85 Antenna Removal

[Ed A.]

Hi, I'm in the process of trying to remove the antenna from my 85 C4, I have the antenna removed from the bracket and the harness disconnected from the relay. I found a plastic clip holding the antenna harness which I removed and I disconnected the antenna wire from the mast, the antenna is now hanging from the harness. I believe the only thing holding the harness in place is the grommet although I can't pull the harness from the rear hatch or from the fender well. The grommet has the antenna harness and the antenna wire in it.
The grommet is difficult to get to, does anyone have a procedure for removing the grommet, also I have not removed the luggage shade yet, is this required? My antenna motor stuck halfway down with the motor running continuously, I'd like to repair this if possible if not can anyone suggest a quality replacement, the ones I've looked at seem to have a screw on for the antenna wire while my antenna wire has a fixed end on it which attaches to the mast with two small self tapping screws.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Walter G.]

Re: 85 Antenna Removal

I've had the antenna on my '84 fail twice. The first time I replaced it myself and the second time I had the dealership tackle it. (it's since failed again and is in the down position and I plan to just leave it!) The grommet was the tough one to deal with which was why I let the dealer handle it. I know I removed the luggage shade and replacing it was a chore as well. Looked simple, but wasn't. The dealer actually removed the driver's side exhaust system and had the car raised on a hoist for best access to everything.
I ordered a replacement antenna from Eckler's and it worked fine for a while. Same for the second replacement-the nylon 'ribbon' broke causing the motor to continuously run unless the fuse is pulled which affects other functions. Not sure if there are better replacements out there now.

[Vinnie P.]

Re: 85 Antenna Removal

I don't know whether or not the 1989 antenna is the same or close but on page 12 of the current Restorer you can find a detailed article about disassembly and repair of a 1989...
Vinnie

https://www.ncrs.org/restorer/rm2023_1/

[Ed A.]

Re: 85 Antenna Removal

Hi Walter,
Thanks for the response, I mentioned in my post that I could not pull the antenna harness in either direction it seemed to be locked in the grommet, without removing the luggage shade I pulled back the carpet and upon closer inspection of the grommet on the inside of the fender it appears as though the there is some bonding material along the inner fender that they ran over part of the grommet and over the three wires from the harness which are now bonded to my inner fender? I think now my only option may be to cut and splice the wires from a replacement antenna.
Your input was greatly appreciated.

[Ed A.]

Re: 85 Antenna Removal

Hi Vinnie,
Thanks for your response I believe the 84 thru 87 are somewhat different, I did see the article in the Restorer but I planned to replace the antenna because from what I have read some of the replacements are made with more modern components. If you check my prior response you will note that my grommet and harness seems to have been partially bonded to the inner fender during assembly.
I was sorry to hear about Yogi passing he and his son ran a great buisiness.

[Ed A.]

Re: 85 Antenna Removal

Walter, I have a question for you, I could not get my grommet free so I've decided to splice a new harness into the old one. I've cut the wires and removed the antenna and need to remove the black plastic split retaining ring, can you tell me how you did this? As it's almost 40 years old i'm concerned about spreading it and having it break and I don't think there are replacements available.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks, Ed