Best way to disable deceased antenna motor.

[Endlessblockades]

-Edit- I shouldn't have said deceased. the motor is good, can't edit thread title.

When I bought my Y2K TR4 I was always somewhat amazed that the antenna still extended and retracted and watched it do so each time. I watched it die a while back and pulled the antenna up and out of the motor. As some of you may know, the motor continues to valiantly and VERY noisily (especially if the radio is On) attempts to raise and lower the antenna. My motor cycles 24-26 times before giving up. Based on a post here I recently purchased an $18 ciggy lighter Bluetooth > FM transmitter so I can play all the music on my phone or bandcamp or youtube or whatever through any unused FM frequency I choose. It works great and and allows hands-free phone call access too. The sound system on my Limited is still working great, too.

Sorry for all that- all I need to know is the best way to put the antenna motor out of its misery. Pull the fender-well covering and snip and cap wires? Something more sophisticated? I don't see ever needing the extended antenna again - UNLESS for some reason the device motor to be powered for my BT > FM transmitter to connect. Pls help a dummy out. Thanks!

Gonna try to put up a couple pics of the transmitter here:

 

[Whakeen]

@Endlessblockdes,
I have not done this myself but I saved a thread about the Taco Whip Mod that describes removing the motor. Sadly the photos no longer are displayed but there is a write-up in Post #3 from the url below.

taco whip mod

 

[Endlessblockades]

@Endlessblockdes,
I have not done this myself but I saved a thread about the Taco Whip Mod that describes removing the motor. Sadly the photos no longer are displayed but there is a write-up in Post #3 from the url below.

taco whip mod

Thanks, I have read those whip mod threads before (and the mod is quite a bit of work), but just I want to kill the antenna motor. Dead. I want no attempt to raise or lower the stock antenna and I need no antenna at all.

 

[3bears]

dont know the transmitter but neat idea...any links for it ?

my thoughts...would take about the same amount of time but maybe easier than pulling the center bezel, breaking clips and clipping wires would be to jack it up, pull back fender liner and un-plug it.
I dont think there is a fuse that just controls it and not other car functions too...I could be wrong... to be honest I never bothered to find out. I did the taco mod and had other things I was dealing with...like a different head unit...servicing my heater motor and cleaning it out, disconnecting my ac from the defroster system

 

[Endlessblockades]

dont know the transmitter but neat idea...any links for it ?

my thoughts...would take about the same amount of time but maybe easier than pulling the center bezel, breaking clips and clipping wires would be to jack it up, pull back fender liner and un-plug it.
I dont think there is a fuse that just controls it and not other car functions too...I could be wrong... to be honest I never bothered to find out. I did the taco mod and had other things I was dealing with...like a different head unit...servicing my heater motor and cleaning it out, disconnecting my ac from the defroster system

Thanks, I probably go in through the fenderwell so any ham-fisted maneuvers will be concealed.

Here is a link to the one I got. There are dozens out there - I just read a couple reviews and clicked Buy. I figured if it turned out to be cheap Chinese junk I wouldn't be out too much, but it worked and I'm sure they all pretty much do. There may be way better ones but I couldn't find a Made In USA unit LOL. This also has Quick-charge for your phone and inputs for flash devices:

Amazon.com: IMDEN Bluetooth FM Transmitter for Car, QC3.0+Type-C PD 18W Wireless Bluetooth FM Radio Adapter Bass Sound Music Player FM Car Kit with Hands-Free Calling and 3 USB Ports Charger Support USB Drive

 

[Devbot]

Not sure if there is anything more "sophisticated," that's really all there is to it. Helps a ton to take the tire off. But if you're gonna take the 30 minutes to do that, why not take the extra 30 to do a whip antenna mod?

 

[BostonJon]

30 minutes to take a tire off? At that pace the valve cover gaskets are a 4-day job. =)

 

[Devbot]

They are when you're hourly

 

[Endlessblockades]

Not sure if there is anything more "sophisticated," that's really all there is to it. Helps a ton to take the tire off. But if you're gonna take the 30 minutes to do that, why not take the extra 30 to do a whip antenna mod?

