1990 q45 antenna not working
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Q451990owner
- Posts: 73
- Joined: Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:35 pm
- Car: 1990 Q45 w/86,000 miles that was sitting 10 years
1990 q45 antenna not working
My antenna is not retracting or going up, is there a cheap solution replacing the antenna ? Perhaps one that always stays up ?
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db_autotek
- Posts: 245
- Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 9:05 pm
- Car: 1994 Q45t black & 1993 Miata racer. Previous: 1994 Q45, 1992 Q45.
- Location: Hilton Head area, SC
Re: 1990 q45 antenna not working
I have always hated that huge sailboat antenna, and the fact that it goes up even when listening to cds. In each of my Q45's I have disabled the motor, which is easy and did not effect the fm reception hardly at all. Now I don't listen to the radio ever, because I have Pandora and a mp3 + sirius system. If you listen to a lot of radio, you might want it to go up. And in that case you'll have to find a used or new power antenna from a 1990 to 96 Q45.
But you can keep the ugly thing down like I do and never worry about it again lol. Let the antenna go down, or if it's stuck up, try having someone turn the car off while you push down on the antenna. Inside the trunk you'll have to remove the side upholstery at the antenna. It's only a few plastic screws and some jiggling. Then you'll see the wires going to the motor. Just unplug it, or cut the blue wire. Don't unplug the round black cable, that's to the actual antenna. Put it back together and that's it.
Cheapest replacements would be the generic aftermarket power antennas, and you would have to custom wire it together and probably custom fabricate a bracket or drill scary holes in the existing mounting points.
But you can keep the ugly thing down like I do and never worry about it again lol. Let the antenna go down, or if it's stuck up, try having someone turn the car off while you push down on the antenna. Inside the trunk you'll have to remove the side upholstery at the antenna. It's only a few plastic screws and some jiggling. Then you'll see the wires going to the motor. Just unplug it, or cut the blue wire. Don't unplug the round black cable, that's to the actual antenna. Put it back together and that's it.
Cheapest replacements would be the generic aftermarket power antennas, and you would have to custom wire it together and probably custom fabricate a bracket or drill scary holes in the existing mounting points.
Re: 1990 q45 antenna not working
If you antenna motor is still running, the antenna mast can be replaced for $19.95 (+ shipping) or possibly less.
I've purchased 2 Maxima and 1 Q45 antenna masts from the following EBay seller.
http://stores.ebay.com/antennamastsrus
I had to pull the motor and remove the old white plastic mast cable (it was in pieces) before installing the new cable. It took about an hour one Saturday afternoon to make it work like new.
There are some videos on youtube for how to repair an electric radio antenna when the mast cable breaks.
I've purchased 2 Maxima and 1 Q45 antenna masts from the following EBay seller.
http://stores.ebay.com/antennamastsrus
I had to pull the motor and remove the old white plastic mast cable (it was in pieces) before installing the new cable. It took about an hour one Saturday afternoon to make it work like new.
There are some videos on youtube for how to repair an electric radio antenna when the mast cable breaks.