Anyone use one of these? Mine is mangled, and I cannot pull the mast out even after taking it all apart... I am afraid junkyard ones will not work well given the age...

 

amazon says it fits my 95 max. so would be worth a try. looks alot like OE

 

Thanks, decided to go with one from AntennaMastRus, more money but less hassle, it is supposed to fit with only wiring hookup to deal with...

 

So.... Who is whose shadow? LOL I need one too. Please let us know how well it replaces the factory!

 

Installed the antenna assembly, good fit, works well.. They mentioned possibly needing some low voltage converter thing, which they did include in the kit. I did not need it, but I do not have the original Clarion (Bose) head unit any more, so maybe it is needed with that..

 

I just ordered a replacement motor from AntennaMastRus. I ordered the one for an I30 even though I have a Maxima. The stock units are the same. Just browsing their pricing the I30 antennas cost less. I have no idea why there is such a difference in pricing.

 

I'm glad I stumbled on your post
I recently went to that site and priced the whole antenna assembly and saw it went from the $50+ I paid years ago to over $200.
Just went and ordered the I30 antenna for $50+
Good thinking

I think I was just so shocked at the new price my brain shut down lol

Glad my wife will finally have a working antenna too

 

Having already bought and installed the Maxima antenna kit, if in fact the Infiniti kit is the same, I was fleeced bigtime.. I sent them an email to ask what the hell is going on here... Please post once you install it, but I would assume they used the same antenna in the two models, that would make sense..

 

I bet the only thing that will happen is that they raise the price on the Infiniti antenna.

 

Highway robbery...

 

Well the I30 price just went up. That didn't take long. There are better prices for the same merchandise elsewhere.

I've bought a lot of products from AntennaMastsRus over the years. Based on today's events, this may be my last purchase.

Here's what the CLUB should do in this matter.

1) Post links to workable products at the best pricing on the internet.

2) Publish a "how to guide" for installing the alternate product so CLUB members can have success with the best-priced solution.

Some "not for profit" car clubs that I know will publish instructions for using an alternative product if the selling company makes a donation to the club's operating budget fund. That creates a win-win-win for all parties involved.

I think I will publish instructions for installing the Metra-44-pw22 -- maybe this weekend.

http://www.crutchfield.com/p_12044PW...6050345&awdv=c

 

Yes, I agree, they told me the lower price on the Infiniti version was a 'mistake'. I know when smoke is being blown up my butt. Last purchase from this place for sure... The antenna is working OK, although the mast seems a bit flimsier than the OEM one.. time will tell how it holds up... Sorry if my contacting them caused anyone else to not get a good deal, but at such a large difference ($110) I had to find out what the deal was...

 

Did you need to make any changes to the wiring to get it to work?

 

To avoid cutting the car's harness, I took the female connector off the old antenna board, determined which 3 connections were used, and attached 3 wire stubs to it (with Red, Green, and Black hookup wire).. I then attached that to the bare wires on the new motor.. Then when I installed it, I simply plugged the connector together, worked first time... The Red is constant 12V, the green is the signal wire, and the Black is ground... I think I remember the factory harness having a red and black, but the signal wire was striped..

 

OH wow

Glad I made the purchase yesterday and got tracking info today

 

+ 1

 

Mine came in yesterday
It's not OEM fitment IMO because it uses a bracket you bend yourself to keep it from bouncing around and not the OEM bracket

No big deal though because most of it is held at the top from the outside

My antenna wire colors from my car (97):
Pink=power
Black=ground
Black/red stripe=signal

Wires on the replacement that will need spliced:
Red=power
Black=ground
Green=signal

Came with wire taps and a hose for the drain tube

The drain tube provided is smaller in diameter and shorter..I fed it into the old original tube; fit perfect and now it reaches

I need to disconnect the battery before connecting the wires, so I'll have that done later today and I'll edit this post if needed

 

I've spent the morning adapting stuff to get this to work like I want. A trip to Ace Hardware and another trip to a local salvage yard and I think I have everything I need.

I modified the new antenna to use the post from the original. Also, I modified the original bracket to work the new Metra. This has been quite a job so far. I'll have some pictures tonight if it works.

