Anyone here good with car audio?

quicksilvr

quicksilvr

New member
I searched. And searched. And decided I'd just ask over here. If anyone is good with car audio, and knows 3rd gen stuff really well, please invite yourself into this conversation. :)


Installing a Kenwood HU into my sister's '97 Limited. It was tricky, because the truck has a full sound system already installed (external amp, 10" sub, components, all powered by the amp)....just with the factory headunit. I got everything figured out so far, the only thing that is still chapping me is the power antenna function/reception.

There are two antenna plugs in the factory stereo. A big one and a small one. The Kenwood (and all aftermarket HU's) has a plug for the big antenna wire. But not for the small one. That's half the problem. The other half is that I can't get the antenna to raise. I only want it to raise itself when the RADIO is being used, not when the HU is powered on. No sense in driving around with the dumb antenna up while listening to iPod or CD.


HU - Kenwood Excelon KDC-X395
I'm using the front and subwoofer RCA pre-outs, and the factory harness is cut up, because with the stock stereo, they had to use LOC's.
 
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:cheers: answers in bold, italic, underline

quicksilvr said:
There are two antenna plugs in the factory stereo. A big one and a small one. The Kenwood (and all aftermarket HU's) has a plug for the big antenna wire. But not for the small one. That's half the problem.

CLICK THIS >> Guide on How to Combine Both Front & Rear Antennas into One on an Aftermarket Stereo - YotaTech Forums

The other half is that I can't get the antenna to raise. I only want it to raise itself when the RADIO is being used, not when the HU is powered on. No sense in driving around with the dumb antenna up while listening to iPod or CD.

The last head unit I installed was on my Supra, but I had the same issue, the antenna was up whenever the head unit was powered on. I'm pretty sure you're going to have to put a switch in line on that wire to give you control over when the antenna is up/down.

For someone who listens to lots of radio, or lots of CD's the switch is a non issue because it will usually be either on (for radio) or off (for CD's)
Click to expand...
 
Once again, BFAD to the rescue. That's the quintessential guide for solving the antenna issue.
 
I plan on adding a switch to my setup as well. My previous HU only put the antenna up when the radio was on. Anything else and it was down. I'd like to be able to still listen to music on the trails without having my antenna up.
 
funnily enough i didn't know this was an issue, i just wondered why my radio reception sucked, lol....ordered the 3 part with 6 dollar shipping, lol
not using a switch as i already did the whip mod...i now just need to find the plug for the rear ant. which i didnt know i had.....

i'm so smart..smrt...smart!:nerd:
 
Awesome, thank you. :hatsoff:



Now, I'm sure I'm just being extra stupid, but I still have a problem. The antenna wire off the kenwood IS wired up. And the antenna still won't go up (it's never gone up since I put the new HU in). Like I mentioned, the factory harness has been cut up a little. Where should the blue antenna wire from the HU connect to?
 
quicksilvr said:
Awesome, thank you. :hatsoff:



Now, I'm sure I'm just being extra stupid, but I still have a problem. The antenna wire off the kenwood IS wired up. And the antenna still won't go up (it's never gone up since I put the new HU in). Like I mentioned, the factory harness has been cut up a little. Where should the blue antenna wire from the HU connect to?
Click to expand...

When you say antenna wire, are you talking about the big black wire? If so, that is just for the reception and has nothing to do with the raising and lowering of it. Not sure which line needs to be hooked up. I'd have to take mine off and look. I'm sure someone here will chime in with the answer.
 
Hepar said:
When you say antenna wire, are you talking about the big black wire? If so, that is just for the reception and has nothing to do with the raising and lowering of it. Not sure which line needs to be hooked up. I'd have to take mine off and look. I'm sure someone here will chime in with the answer.
Click to expand...

yeah there's a power wire coming off the motor for the ant. that gets the switch.....
 
Oh and the blue wire is typically the remote line for an amp. That connects to your amp so that it will power up when the deck turns on.
 
I just had this issue with my Kenwood KDC-X494.

It *should* be very simple; the Kenwood adapter (adapter that plugs into the head unit itself) should have a wire specifically for raising/lowering the antenna when the radio is turned on or off. (On my Kenwood adapter, it is the blue/white wire.) It's often called something like "Antenna Pwr."

I will note that wire colors on the factory plug adapter aren't always the same color as the ones on the head unit adapter. F'rinstance, on the Kenwood adapter, the orange wire was designed as the "Illumination" wire, but the orange/white wire on the factory plug adapter was called the "Illumination" wire.

In any event, color is ultimately unimportant so long as the FUNCTION matches. The packaging for both the Kenwood adapter and the factory plug adapter labeled the "Antenna Pwr" wires very clearly; I simply had to solder them together.

One other note - the adapter for the Kenwood Excelon head units is NOT the same as the adapter for your standard Kenwood head units. The adapter for the standard Kenwood head units is often missing the "Antenna Pwr" and "Illumination" wires, as well as other wires.

UPDATE: I was able to locate the manual online for the KDC-X395 from Crutchfield.

http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/Manuals/113/113KDC348U.PDF

In there, it specifically identifies the blue/white wire as the "Power Control/Antenna Power" wire. SO, whatever wire is designed as "Antenna Power" or "Antenna PWR" on the adapter that connects to your factory harness should be soldered/crimped/connected to the blue/white wire on your Kenwood adapter.

If it already IS, then there's some other issue going on.
 
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I'm sure I can figure it out at this point. I might just leave it alone....with both antenna's, I don't think she'll even need to raise it. Or I might get adventurous and install a switch for her.
 
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