1994 Power Antenna

[lexusonthelake]

My power antenna stopped working on my 1994 LS and had the dealer check it and of course they say the motor is shot. The mast doesn't move at all. when turning the stereo system on. All fuses have been checked, etc. and you really can't hear the motor running. I'm curious if there is anyway to confirm that the motor needs replacing and not just the mast?? Any help would be appreciated.

[1UZ-FE]

my last car was a 94 mazda 626 with a bent mast. the motor could be heard whenever the radio was turned on and off. i pulled the fuse. your LS probably is the opposite. If the motor was ok and the mast was bent, the motor would probably be heard.

hope this helps

[obergc]

When I purchased my 93 a year ago the antenna was stuck in the full extended position and I did not hear the mast motor running when the car was shut down. It ended up that the mast was kinked and jammed in the bottom section and the nylon geared strip that runs the mast up and down was severed. I replaced just the mast and it has worked great ever since. I had to disassemble the antenna assy somewhat to the extent that I could remove the severed nylon piece that was coiled inside the cannister on the antenna. The power antenna assy has a circuit board internally and a hall effect switch that detects when the mast is moving. When the mast stops moving, the motor shuts off, takes the place of limit switches. I think you need to take a good hard look at your mast before you think about replacing the entire assy which is quite expensive. The mast alone is relatively cheap.