power antenna help

[eric head]

just recieved power antenna and I don't know how to hook it up some help will be appreciated. First off its a universal antenna for a camaro or firebird my problem is I don't know where to hook up these few wires its a green one and a red one and also a ground wire with a hole in it and one plug to plug in somewhere. I hate this cause it didn't come with no instructions in the box at all it just shows pictures.

[nda0602v6]

Ground the the ground wire to a screw or bolt. Make sure to scrape away any paint or primer so it touches bare metal. The other remaining two wires (green and red) will need to see Constant (+) and Switched (+) 12-volts. I don't know which wire needs to see the switched and constant power but you can do a simple test to find out.

The Constant (+) is what makes the antenna go down and the Switched (+) is what makes the antenna go up. Once the switched loses power, the constant takes over and brings the mast back down.

With the antenna grounded, I would touch the Green wire to a constant (+) source and see if the mast starts pushing out, if it does, you know then that the green wire is the Switched (+) wire. If nothing happens, touch the Red wire to the constant (+) source and see if the antenna mast pushes out...if it does, then the red is the switched (+). Its just a matter of finding out which wire does what, you won't hurt anything.

[96firebird311]

And the plug is for your antenna wire running from the headunit. Looks like this.

[eric head]

hey man I tryed that this morning and you said it wouldn't hurt anything and now my car wont start at all the battery is fine what could be the problem cause everything else comes on but the engine.

[nda0602v6]

Please explain in detail where you are getting your switched and contant power from. Did you tap into the fuse panel? if so, check the fuse.

[ September 03, 2005, 07:35 PM: Message edited by: nda0602v6 ]

[eric head]

basically what my dumb self did was hook onne wire up to the amplifier and the other my to my amplifier cooler but which fuse could it be cause when I half way crank up the car the radio and everything else comes on and works.But when I crank the car up all the way everything shuts off but it dosen't seem to be a big problem probaly a fuse but any kind of help is appreciated

[nda0602v6]

Even if you blew the fuse on the power wire that feeds your amp, that has nothing to do with your car not starting. Open the hood and make sure both battery cables on the battery are tight. Check all the fuses on the side of the dash...check everyone, pull them out and look at them. If those are good, look under the hood and check the fuses there as well. Your battery sounds like its dead? try getting a jump and see if the engine turns over.

[eric head]

tryed to get a jump that didn't work I don't think the battery is dead because when I tryed that I saw sparks I don't know what it is. How can I tell if the fuses are no good cause I don't know

[nda0602v6]

The fuse panel is on the drivers side of the dash. Open the drivers door and you will see a removable panel on the side of the dash....remove the panel and you will see all the fuses. Have the car OFF, key out, and remove each fuse one by one and look at it. There is a thin piece of metal inside the fuse that you can see....it should be solid all the way across both legs of the fuse. If this thin piece inside the fuse is broken, the fuse is blown. Also, when a fuse is blown, you should see black/burnt marks in the middle as well. I hope this helps, I don't know any other way to explain it.

We are here to help but you may want to have someone with more electrical experience wire up your power antenna. I'm not being mean or anything by any means but from the way you're doing things and the questions you have asked, it seems like you don't have a grasp on even the basics. Get back to me on what you find out about the fuses.