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Power to Antenna - solved
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Posted by Charles 85T 86S [Email] (more from Charles 85T 86S) on Thu, 25 Oct 2001 16:32:18 Share Post by Email
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A not so brief summary of how I fixed a "no power to antenna" problem.

Car: Slate blue 1986 900S 5sp 2Dr w/100k miles, the radio is a Clarion AM/FM/Cassette connected to an amplifier which is attached to an empty "radio like" insert in the center console. This insert is removed with the same tool that is used to remove the radio.

Symptoms: When turning the radio on, the antenna intermittently would not go up, eventually not at all. When it did not go up, there was no sound from the speakers regardless of volumne setting.

Diagnosis: Loose solder connection on circuit board inside amplifier.

Story: [Monday, 9:30pm] I removed the radio and radio housing from the dashboard, and the left side trunk interior to gain access to the antenna. I searched for any obvious problems and found none (broken/pinched/disconnected wires, blown fuses, etc). Next, per Bentley's instructions on the Radio Wiring Diagram page, I shorted the radio end (male) of the coaxial antenna cable, and then tried in vain to measure continuity across the outer and inner contacts of the other end (female) of the cable near the antenna. For the life of me I could not get continuity. After a lot of swearing, and trying many different approaches to get a wire to touch the center contact, but not touch the outer contact, and hold two resistance probes between the two, I reluctantly accepted that maybe the coaxial wire was broken somewhere. I closed up shop for the night [11:30pm]. [Tuesday 7:00 pm] Went to Radio Shack (via unsuccesful stop at Sears - what's with their automotive section? Are they seperate from Sears?) and bought a 12 ft. automotive coaxial cable extension ($5.99). Installed it between the radio and the antenna, and voila - nothing! No fix.

I confirmed what I'd thought the night before; it was just not likely that the coaxial cable would work intermittently and then suddenly break somewhere between the two ends. I removed the amplifier from the back of the holder in the center console. There are two fuses back there - they were both good (bummer). I then started measuring voltage at the rectangular multi-pin connector going from into the amplifier. [The amp is connected to the radio via a round black cable with cylindrical connectors.] I measured 12 volts going into the amp from the battery, but did not get 12 volts going out to the antenna when turning on the radio. So, I disassembled the amp (took off all the cooling fins and sheet metal to look for obvious distress. Everything looked fine. I studied the components of this amplifier in detail for 1/2 an hour, but found nothing that looked bad. Resigning myself to yet another failed Saab repair, and transit time without audio entertainement, I got up to reassemble it and reinstall it in the car. On my way to the garage, I heard that my wife was still awake so I showed it to her, explaining what it was, why I was still working in the garage at 11pm, and told her that I was at a dead end. Reminicent of a Richard Feynman event ("Surely you must be joking Mr. Feynman"), she happened to point at a rectangular shaped white component, about 3/4 inch x 1 inch x 3/4 inch tall and asked what it was for, since it was marked "12 volts" in faint grey letters. I said I really didn't know (there are about 100 components in the amplifier), but it was somewhat prominent. Fiddling with this white box to see if the cover could be removed (I don't think it can be), I noticed that one of the pins that extended through the circuit board to the other side moved ever so slightly. On the solder side of the circuit board, I looked very closely and indeed, the pin was moving relative to the surrounding solder. Incredulously, I went to the basement, pulled out the solder gun, and resoldered the pin. I reconnected the wiring harness and ....it was music to my ears! Six hours of diagnostics, a 1 minute repair.

I don't know if this is a common fault or not. The white component did not seem to have excessive mass that might cause the solder joint to fail due to vibration. Maybe a fluke failure? Finding the broken joint certainly was.

posted by 148.150...
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