Power Antenna Woes

[Coan]

The power antenna motor in my '97 quit working last fall. I recently picked up a '95 parts car with a working power antenna. Last night I pulled out the working antenna/motor assembly from the parts car, and without removing the old one I plugged the new one into my '97 and laid it on the trunk to test. It does not work either (in my '97). Works just fine in the '95 though.

Clearly there must be an issue with getting power/signal to the antenna. I checked the motor connector with a multimeter and it seems that one of the 3 pins is getting 12v when the radio is on. Has anybody else encountered this issue before? Could the problem be something inside the stock radio not transmitting the power? My stereo system is 100% stock, complete with buzzy, blown speakers.

I searched, but every thread I found ends with the motor being the problem. Can't seem to find anyone with this issue.

[Coan]

Of course, now that I created a thread I just found this post

Originally Posted by SVXdc

The connector for the antenna motor has three wires:

• Black = ground
• White = +12V constant (from fuse #22)
• Black/Green = control from radio

The latter gets +12V to raise the antenna, or open-circuit to let it retract.

I already checked all the fuses under the hood and none are blown. Now that I know each pins function, I guess I better recheck each pin on the motor connector to see which one is not doing it's job.

[huck369]

Do you have the stock radio in the car?

[Blacky]

Yes. (see first post).

[Sean486]

Have you tried swapping the radio from the parts car?

[Coan]

Originally Posted by Sean486

Have you tried swapping the radio from the parts car?

I have not because it's in very poor shape. I do have a 2003 WRX 6 disc changer sitting on the shelf though, it may be time to finally order that wiring harness that I need for it.

[NiftySVX]

Don't have my books with me but there has to be a relay, no?

[Coan]

Originally Posted by NiftySVX

Don't have my books with me but there has to be a relay, no?

Must be somewhere...

After reading svxdc's site again, radio removal looks like a total pain the butt so I'm going to wait until I have the harness to install the WRX radio so that I only have to do this once.

[Sean486]

Originally Posted by Coan

Must be somewhere...

After reading svxdc's site again, radio removal looks like a total pain the butt so I'm going to wait until I have the harness to install the WRX radio so that I only have to do this once.

It's actually pretty easy, but yeah might as well wait and do it once.

[Coan]

Well I finally found time to work on this again.

Originally Posted by SVXdc

The connector for the antenna motor has three wires:

• Black = ground
• White = +12V constant (from fuse #22)
• Black/Green = control from radio

The latter gets +12V to raise the antenna, or open-circuit to let it retract.

I checked the pins on the motor connector - it's getting the 12v signal from the radio. It's NOT getting the 12v constant power.

I searched for this "fuse 22", but the fuses aren't labeled by number anywhere on the car. I found a table in the owners manual that lists "Fuse Panel Cavity Number 22" as a 25A "Left-hand electric cooling fan". I found a 25A fuse under the hood named "LH Cooling Fan" - it looks good but I replaced it anyway. No change, the antenna still doesn't see 12v constant.

Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this circuit? Are there any connectors that are suspect to failure? Any common places for this circuit to fail?

On a side note, my airbag light has started to stay on while driving now. It's not all the time, but more common when it's hot/humid outside. My hazards quit working completely, and sometimes my turn signals don't work. The turn signals can always be restored by hitting the hazard switch on and then off again. That combined with my previously unresolved random honking issues makes me think there's a bigger wiring gremlin at play here.

[Coan]

Originally Posted by Coan

Well I finally found time to work on this again.
Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this circuit? Are there any connectors that are suspect to failure? Any common places for this circuit to fail?

Just found the wiring diagrams here:
http://phantomotaku.com/SVX/

Ok, I'll stop answering my own questions now.

[Coan]

Ok, after more digging, I'm realizing that the hazard switch and the power antenna are both run off fuse 22 under the hood. From there they split and go separate ways to different connectors. From this, I'm guessing that my non-working hazards and my non-working antenna are related. The fuse is good (I've tried a few), so tomorrow I'm going to try to check around for loose connections under and around the fuse panel and see what I can find.

[Coan]

There's a white wire that runs from the under hood Fuse #22 to the interior fuse box. This supplies power to the hazard switch and the power antenna motor. I checked with a volt meter and it's getting 12v out of the under hood fuse box, but at the connector on the interior fuse box it's not getting any power.

Looks like this wire is the problem. I guess I'll have to follow the wiring through the fender and see if I can find any visible issues.

[Coan]

"Well there's your problem!"



The white wire has a slice in it that seems to have corroded over time. I ended up cutting out a section and soldering in some new wire. I now have working hazards and power antenna.

I also found a larger gauge blue/yellow wire that was also damaged. Per the wiring diagrams, it goes to the ignition switch. I repaired that wire as well, and noticed a significantly stronger/faster starter. I'm guessing there was a voltage drop across the damaged/corroded section of that wire. Glad I caught that one before it completely corroded through.

Thanks for your help everybody!

[gwynethh]

Nice trouble shooting!