| Author | Message | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 261 Registered: 11-2001 |
Thanks, Magoo -- and I believe you're correct about that part being some sort of solenoid, and it appears that it was part of the original antenna package. Bret: good idea about covering over the old antenna switch hole on the center console -- will have to be sure and do this if and when I redo the interior. For now, it's just a "dummy" switch. At any rate, I finally (and successfully) hooked up the new Harada power antenna and it works like new again. If you notice in the first and last pics that I posted that there is one red and one green long wire dangling down from the underside of the fender and connected to the "solenoid". Well, it turns out that the red was "always hot" and the green "switched". So, I cut these two wires and the ground strap (which used to always touch the antenna motor housing) free from the cluster of wires, solenoid, and old antenna motor. Then I just connected the new motor accordingly (red to red, green to green, black ground to ground strap) and it operates via the radio knob. Now it appears that a new radio is in order since the old Blaupunkt AM/FM/Cassette is acting up. Saw a decently priced Sanyo model that has AM/FM, Cassette, and CD player all built in the same receiver -- hopefully Crutchfield still has them in stock -- might give it a try. Again, thanks everyone for helping solve this one! | ||
| magoo (Magoo)
Intermediate Member Username: Magoo Post Number: 2489 Registered: 2-2001 |
Eric, It appears that the thing you refer to "Whats This" in your photos is a solenoid which actvates the antenna motor when it is energized from the dash switch. | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 260 Registered: 11-2001 |
Went to PepBoys today and purchased a fully automatic AM/FM power antenna manufactured by Harada (model # MQ4) for roughly $40.00. The unit has four wires connected: 1 red (hot?), 1 green (accessory / radio trigger), 1 black (ground), and 1 RF lead. Now I just need to figure out what connects to where on the existing mess of wires. Initially, I was leaning towards repairing the existing motor. But, after dismantling and removing the antenna mast, it began to look like a lost cause. I even purchased a replacement mast kit complete with toothed plastic replacement cable, but I think a new motor unit would be a better idea in the long run. Wish me luck -- I'll keep you posted... | ||
| Dr Tommy Cosgrove (Vwalfa4re)
Junior Member Username: Vwalfa4re Post Number: 111 Registered: 5-2001 |
A good semi-auto that fits perfectly in a 308 is from Hurada (sp?). Pep Boys has them. Evidentally few 308's still have the factory one. Back when these cars were new, people were catching the antenna under the hood when they were slamming it shut. Of course the hood struts were new then too and much stiffer so as they were snapping the antenna in half, the hood was bending in the middle since they closed it out by the edge and not up at the middle. The bent hood went well with the big convex dimple left in the bonnet when the same guy tried to slam it shut the first time without pushing the button on the strut. | ||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 1024 Registered: 2-2001 |
If your antenna has been converted to operate with the radio then go to Wal-Mart and get you another antenna assembly for about fourty bucks as it is the same thing. | ||
| JPM (John_308qv)
New member Username: John_308qv Post Number: 26 Registered: 4-2001 |
Don't know if yours is an "OEM" antenna. My 85QV has a Bosch unit. It has a plastic tube coming out of the bottom that drains water through the wheel well. It also has a metal strut that secures the unit to the body. The wiring attachments also look different. | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 249 Registered: 11-2001 |
Hello again...finally got a chance to take a few pics of the antenna motor / wiring. Haven't yet fixed the problem, but do have a few more questions that hopefully some of you can answer. It appears that the problem is a faulty antenna motor. From the following pic, you can see that it is a Hirschmann unit which apparently operates by turning the radio knob on or off. There is a factory antenna rocker switch located on the center console adjacent to the park brake lever, but it does not operate the antenna. I'm guessing that the PO had the motor re-wired somehow so as to be controlled by the radio knob.  Here's another view of the mess...  There is a bunch of wires, antenna cable, and a clear plastic module sort of just laying behind the motor. The following pic shows the clear plastic module that contains some sort of coil, and has some wires connected to it -- but I can't figure out what it is. This module has some sort of metal hanging strap with a screw but I'm not sure where it is supposed to hang / attach...  Also, there is a ground wire that appears to run the length of the trunk (under the rubber seal / behind trunk carpet) -- the only problem is that it currently lays behind the antenna motor and can easily come into contact with the motor housing causing a few sparks when it does! The following pic illustrates this. I've noticed a metal tab as well (shown in the pic) that is fastened to the underside of the trunk, but I can't figure out what it's for either...  At this juncture, it appears that a new antenna motor is in good order. I can't decide whether or not to stick with an "OEM" unit or not. I'd like to have the factory rocker switch operational, but have heard these are hard to find (assuming it has gone bad). But then there's the problem with trying to figure out what the PO did when rewiring everything, and then reversing it. Perhaps the path of least resistance would be an aftermarket antenna motor switched via radio knob, and just live with a "dummy" rocker switch. Thomas mentioned that he modified his to have both, but I got lost in the electrical details. Then there's the task of trying to figure out where all these wires actually route. Sorry to be so lengthy here (and sorry for the pics being a little fuzzy). Any ideas or experiences? Thanks for the help! | ||
| Greg Owens (Owens84qv)
Member Username: Owens84qv Post Number: 286 Registered: 10-2001 |
The only stereo in my 308 has eight pistons and two exhaust speakers at the far rear of the car...I've owned my 308 for 6 months and the radio hasn't been turned even a single time...I have however tested the antenna to make sure it was still functioning properly. | ||
| thomas n. treue (Treue)
New member Username: Treue Post Number: 2 Registered: 4-2002 |
