HappyHooligan
New member
I've read that the power antenna's not going up, but mine is stuck in the Up position. Any thoughts or missed threads on this?
Power Antenna NOT going down
- Thread starter HappyHooligan
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RAD4Runner
Senior Member
Rock_Rat
Senior Member
If you need a used motor/antenna, lemme know. I swapped over to a taco whip. PM me.
HappyHooligan
New member
I'm going to try to push it down and see if comes back up. If not I'll let you know! thanks
I just pulled my motor. I rarely listen to the radio, as I listen to Pandora or my music library 99.9% of the time. I can just manually pull it up and push it down if need be. Like mentioned above though, the nylon gear on the antenna itself probably gave up the ghost on you. Very common problem.
Ghostrider
Registered User
if it really is the motor and not the shaft then replacement is not that difficult except Toyota did not build the motor with a disconnect for the antenna wire to the radio. You have to thread it all the way over instead of just plugging in the exisitg wire. And I gave up on getting it back in the exact location - they ran the wire and then added ductwork so I took the easy way and ran it under the carpet near the toeboards.
RodrickHeffley
Member
good chance it's tweaked slightly or something is caught inside it causing it to not move. Unfortunately this is a common problem with motorized antennas, you might be best off going with the taco whip mod.
GhostRing
Member
Are you trying to use the antenna, or just sick of hearing it?
You can always just snip the wire and/or add a toggle to keep the mast down.
(I think it's the black wire w/red stripe)
If you have the diversity antenna in the rear glass, that
should receive enough signal for most purposes.
Pyral
Member
Unscrew the silver ring at the base of the antenna, then turn the radio on, as the motor is operating to extend the antenna pull up on the antenna until it is completely out of the motor (this is the antenna mast). As you do this be sure to note which way the teeth on the mast face (either forward or backwards).
Get a replacement mast from Toyota (not too expensive should be $20), and do the process in reverse (except now you should turn the radio off so the motor is retracting the mast). Replacing the mast will often fix the problem.
There are other solutions like the tacowhip mod, unplugging the motor, or replacing the motor, but all are more involved and require removing the splash guard in the wheel well. If the mast doesn't fix it then you can consider those options.
brillo_76
Elite Member
I have to remember this as I took the entire assembly out the last 2 times...
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maxthebird
New member
If your antenna motor runs but the mast doesn't move, the mast most likely will need to be replaced. First get yourself a new mast from Toyota and not an aftermarket one. I tried a couple of those and they broke within a month. Follow the guide in the above post to remove the old mast. There will be a plastic strip with teeth on it at the end. Measure the strip against the strip on the new mast. If they're the same length, then you are good to finish the install. If it is shorter than the new mast, this means that a piece has broken off inside and you'll need to remove the motor assembly, open it up and remove the broken piece before installing the new mast. This will take time but is not hard. There are many posts that detail this procedure. Good luck.
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phattyduck
Elite Member
And for those rare ones of us with a still-working antenna, keep it clean and lubed with a dry graphite lube.
Mine rarely goes up (only when I use AM/FM radio), but it is clean and lubed for those occasions!
-Charlie
Same thing here. I replaced it once, it broke again. Switch to a different antenna type (whip?)
