I was wondering whats the best way to make the anteana stay down at all times. I dont listen to the radio, and it looks really ugly.

 

I believe the antenna motor is on a separate fuse. Just pull the fuse when the motor is down. You'll still be able to listen to the radio. The OEM head unit has the diversity antenna so the one in the backglass still picks up stuff and the mast, even retracted, will get some reception. Just not as good as before.

I know several people with power antennas that disable them in the winter months to avoid them freezing up or down or getting damaged by ice.

 

Cool, thanks.

 

Um, I looked through all 3 fuse boxes and didnt see any that were specifically for the antenna. Could the fuse for teh antenna be teh one marked "audio"? Thats the closest fuse that I could find to antenna.

 

Does anyone know?

 

The power antenna timer/motor is supplied through two fuses, #21 and #40. However, these fuses power other loads too, so pulling the fuse is not going to do what you want. I suggest you disconnect connector T13. This is a white plastic 6-pin electric connector which snaps onto the antenna motor. It may be necessary to remove the power antenna assembly to reach this connector. I don't know for sure because Plain Jane (my '99 GXE 5-speed) has a fixed mast antenna, not an up-and-down power unit.

 

wow, resurrecting a 9 year old thread

but, i searched for info on disconnecting power antenna and not much but this came up. I just did it so i thought i would confirm what above posted. it is the white pin connector located in trunk attached to pa motor. if you unbolt the thing the jack sits in it is easier to reach the connector. just disconnect it and the antenna will no longer go up and you still get pretty good radio reception without it up...

sorry to bring back such an old thread, just wanted to help anyone looking to do same thing

 

LMAO...a friend of mine cut his.

 

I'm running into the same issues.

If either plug on the back of the power antenna is unplugged, the keyless remote and the clock no longer work.

Is there another plug that I'm missing? Or is there a wire or two that I can cut so the motor doesn't activate, but it still completes the circuit so the keyless entry and clock are still functional?

 

eyeberic,
I've had the power connector on my '97's power antenna disconnected with no other issues (remote entry, alarm, etc still worked). Just make sure it is the connecter for the power antenna motor. The remote's control box is in the same area if I'm rememberng correctly. What year is yours?
When I did mine, it was because my antenna wouldn't fully retract due to a broken "chord" inside. I had it in the down position, unplugged from the motor, for over a month until I found a replacement mast for around $15-$20. My radio reception was unaffected, also. This past winter, my antena froze a couple of times, and I'm seriously thinking about just unplugging it permanently. Only downside I see is if I decide to travel long distances, radio stations may get harder to find when on the open interstate.....

Hope this helps.

Dave

 

If you don't use the antenna, couldn't you just unplug the power connection to the motor?

 

Strange, my antenna doesn't go up unless I select to use the radio.
CD, Aux In ect. = no antenna.

 

That's the way its supposed to work. You guys that are having problems - are your radios non-nissan?

 

Anybody knows why it is 6 pins for power antenna unit? Sounds like too many.
I could not find any schematic for this module.

 

Good question. The wiring diagram in the 95, 96, 97 & 98 FSM only shows 3 wires.
pin 3 - pink wire, power from fuse # 40
pin 4 - black/red stripe wire, signal to raise or lower
pin 6 - black wire, ground.

This is from page EL-106 page in the 95 FSM, EL-115 in the 96 FSM, page EL-133 in the 97 FSM, page EL-129 in the 98 FSM.

 

Unplug the plug going into the antenna assembly, problem fixed.

 

im gonna shave mine soon.

 

Dennis, thanks, here is the reason I am interested in it:

Mine snaps the chord inside the mast way too often, so I think there is problem with the unit continuing pulling it in when it is already all the way down. It is stressing it too much. I hoped to find any limit switches inside but there were not any. I am hoping to find out how does the module control when to stop the motor when going up and down.

 

In the 3rd gens, the printed circuit board developed cold solder connections. Heating up the connection with a little fresh solder took care of that. But I don't know how the unit decides that the antenna mast is all the way up or down. My guess it would be that there are components on the printed circuit board that senses the current used by the motor. A motor that has stopped draws more amperage than a turning motor. But I'm only guessing.