Mr2 Aerial

[N20]

Hi there

Today I have run into a little problem with my aerial... when I got out of the car the aerial went down a little and then stopped and started to make a louder noise... if I gave it a little help then it would go the rest of the way...

Now it seems to have got worse... I can hear the motor weeerrrrring away as usual with no funny noises (but motor runs alot longer before stopping) but it does nothing... not even if I push it... it is stuck in the up position.

The aerial itself looks to be clean and I cannot see any bends etc... anyone have any ideas of what it could be? Is it possible that the nylon rod could have lost the teeth? That would explain why I cannot push the aerial down.

[dawesy]

sounds like it. had a look on the EPC and the nylon drive cable isnt available without the mast from what i can see.

might be worth pricing the part up or sourcing a good second hand one.

[N20]

Thanks for the reply...

Had a look on eBay and there are MR2 masts for around £20.00 but it does not come with the motor and seem as it could be the big nylon gear on the motor that has worn I think it best to replace the lot..

Talking to a guy at work and he says you can get universal ones... I just got off the phone to a local motor spares shop and they do new one for £10.00 and another for £30.00... Prefer a original part if I could get one... but even the £30.00 one is cheaper than what Toyota would charge and probably more reliable than a 2nd hand one so I might go with a brand new universal one.

[N20]

OK well, for those that try a universal aerial on a MR2... Don’t bother... I have included a detailed reason of why it did not work bellow.

I tried a ‘Autoleads’ aerial that cost £30.00... Not compatible but when I took the original aerial apart I found the nylon rod had snapped... I have ordered a replacement mast with nylon rod from eBay for £20.00 so it should be good with that fitted...

A detailed reason of why it did not work is because on the original aerial there are three wires earth/neutral which just goes onto the metal bracket the motor fits to and then a blue and black (with yellow). The blue and black are what drives the motor... when the radio is switched on one of these (blue I think) becomes live and drives the motor to send the mast up... when the radio is switched off the other (black with yellow I think) wire becomes live so the motor runs in reverse...

However on the universal aerial there is also three wires earth/neutral which connects to the metalwork on the car also a red and blue one... the red is to be connected to a common live (basically it will have 12 volts on it all the time). The blue one tells the mast to go up but if the 12 volt is removed from the blue wire it goes down automatically... Now that would be ok if the MR2 radio put 12 volts out onto the blue aerial wire all the time, but it does not,... it only puts 12 volt out for about a minuet... then when the 12 volt is removed from the blue wire the mast goes down... even with the radio still on... :(

It would be possible if you know alot about electric circuits to make it work properly one way or another but it would be complicated. Or you could simply put a switch in the car for the aerial that would put 12 volts onto the aerial when the switch is on... In my case not worth it when i can repair my old aerial for about £20.00 (I hope)...