Les, In my research, I got the impression that Ferrari radios (at least through 82) were a dealer-installed option and may not be very consistent. I use the original three position (spring centered) antenna switch to raise and lower the antenna, making it a "semi-automatic" installation. I don't think that the "semi-automatic" antennae are available anylonger, hence the modification project above. The 308 antenna switch is on the console, among the fan switches and defroster levers. Does the 86 412 have an antenna switch? If it does, then the original installation was probably "semi-automatic", and, if your antenna extends automatically when the radio is switched on, then your application has been changed from original. | ||
| Les Hodges (Les)
New member Username: Les Post Number: 1 Registered: 3-2002 |
Must be a spring time thing...the automatic antenna on my 86 412 quit also this past weekend - is it the same as used on the 308's? thanks | ||
| thomas n. treue (Treue)
New member Username: Treue Post Number: 1 Registered: 4-2002 |
I bought an 82 European 308 GTSi that still had the original antenna extend/retract switch in the console. It also had an after-market radio and a trashy manual antenna. I wanted to keep the car as original as possible, but no one could tell me what the make of the original antenna was. I developed a modification to the Hirshmann Model 2030 antenna that made it operable via the console rocker switch. This involved a tedious but simple rewiring of the internal antenna circuitry. Someone interested in doing this can work the new circuit out on scratch paper or find my article in PRANCING HORSE (FCA quarterly magazine) No. 131, page 44. The car provides a ground, two red/white wires and an RF lead in the right side of the trunk. When the antenna switch is moved to either extreme, one of the red/white wires is energized while the other is open-circuited. When the switch is centered, both red/white wires are open-circuited. The unmodified antenna (I would guess that a candidate for modification would not HAVE to be a Hirschmann 2030.) has a constantly hot (red) wire, a switched wire (green, normally connected to a solitary terminal in the back of the radio), a black ground wire and a receptale for the RF lead. As long as the radio is switched on, the terminal in the back of the radio is energized, pulling in the relay coil inside the antenna. This energizes the EXTEND direction of the antenna motor until it is opened by a limit switch. When the radio is switched off, the little relay inside the antenna also switches state, energizing the RETRACT side of the antenna motor until that wire is opened by the internal limit switch. After the modification, the red wire from the antenna was connected to the extend red/white wire from the car, the green wire from the antenna was connected to the retract red/white wire from the car and the black antenna wire went to the car's ground. The car provides a fuse for the antenna motor circuit. I also took the 1.5 meter coaxial RF extension cord that came with the antenna and made a 5" adapter out of it, since the car's RF lead would not directly plug into the antenna's receptacle. If you choose to do this, be very careful not to damage the tiny disk capacitor inside the male connector of the extension. | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member Username: Bretm Post Number: 1967 Registered: 2-2001 |
Yeah mine was switched over and the console was redone in leather so the switch place isn't there anymore (the switch is just floating around inside the console doing nothing). My antenna also sits on an angle, probably like 60' leaning back. I like it. | ||
| Donny Bridges (Wildcatfans)
New member Username: Wildcatfans Post Number: 33 Registered: 9-2001 |
Bought one from Radio Shack for about $25. It works great, but the motor assembly is a little bigger than the original, so I couldn't get it perfectly vertical. It looks fine, I've seen other car's factory antennas at this angle. | ||
| david handa (Davehanda)
Junior Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 92 Registered: 5-2001 |
Eric, Your antenna is not stock. The original one was "semi-automatic" and required a rocker switch to raise or lower it. Yours has been replaced with a fully automatic one that is operated by a "trigger" lead from your radio. Probably easiest to just replace the antenna with a new one. Assuming yours IS wired correctly (sorry, I'm not much help here). Replacements are readily available from many internet sources, like www.Crutchfield.com | ||
| david handa (Davehanda)
Junior Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 91 Registered: 5-2001 |
Eric, Your antenna is not stock. The original one was "semi-automatic" and required a rocker switch to raise or lower it. Yours has been replaced with a fully automatic one that is operated by a "trigger" lead from your radio. Probably easiest to just replace the antenna with a new one. Assuming yours IS wired correctly (sorry, I'm not much help here). Replacements are readily available from many internet sources, like www.Crutchfield.com | ||
| Eric Eiland (Eric308gtsiqv)
Junior Member Username: Eric308gtsiqv Post Number: 197 Registered: 11-2001 |
Noticed the other night, after taking my wife out for a spin, that the power antenna quit operating up and down. What initially caught my attention was that the radio did not appear to power up when my wife turned the knob in the on position. The previous owner did bypass the factory antenna rocker switch so that the antenna would raise / lower via the radio power knob. So, I pulled the carpet panels out tonight to take a peek and found a bunch of wires sort of tucked behind the factory power antenna. The motor (if I recall correctly) had 3 wires coming out with a rubber grommet inline, all of which connected to some sort of clear plastic small case, which had a bunch of small coils / wires inside and a metal strap (for hanging?) with a ground strap connected. The ground strap ran up along the rear engine compartment bulkhead somewhere. This ground strap could easily come in contact with the antenna case (causing tiny sparks when the ignition was on). Additionally, the antenna wire was connected. I'm not sure how these wires / straps are supposed to be routed in the trunk, or where this small plastic case with the ground strap is mounted. All of this is just sort of laying on the metal panel in the trunk. With ignition on, and radio knob turned on, I can hear the antenna motor turning / humming for a few short seconds -- same way when turning radio off; however, the antenna does not respond. I pulled the antenna mast all the way out and cleaned / wiped down with WD-40 but this did not help. Oh, forgot to mention that the radio did start operating again, just with a weak signal. Any ideas? Is there a procedure for dismantling the antenna motor/housing and cleaning the gears, etc.? Or, should I just purchase a new one? My main concern after all this is where all this wiring is supposed to route / mount -- especially that small clear box with ground (should it be mounted so as to come in contact with a body ground source?). Thanks in advance for any help on this one  . |