Leak at radio antenna mount
My radio antenna - the telescoping rod - quit working a while back. When it was plugged into the radio, I got no stations, but when I disconnected the connector on the street side lift arm and poked a random hunk of wire into the connector, the radio came to life.
This weekend, I got around to trouble-shooting it. Turns out the antenna was installed incorrectly, the weather seal leaked, and water got into the amplifier in the base.
BTW, there was recently a discussion about the radio antenna over in the FAQ area. The conclusion was that the rod-style antenna wasn't amplified. This is NOT correct - I found that it is indeed an amplified antenna. That's why, when it failed, it failed DEAD, not just degraded.
Anyway, you can see a few things from the attached picture.
1. Once you lift the rod, you can see two black soft rubber plugs. Pry these out to expose the mounting screws (square-drive, of course).
2. The tag on the unit says "Electronic Car Antenna" - a sure sign that it is, indeed, amplified.
3. The base of the antenna has a flexible rubber weather seal that is intended to seal against a flat surface. On my TM, though, the antenna was mounted about half an inch too high, requiring the weather seal to jump up onto the trim piece that joins the wall to the roof. Where it made the jump, a small gap resulted. Not a big gap, but it is directly in the airstream as you travel. Water was driven through the gap and into the electronics - which now does not function.
So, if you have this antenna, I suggest you check for the mis-mounting. If you find it, squeeze a small bead of silicone into the gap to keep the water out.
Bill
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