I was wondering if anyone on here has ever figured out a way to get your antenna from freezing and not coming up in the winter, i know stupid question but i have luckily never had to fix my antenna due to the motor breaking and i really dont want to have to fix it or have a broken antenna, i was thinking about maybe finding a way to wrap the antenna up in some sort of insulation so it doesn't get as cold but im not really sure that would work. any ideas are welcome thanks

 

Don't use the radio?

In the winter, just listen to AUX or CDs. That, or put a really good coating of lubricant on it.

Once it goes up and it is cold out, it will get really cold no matter if you wrap it or not.

 

so youre not getting any radio with it down? mines always been stuck only a little bit up and i get radio just fine though i rarely use it

insulation wont work if you park outside, its just going to keep the cold in since theres no heat to keep. if you garage every night and park inside at work, insulation would keep the garage's heat until you get to work

 

how do you wire up the head unit so that the antenna is only hooked up for the radio because i really only do listen to cds or use aux, it was installed at best buy (which was a bad idea) and they hooked up my antenna so its always up unless the head unit is off

 

no the radio works fine i just don't want the antenna freezing down to wreck my motor

 

if you dont use the radio i would just unplug the antenna then

 

I don't have a diagram. It should be in the wiring for your stereo. I am guessing the idiots at Best Buy hooked up your main power wire to the antenna so that any time you turn the HU on at all, the antenna goes up.

Pretty much all CD players have a separate power antenna wire and it only works with the AM or FM radio (tuner) function. I have had a couple of Alpines in this car, a different Alpine and a Rockford Fosgate HU in my old Pathfinder and they all had the power antenna wire.

I would double check your HU owners manual (to be sure it has a power antenna hookup) then take it back to Best Buy and throw a fit until they install it correctly.

 

You have a Pioneer don't you? Antenna is wired to the remote wire which gets power whenever the deck is on, there is no antenna output for radio only on most (all?) Pioneers. You need to install a switch if you want control over it, or get a new deck. The antenna doesn't even need to be up to work, so if you want, you can simply disconnect the wire or pull the connector in the quarter panel all together. The rear defroster also acts as an antenna.

 

I have a 90 Accord as my DD until I get my Max up and running, And for the winter, I just unplug the antenna power wire harness for the winter while the antenna is in the up position. Works fine for me!

 

That sucks. That's why I like Alpine...

 

Hell, even junk decks have a power antenna output, Pioneer is kind of weird, I have an old 9000R powered by a DC power supply that I use for a home stereo, it was the top of the line deck around 2000, the harness for that thing is ridiculous and would be a huge pain in the *** to install in a cramped area, external ground loop isolator, external antenna connector, external RCA connectors, external DSP sensor deal, external everything.

But still no power antenna output, of course there is a million wires for integrating it into an alarm system. It's a joke, but it is a cool deck

 

Lol, I do the same thing with an old pioneer deck that I have had forever for the garage. Car decks get much better reception then home units!

 

one of my very few topics i started was titled

"keep power antenna from breaking in cold weather by unplugging it"

didnt get much response though

that was years ago and on my current head unit
the power antenna only goes up when the radio is selected

 

Its actually a Kenwood. I guess i never really thought about just installing it correctly. thanks for all the input guys