How do I wire the power antenna to a new in-dash CD player?

[yello80vette]

I'm about to install a new Pioneer AM/FM CD player in my 1980 baby. I have the light yellow and the red wires that leads back to the power antenna traced but I really haven't figured out how to wire it into the new radio yet. The wiring from the new CD player is rather simple. Anyone have any knowledge about how to wire this antenna in? Thanks.

 

[Whiteshadow89158]

hi there, i'm not an expert but i hope this helps. From what i've been able to put together in the past is that there should be 3 wires. one to signal the antenna to go up and one to go down and the third should either be a ground or main power wire. Separate from that there should be a thicker wire maybe 6 or 8 gage that has a metal tip that plugs into the back of the CD-player. I am assuming that you got a Smart Harness for the radio and if so what i would do is plug your radio into the harness and turn it on. Afterwards, test all the wires to see what gets power and if there are a couple that dont i would then turn the radio feture on on the radio which should in turn send a signal to the antenna to be raised. With a little ingenuity you should be able to figure out the other two. Thats my 2 cents and i hope this helps and doesnt confuse you further. Good luck,

Trevor

 

[ElPelon1965]

I just put a power antenna in my 79. My antenna is new aftermarket as my car did not come with an electric antenna. That being said, there are three wires to the motor of the antenna. Ground and two hots. The red wire is hot all the time and I connected this wire to the same 'hot all the time' connection of the radio. The other lead connects to the antenna power wire coming out of the radio. It tells the antenna when the radio is powered on, and thus keeps the antenna up. When the radio is turned off, it no longer signals the solenoid, and the antenna goes down. If your radio wiring harness does not have a power antenna wire, the instructions to my antenna said you could solder the wire inside the radio someplace. I wouldn't dream of opening my 400 dollar radio at all, let alone solder inside it, but it was mentioned by the manufacturer.

 

[Evolution1980]

Hey Yello... without knowing the exact model of your radio, it might be kinda tricky. But see if this helps at all. i have a factory power antenna on my '80, but I'm not at home to look at the wiring on it.

(It's not an exact answer...)
You've probably already figured that the fat cable is the actual antenna signal cable.
If you don't actually a wire from the headunit labeled "antenna switch", then you likely have a blue wire which is probably labeled "remote", which would be used to turn on a separate amplifier. It's usually rated in millivolts, like .4mv or something.

Here is a picture I found of what should be what you have

That being the case, this is a 3-wire circuit. Probably the remote turn-on lead, the hot, and the ground. However, also looking at this unit above, it would seem to plug into something closer to the rear of the car, so maybe one of the leads goes away (such as the power or the ground). Wouldn't surprise me if it grounds near the tailights or something.

 

[yello80vette]

Unlike the usual, i.e. starting to change a lightbulb and breaking 5 things along the way, turning a 10 minute project into a weekend project, this ended up being surprisingly easy. Thanks for all of the information.

 

[Evolution1980]

this ended up being surprisingly easy. Thanks for all of the information.

What did you end up doing? It's good to have the "solutions" listed as well so later on down the road when someone encounters the same question(s), they can find this thread and go "Ah ha!"

 

[yello80vette]

What did you end up doing? It's good to have the "solutions" listed as well so later on down the road when someone encounters the same question(s), they can find this thread and go "Ah ha!"

I wanted to make sure I recalled how I did this proir to posting.
First, I disconnected the ground wire from your battery.
I already had my parking brake console removed for restoration so I was able to easily trace and access the two wires from the power antenna itself. You may not need to do this if you can locate these two wires up front or at the rear of your old sound system.
On the left side of the leg area on the passenger side, there is a carpeted fiberboard which covers the area under the console. Up near the front, after feeling through the carpet, I found one screw. After removing this one screw this plate came off very easily and gave me access to the entire area under the dash.
From the rear of the Pioneer AM/FM CD Player I installed, there were four wires, (aside from the 8 speaker wires).
-A black wire, which of course was the ground wire connected directly to the black ground wire from under the dash.
-A yellow wire from the rear of the CD player wired into a yellow ignition wire from under the dash.
-A red wire connected to the red 'hot' wire from under the dash. Also, one of the two wires that lead from the power antenna up to the front by way of the console is red. This red wire also connected into the red 'hot' wire. Therefore, I had 3 red wires all connected together.
-A blue wire, which is for an amp power booster and/or a power antenna.
The second of the two wires that ran from the power antenna up to the front by way of the console was, at least in my 1980, a light yellow wire. Up at the end of this wire at the dash was a fuse connection. I made sure this remained, with the correct amp fuse to insure added safety.
I connected this light yellow wire to the blue auxillary wire from the rear of the CD player.
I wanted to check and see if I had power prior to connecting the speaker wires. After reconnecting the battery cable, I turned on the ignition, hit the power button on the new CD player and it lit up!
After connecting the speaker wires and replacing the one panel underneath, this update was finished.
I did not need a wiring harness for this job, but since no two audio systems are alike, its hard to say if you would.
Oh. Don't forget to plug the large black main antenna wire into the back on the new stereo system!

 

[bb427]

The remote turn on from the radio is always a blue . Depending onthe antenna wether it's a hersmen , harada or a BS brand. They are all pretty basic. Your going to have to run a ground sense the antenna can not ground to the fender. Then you'll have to supply a 12v ign and the remote turn on. I suggest a relay on the remote turn on lead. 5f you need to know how to wire the relay just email me