird was as cactus as the mast). 3 - forgot to turn off the radio in a carwash (I know, dumb). The first time I didn't know they could be replaced externally and took the whole thing apart (hence my vague recollections of their internal workings) and fitted the cut-down sedan mast, the second time I was able to get the right mast from a wreckers but still pulled it all apart (a bit quicker second time around), the third (hopefully last) time I sourced a new one and did the external fitting trick which worked surprisingly well.

I estimate I'm getting 4 years out of a mast, rope gets brittle I guess, broke about 3-4cm from the mast end.

I found the old mast, rope length is 120cm, Mast fully extended from base of nylon bush is 107.5cm, length of bush is 1cm, 10-11mm in dia, length of sleeve is 6cm, extended length from top of sleeve 100.3cm, retracted length from base of nylon end to end 23cm. 7 sections

OK update time....went to our local specialist Mitsubishi wrecker and he just taken a wagon on board and said the antenna is all good for $85. "OK" I said and went there after work, paid the man and took it home. A closer inspection showed the nut and grommet all gouged and hacked, which raised my suspicion.....turned out that the previous owner stripped the thread on the antenna nut and unit and hence looked like sh*t. Did a harvest of my original onto the donor and all worked well for 3 days and today........... back to same old same old i.e. goes down fine but extends to limit and keeps going with great nashing of cogs and teeth...wtf ??? Am I cursed or what HELP !!!

OK update time....went to our local specialist Mitsubishi wrecker and he just taken a wagon on board and said the antenna is all good for $85. "OK" I said and went there after work, paid the man and took it home. A closer inspection showed the nut and grommet all gouged and hacked, which raised my suspicion.....turned out that the previous owner stripped the thread on the antenna nut and unit and hence looked like sh*t. Did a harvest of my original onto the donor and all worked well for 3 days and today........... back to same old same old i.e. goes down fine but extends to limit and keeps going with great nashing of cogs and teeth...wtf ??? Am I cursed or what HELP !!!

So all that was swapped was the nut and grommet from yours, motor and mast is from the wreck?

yep ! There's came from a slightly earlier model but he assured me all units are alike which on inspection the 2 are the same...just his is a tad older.

There's no body unit or whatever external gizmo that would manage the up and down of an antenna ....surely not !

From what I saw in mine there is a motor controller or circuit board inside it. This would have a timer cct and load sense and would be the brains behind it.

If it's grinding at the end and the teeth are slipping then it will never sense a load and would continue to grind until the timer cct then cut it. This is evident when you have a broke rope as it operates for the same duration both up and down when free running.

If it's cutting on down then for me the sense cct could be assumed to be ok. I very much doubt there would be two separate circuits for up and down so any load above a threshold should cut it.

I guess wreckers rarely give refunds? Not much point hanging onto it since it has the exact same issue.

Chasing your tail a little with a new unknown variable. I very much doubt the mast in the wreck would be the original and for all we know it's mast may have been replaced with a sedan version too.

it could simply be the mast. All i know is it should be straight forward fix but I've only ever used the exact replacement for the wagon and that's all i know. I could be completely wrong suggesting the sedan mast won't work or has this issue but you're now at about $125 into this crazy scenario which i feel sorry for you really.

very hard to help with this one with a definite solution. I don't know if this would be a smart idea or not but do you think it would be possible to put your hand on top of the mast when it is fully down and apply enough force to stop it raising at all whilst someone triggers it and see if it attempts to raise but stops by making it think it has extended fully. This would prove it can halt based on load.

If you did try this, if the antenna was too strong to hold you'd have to let it go , would not like to see you bend it and stuff a mast.

To be honest I've got no idea how the system is supposed to work. If I'm reading the circuit diagram correctly there's three separate power supply circuits to the antenna unit, along with the signal wire from the radio and an earth wire. Why? No idea. All I can suggest is check all fuses up near the driver's foot, there's a couple of 10A and a 15A that appear to be involved. The fact that it worked correctly for a couple of days has thrown me. Possibly there's a short somewhere in your wiring behind the stereo or elsewhere in the loom and this is frying the antenna unit's circuitry? I dunno, I like TW2005's idea re holding the antenna down to eliminate rope length as a cause, though there's a good chance it'll bust another mast.

To be honest I've got no idea how the system is supposed to work. If I'm reading the circuit diagram correctly there's three separate power supply circuits to the antenna unit, along with the signal wire from the radio and an earth wire. Why? No idea. All I can suggest is check all fuses up near the driver's foot, there's a couple of 10A and a 15A that appear to be involved. The fact that it worked correctly for a couple of days has thrown me. Possibly there's a short somewhere in your wiring behind the stereo or elsewhere in the loom and this is frying the antenna unit's circuitry? I dunno, I like TW2005's idea re holding the antenna down to eliminate rope length as a cause, though there's a good chance it'll bust another mast.

Provided it can be held down and not come up, it should not have a chance to flex and bend so should be no different than reaching its end, but yeah if it does raise and it's forced that's the only risk I see. Radical and a bit drastic but if we can prove there is nothing wrong with the controller at least that should leave just the spool or rope but having both doing it just puts more doubt on what's really going on. Moments like these you do wonder.

Really appreciate your inputs TW2005/ Ensoniq5. Will try to re-feed for the 75th time and try the hold down routine. If it all fails I'll put the old gouged bits back on before I go back to the wrecker and show him.

update.....the wreckers swapped it out for another and so far so good ! Thanks for helping.
Cheers
Ron

My TL sedan has the three pin.

Mal said this means the entire unit needs to be replaced (the mast can not be replaced separately).

Anyone know how much a genuine 3pin complete unit is?

Will a manual antenna unit Ap88 fit straight into the hole left by the removal of a auto mast on a 98 Verada ?.

Having read thru this thread, I'm still confused. I've got a TW wagon, 8.5mm mast, with the 4-slotted nut on the fitting on the rear guard. What replacement mast should I fit?
thanks

Ah, my KH atenna seems to have disconnected and wont raise/lower.
I can hear motor working ok. Whats the typical scenario, rope broken top or bottom?

Ah, my KH atenna seems to have disconnected and wont raise/lower.
I can hear motor working ok. Whats the typical scenario, rope broken top or bottom?

From the couple I've done and that includes my past Galant HJ as well the answer is yes.

anywhere along that path. Both required the whole assembly to be opened up and remove the broken portion of rope wrapped on the drum. Also took the opportunity to give everthing a clean and lube.

I think I may have had a 20-30cm portion attached to the mast and the remains inside motor assembly on the wagon last time I was in there.

I got my Ariel from the wreckers.

From the couple I've done and that includes my past Galant HJ as well the answer is yes.

anywhere along that path. Both required the whole assembly to be opened up and remove the broken portion of rope wrapped on the drum. Also took the opportunity to give everthing a clean and lube.

I think I may have had a 20-30cm portion attached to the mast and the remains inside motor assembly on the wagon last time I was in there.Thanks, I'll tackle it on the weekend.

Ah, bugger. Well looks like the antenna assembly is quite different between the KH and KL.
I decided to re-use my old KL one which I'd replaced a while back due to the top plastic shroud being broken.
Looked similar, but after I'd installed it I discovered the connectors are different.
KL has 3 pin and KH has eight, lol. Must be something to do with the half-height feature on the old system.

hmmmm.... the above is good to know.
Not to hijack but...
Q. My electric ariel is no longer providing FM reception... but still goes up and down. What might cause that?

possibly the tuner section has broken down