J30 antenna/motor problem

[scchu]

Thanks to fuzzycats.com and carstereohelp.com, I successfully replaced the head unit of my J30 w/ an aftermarket one. It was a rather painless job (and I also discovered that the original head unit seemed to have been repaired a few times before.

Now here's the problem: I am able to receive AM/FM receptions. But for some reason, the antenna just won't extend. How do I know if it's even getting power? If yes, what else could be wrong? Should I replace the antenna? If no, what can I do to make sure that it does? But I'd really like to know if it's even getting any power...

Thanks...

[metaverse3]

How did you repalce the original head unit ? Did you tie it in with a line-level adapter ? PIE/Scosche ?

Check all the fuses first... Antenna not extending is probably because the blue antenna turn-on wire is not connected to the amp/antenna turn on wire on the new unit. If you have it connected, and it is not working. Remove the setup...go the blue wire on the factory harness (stereo harness coming from the car towards headunit) and apply a fused/relay 12 volt connection to the wire directly and see it the antenna goes up and down.. If it does not, then your antenna motor is probably gone..

[gniknave]

scchu, do you hear the antenna motor operating? If not, it may be a fuse. If so it could be an antenna mast problem (though doubtful). If it is a mast problem, I can replace it for you if you'd like since you're so close.

[driverdriver]

If you find that your antenna motors is operating but the antenna won't extend, liberally apply some WD-40 and wait 1--15 minutes and try powering it up. Sometimes this trick works.

[scchu]

I don't hear the motor operating at all though I do hear a "clicking" sound near the glove compartment when I connect the ant cable from head unit to the blue cable from car. There's simply no sign of power going to the motor... I will check the fuse and see. Thanks for all the inputs.

The way I installed the head unit was based on the instructions from fuzzycats.com. I did use a Scosche adaptor as well as a diversity antenna adaptor for Nissan cars. I did everything the site suggested (even ordered from Crutchfield!... he should get a referral fee!).

gniknave, thanks for the offer. I'll go through the list of items suggested by everyone and see if mast is indeed the problem.

[scchu]

I checked out the fuse, it's fine. I have not tried connecting 12v power directly to the blue wire yet. How do I determine if replacing the mast is necessary though? I mean, for all I know, maybe the motor is gone?!

[gniknave]

You may want to check the antenna motor itself and see if everything is connected. If everything is in place, you should then pull the motor out and open it up and see if the mast is still good, or if maybe the teeth are jamming the motor and keeping it from turning....or if the motor just isn't working all together.

If you need help doing this then let me know. I'm in Palo Alto every Friday (San Jose isn't much further) so maybe I can help you out. Also let me know if you need a new motor or mast. I can get you some good under retail deals.

[carlos_knology]

Scchu, congrats on the install and thanks for the compliments on the site (fuzzycats is my site).

One thing you could try to rule out your connections entirely would be to plug the stock unit back. Since you used the Scosche adapter, you still have the OEM harness in place.

If the antenna won't go up with the stock unit, you know for a fact it's not an issue caused by your new connections. However, if the antenna works with the Bose unit, then you know to check your wiring. Good luck.

Some aftermarket head units have both an antenna wire and a "remote amp" lead. I've seen the opposite issue as yours. The issue where the antenna ALWAYS goes up even while listening to CDs, AUX, etc. This is usually caused by connecting the head unit's "amp remote" lead to the antenna wire. Head units that have both wires (antenna and amp remote) usually ONLY power the antenna wire when the selected audio source is radio (vs Cd or AUX, etc). The remote amp wire, however, is usually powered whenever the aftermarket unit is turned on - regardless of the selected audio source.

Good luck, man.

Carlos
Modified by carlos_knology at 11:50 AM 3/14/2005

[scchu]

Finally got some time and found what the issue was....

Apparently someone disconnected the power going to the antenna altogether in the trunk. But I do have a quick comment to make: When I removed all the screws of the trunk insulation (my antenna is on the driver's side of the car), it looks like a big job to just get to the antenna motor with a few other things needing to be removed. But fuzzycats.com site makes it look so straight forward to get to. Is it because of the difference in the year (Carlos has a 95, I have a 93)?

Now I just gotta get my hands on a backup light housing/lens and a bulb for side marker lamp... (and the headlight is also acting funny as described in fuzzycats.com).

Thanks, everyone!

[carlos_knology]

When I removed all the screws of the trunk insulation (my antenna is on the driver's side of the car), it looks like a big job to just get to the antenna motor with a few other things needing to be removed. But fuzzycats.com site makes it look so straight forward to get to. Is it because of the difference in the year (Carlos has a 95, I have a 93)?

Hmm, not sure what could be different between the two model years. I didn't think there were any body differences on the entire J30 run but I could be wrong.

In any case, the antenna instructions on my site are the ones from the Infiniti TSB. TSB's are written for Infiniti technicians. They leave a LOT of details out.

Imagine the fun I had using the TSB for the sunroof repair. Steps 1 and 2 took me about 3 hours. I think step one said something like "Remove headliner". You gotta take the dang car apart to remove the headliner.

In any case, you're on the right track. It's definitely a DIY job but you're right, the TSB doesn't really talk about how to remove the antenna assembly. I guess they assume their technicians know how to do that stuff.

Carlos