 

Well after all that work, it doesn't work. I may have a blown fuse or something else may be wrong. The old unit was full of water and everything inside it was corroded. It may have shorted out some other component the controls the antenna.

The little clear plastic hose that came with the unit comes off easily. I need to go to a parts store to buy a small hose clamp to tighten it down so it doesn't leak.

 

Here are some pictures of today's Metra antenna installation. Without it working, it just fills a hole that previously displayed a broken antenna mast.

he radio works just fine without it being extended. So this won't be the first time that I've spent a lot of time on something just for the look. Ha!

 

Here are some pictures of today's Metra antenna installation. Without it working, it just fills a hole that previously displayed a broken antenna mast.

The radio works just fine without it being extended. So this won't be the first time that I've spent a lot of time on something just for the look. Ha!

Here's the Metra in a side-by-side comparison. You can see the Metra post is longer than the original. I used the original post and cut it off so the tip would be the same length from the mounting base as the original.



This was the first cut. Actually I had to trim another 3/4 of an inch for the old post to have the correct length when mounted using the original mounting bracket with some modification.



I kept the original post in order to keep the angled mounting base that fits against the inside of the fender.



The original post has an inner sheath that I had to remove and trim so it would fit after I cut down the original post.



Here's the original post mounted in the new antenna.



I used some exterior grade foam mounting tape (the red material) with an adhesive backing to replace the original padding that goes between the post mounting base and the fender. I cut as close as I could using two pieces to replicate the original foam insulator.

I replaced the Metra connectors with the male wire connectors in the picture. One of the connectors that came with the unit had already worked loose soon after I took the product out of the box.



I had to do a hack saw and file job on the original base so it would line up with the new motor. The plastic hose came off after I installed the motor, so I'll need to take it out and use a small hose clamp on it tomorrow. This will be the 3rd time that I've removed and reinstalled it to get the fit right of change something after my initial installation attempt. I spent the day working with this antenna to get it to fit correctly. Also, I had to make a trip to a salvage yard to get a replacement outer tip because the one on the car had the mast broken off in it and I could not remove it.



Here's the length from the base to the inner mount end. This is the length that finally worked with the original mount. It took 2 attempts at cutting the post and reinstalling the antenna to get the fit right.



Installing this antenna took WAY TOO MUCH TIME from trips to the hardware store, salvage yard, and auto part store, to deal with the fitment issues. Tomorrow morning I will remove it again to clamp down the drain hose so it doesn't work loose and allow water into the trunk. Then I will move on to other to other more important maintenance items like replacing the power steering belt, crankshaft pulley, front struts, and begin preparing for the VC gasket replacement job.

 

This morning I went looking for a blown fuse and found one.

Its a 7.5 amp fuse at the top of the 3rd row labeled electrical parts. I installed another 7.5 amp fuse, turned on the radio and quickly blew out again.

Since the wires go out of the keyless entry box to the antenna, I wonder if it is fried from the water damaged and corroded antenna motor unit?

Fakie - Did you find a blown fuse with your installation?

Fuse location - 3rd row top - electrical parts.

 

I disconnected the antenna, changed the fuse, and tested the connections from the keyless remote box.

Running a source power test, I have 12.08 volts power (pink to black) to the antenna.

When the radio is on, I have 11.88 volts from the signal wire (black red stripe to black).

Looks like the power source is ok.

I'm not sure how to test antenna motor. After reading the reviews on Amazon, I'm not sure I even want to hook up this antenna. Way too many complaints about the antenna working for a week. Also complaints about shorts.

I think I will just leave it to cover the hole and the exposed broken antenna so the antenna opening looks good.

If it would help reception, I might get a shark fin antenna for the trunk.

 

No issues with the fuse
Everything works

May be worth mentioning that my old antenna still "worked"
The motor made noise, but the mast was broken and I unplugged it a long time ago due to the annoyance

Your install looks great though
I used their bracket and my own nut/ bolt with lock washer and it's sad looking inside
Works and looks good outside is all

 

Good to see it worked.