Wtb 1994 Power Antenna

Hazey999 · April 13, 2009

I have a non-working power antenna I cannot get the old cable out of, and the mast will not retract at all in order to do the cable replacement. Does anyone have a working one for sale? Thanks

gbhrps · April 13, 2009

Hazey999,

If the mast cannot be pushed back into the body of the assembly, the only way to get the assembly out of the car will be to cut the mast off about 2 inches above where it exits the car. Then when you undo the nut that holds the mast tube to the fender and remove the plastic outside finisher/sealer, and remove the one or two 10 mm bolts that hold the entire motor assembly to the body of the car inside the trunk, the unit can be removed from the trunk. Obviously disconnect the bottom drain tube, the antenna cable connector, and the wiring connector to the motor and timer to do so.

Try eBay for a new unit, or even a used one from a wrecker from another Lexus or even a Camry of the same model year. Don't be afraid to try looking at other Japanese makes for a unit that fits, since they all use the same supplier in Japan. My 1990 Nissan 300ZX has its original power antenna motor and gearbox, but a couple of years ago I had to swap out the mast assembly from a Toyota Corolla. It fit perfectly and is still going today. Good Luck!

Hazey999 · April 14, 2009

Hazey999,
If the mast cannot be pushed back into the body of the assembly, the only way to get the assembly out of the car will be to cut the mast off about 2 inches above where it exits the car. Then when you undo the nut that holds the mast tube to the fender and remove the plastic outside finisher/sealer, and remove the one or two 10 mm bolts that hold the entire motor assembly to the body of the car inside the trunk, the unit can be removed from the trunk. Obviously disconnect the bottom drain tube, the antenna cable connector, and the wiring connector to the motor and timer to do so.

Try eBay for a new unit, or even a used one from a wrecker from another Lexus or even a Camry of the same model year. Don't be afraid to try looking at other Japanese makes for a unit that fits, since they all use the same supplier in Japan. My 1990 Nissan 300ZX has its original power antenna motor and gearbox, but a couple of years ago I had to swap out the mast assembly from a Toyota Corolla. It fit perfectly and is still going today. Good Luck!

Great advice...thanks. I did go to a junkyard looking for es300 and camry antennas, but did not think to look for other makes from the same period. I also like the idea of cutting off the mast as a last resort to do the replacement thing. Thanks again.

Bk4293 · April 17, 2009

I called around, a replacement from Autozone was around $55

The1 · April 29, 2009

The antenna on my car wont even come up and it doesnt look old or anything i think the guy that i bought it from installed it but does anyone know why this would happen?

gbhrps · April 30, 2009

The1,

There are three or four possibilities as to why the antenna won't power up (assuming that when you turn on the radio that you don't hear the antenna trying to extend up). I'd start with the easiest to check.

Remove the trunk panel that the antenna assembly is behind. Disconnect the connector to the antenna timer (little square box that tells the antenna motor how long to run) and see if its corroded. There should be another wiring harness from it to the antenna assembly. Pull it and check for corrosion.

If cleaning these up doesn't fix the problem, put a multimeter on the harness connector to the timer and have someone turn on the radio to see if any power is being sent to the timer. If there is, the problem is in the motor. If not, you'll have to trace the lines back to the radio. One of its output wires powers the antenna when the radio is turned on. To get the correct wire go to Installdr.com to track it down. (The site allows you to select a make/model/year of car and it gives you the colour codes for the factory wiring of the radio)

If the motor is the culprit you're lucky because its easy to get the entire assembly out of the car, something almost impossible if the mast is stuck in the up position. Undo the outside top nut (on the outside of the fender where the antenna comes through). Undo the one or two 10 mm nuts that hold the antenna assembly to its bracket, pull the drain tube from the bottom of the unit, and after disconnecting its wiring harness lift the unit out of the car. Good Luck!