no1parfive Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 My power antenna on my 89TC quit going up and down. My blue shop manual gave instructions for testing it using a separate battery, which I did, and antenna still did not work, which indicated the motor was inoperative. The manual said replace the antenna assembly. After researching the web, the only antenna assemblies I found were the universal type. Would like to hear from members who have used the universal antennas as to their applicability and performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89TC-16V Posted March 23, 2013 Share Posted March 23, 2013 you can find one that looks very similar.. if you are lucky you can find a good motor for yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1parfive Posted March 23, 2013 Author Share Posted March 23, 2013 Are the motors replaceable? The shop manual did not imply that the motor was replaceable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89TC-16V Posted March 24, 2013 Share Posted March 24, 2013 cant go by everything the manual says. i have one out of car and it looks replaceable if somebody has a broken masted one but a good working motor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My TC Toy Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 1- Is the motor attempting to run at all? You will have to listen carefully at the motor in the trunk. 2-Have you tried lubricating the shaft, it could be simply a dry sticking shaft. A couple of years ago my antenna would only extend about 12", I used tape to make a dam around the antenna shaft at the body and soaked the area with pen oil. It slowly ran down the shaft and freed up the shaft. Once it was working freely I lubricated the shaft with synthetic oil. It has worked perfectly since.Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1parfive Posted March 27, 2013 Author Share Posted March 27, 2013 The motor is totally quiet when power is applied, so my conclusion is that there is an open circuit inside the motor. I will, however, lubricate the antenna shaft the way you suggested and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dkrom Posted March 27, 2013 Share Posted March 27, 2013 do you listen to radio? or are you trying to restore the car to factory stock? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest My TC Toy Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Check fuse #7 as well, it serves the antenna, chimes and speakers. Hopefully you will tell us that is why the chimes have not been working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1parfive Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 I do listen to radio, and always like for things to work , not necessarily concerned with restoring to factory stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no1parfive Posted March 28, 2013 Author Share Posted March 28, 2013 Fuse 7 is ok, radio and speakers work ok, chimes don't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dkrom Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 great , the best antenna for radio reception is a solid mast, very inexpensive and easy to install. buy one with a base that fits your fender. then remove your power antenna ,check your antenna cable , sometimes they will be rusted where it plugs into power antenna. I have seen cable fused by corrosion making it impossible to remove in one piece. if yours is fused, or badly rusted, you will have to replace the antenna cable with a new one. new cable should be long enough to reach all the way from your new antenna to your radio in one piece. this may sound more difficult than it really is, but it is extremely important to have a solid connection from your new mast antenna to your radio. this will insure good radio reception . because the tc's are over 20 years old, you will better served with a new antenna cable. if your cable can't be easily unplugged from your old power antenna, then you have corrosion. no worries, just cut antenna cable ,cut and cap old power leads (1 is a turn on and the other provides power). there are a couple of ways to proceed. the easiest is to leave old antenna cable in place and run the new one either forward from new mast, or back from your radio. run new cable under carpet through tonneau area and into trunk if you are more adventurous, you can try to attach your new cable with duct tape to your cut end of your old cable, and fish your new cable through the space your old cable is now in by pulling old cable through. this will remove old cable while installing newnew cable at the same time. new solid mast and cable should cost less than $35 for the parts and if you decide to let a mobile car audio expert to do the install and removal of old antenna labor should take less than one hour.dkrom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghostymosty Posted March 28, 2013 Share Posted March 28, 2013 Or just put a solid mast antenna inside the trunk and touching the tip to the quarter panel, then hook up the antenna cable to see if reception is acceptable in your area. I did that to the 89 I had and got very good reception in soCal while keeping the look of the original antenna on the outside of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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