I meant 'sophisticated' like maybe the antenna power feed from the harness or downstream - something I could disconnect under the hood. No worries, I get 'paid' the same no matter how long it takes, so I'll be in and out of the wheel well quickly. I even have one of those '500 assorted fastener kits' from fleaBay to reattach whatever flaps I pull apart. I won't be needing an antenna again, so no interest in the whip mod. This assumes the internal antenna doesn't require any power to pick up my FM transmission from the ciggy lighter half a foot away (which still works fine with the antenna mast pulled out). We shall see....

 

[wemslie97]

You can pull the antenna relay. That should cut power to the antenna. It's under the dash.

 

[Danger Mouse]

how long did it take to find that with antenna relay in tiny little letters in with everything else and ABS all by itself out to the side :wtf:

 

[tgreenwood75]

I second the idea of simply unplugging the antenna relay. This way, you or a future owner can reconnect the power antenna without any effort or confusion. I see it as the simplest and most "proper" idea rather than cutting wires.

 

[3bears]

You can pull the antenna relay. That should cut power to the antenna. It's under the dash.

what.....I did not know there was one....where under dash ? Yep first thing I saw was ABS

learn something new every day

thanks for sharing this

 

[3bears]

wow....for fun punched in the relay # as listed on relay. In part to see if it came up as controlling anything else...nope comes up as antenna relay.. List price $304 and only 245 at camelback

that is one spendy relay , esp if all it does is make the antenna go up and down

 

[gamefreakgc]

The relay is going to be tucked into the dash, I believe for a 2000 it's on the right side, on one of the metal support structures. You'll have to remove the center dash bezel to get to it. Not hard but seeing that you have the wood grain dash it's probably going to crack and you'll lose a few clips that will break off (cannot be replaced).

If the prospect of potentially ruining your center dash bezel does not sound appealing, you can also unplug the motor in the wheel well. You'll see the short wiring harness here:

Took this from a write up located here: Power antenna fix with pic's

 

[Endlessblockades]

I like the relay idea a lot - that's what I was looking for. However, if it's behind the center console - I'd still rather have a quick go at the fender well. Def take a look for it first, however. Thanks for the info, all!

 

[Skulking]

I like the relay idea a lot - that's what I was looking for. However, if it's behind the center console - I'd still rather have a quick go at the fender well. Def take a look for it first, however. Thanks for the info, all!

I've attached the page from the wiring manual for a 2000 4runner showing the location of the relays inside the cab. It does appear that the antenna relay is in the center console. Hopefully this is helpful if you do decide to pull the relay.

 

[ironman27]

I second the unplug from inside the fender method. Super easy. Was taking the tiny sr5 “fender flares” off my truck and was halfway into it so figured I’d explore and sure enough found that quick disconnect.

Just unplugged and covered with electrical tape. Now I don’t have to listen to the whine every time i turn it on!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Danger Mouse]

30 minutes for a tire is about right depending.
if you start when you get your beer out of the fridge, then walk out to the garage, then find a piece of carpet to sit on and take that out to the runner. then back to the garage for the jack. then get the breaker or the tire iron and back to the runner. then find out the @$$ at the tire place put them on with the impact gun so back to the garage for the impact gun and find out the compressor is out of air. wait for the compressor to air up. drag out the air hose and impact, spin off the lug nuts finally.
about half an hour
then drag everything back in after putting it back on when your done with whatever.

 

[Endlessblockades]

Next time will be a breeze. I opted for the fender access method and undid a lot more than I needed to. Nothing in the fender well needs to be touched. Next time I will just undo the fender mounting screws where it meets the door, pull it out a bit, slide down the plastic bag, undo the one bolt that holds the motor, rotate it and unclip the power plug. The tuner still pulls plenty of stations and my phone > ciggy lighter bluetooth FM transmitter continues to play any media I can get my hands on through the powerful speaker system.

The antenna motor relay behind the console is probably a lot easier if you know how to pop the bezel off. There was a learning curve either way but the fender is more forgiving IMO.