Broken Antennas

[Y2kGoofball]

I'm wondering how we fix our broken electric antenna's?

Ok I was first made aware of it when I had to drive my bosse's company car - SS Crewman, to Strathfield Car Radios to have a manual antenna installed because he snapped his. I thought how someone can "snap" an antenna in the wind I'll never know

Then I noticed alot of Holdens out and about with electric antennas from VT onwards seem to have the same problem

Recently my mother was given an SV6 company car with 3 KM on the clock, its replaced at 15 000 KM, we can use it on weekends, so naturally we look after it like it was our own because its taken over the VS's role as family sedan!. After only 3 weeks the antenna stopped going all the way down out of no where, one night we turned the car off and bang, it hasnt gone down all the way since.

Then a few weeks ago mum finally took the SV6 to our local dealer for its free 3500 K service, and asked them to fix the antenna under warranty as her boss doesnt want his company cars faulty thus why he buys SV6's, Calais and SS's as company cars opposed to Execs.

They did the service, quite poorly, didnt re set the service warning etc etc, and wanted to charge $150 for a new antenna. Why? Because it went in with the problem of not retracting all the way, it come out snapped out of its base!

Before it went in , when you were moving it would stay still when up, like it was anchored under the guard, somewhere in their workshop its been snapped, like someones tried to force it down into the guard,or tried to jiggle it a bit too far, and its come loose, no longer anchored. Now travelling anywhere you see the antenna wobbling all over the place. Being a company car it now has to be replaced under insurance, and will be done by the dealer the company buys the cars from, so as we tried to point out to our local dealership they wont see a cent, but I thought seeing as its such a common problem what do you guys do to fix it?

I'm concerned because we're considering buying an Adventra in a few weeks to tow our boat and after seeing how easy the antennas break I am wanting to apply the fix, even if it means replacing it with a manual one, before it breaks itself!

[OzJavelin]

I've had two power aerials break in two years .. one was a chip packet which caught on it at 100km/h and "slightly" bent it back .. it wouldn't go all the way down after that. The second one .. it just went down one day and "got caught" .. wouldn't go all the way down again. Both were replaced under warranty no questions asked. Unless someone snapped the damn thing off, I can't see any dealer questioning this?

Don't let an issue like this concern you with your purchase. :)

[Bazz]

They are not too hard to fix when they do break. (There is a thread on here somewhere if you want to know the complete process). I know a few cars have the antenna in the back window now. Not sure if commodore rear windows can be made for it (let alone crewman etc)

[Devil CV8]

not sure where you get the idea that breaking electric antenna's is a common problem. I've only ever had one broken in 3 years, and that was because a bird hit it while I was doing 100km/h, and the fact it was an electric one had no bearing on that. Even on this forum, I doubt there have been more than a handfull of members who have had to replace them.

As for the fix, do a search. I put a step by step guide on here on how to change the mast, and there have been a couple of threads since then where people have done it....

[Y2kGoofball]

I get the idea its a common theme because we've been looking at cars for a few weeks now and the only Holdens that didnt have broken antennas were those at the Holden dealerships!

OzJavelin, Ive heard if their even slightly bent it stops them from going all the way down. I was just concerned because ours wasnt bent when it stopped going down? Unless wind bends them?


Anyway I wouldnt let it affect a purchase, I'm just questioning now if it does break where to go from there.

"Both were replaced under warranty no questions asked" I would hope our situation was because they saw it registered to a company and figured the company would just pay the replacement cost, because they told us it isnt a warrantly job, its $150 to fix!

[VXSSV8]

Never had one break in the 5 years I've owned late model commodores with an electric antenna. Only time I've known them to break is if something or someone ;) hits them. Even the slightest bend (ie. brush with a tree branch) will stop it fully retracting. They need to get rid of them for VE, ala BA Fords. Apart from being easy to break they are noisy damn things.

:)

[OzJavelin]

Don't BAs have aerials? I've never taken any notice???

[OzMystic]

Don't BAs have aerials? I've never taken any notice???
I thought the BA's had the aerial hard wired into the rear window. A much better option.

[SCOTTR8]

often the rope breaks on the electric antenna'a. i replace then all the time with the aerpro ap250 rrp $39. you do need to pull the inner guard off and drop the motor down and remove the broken rope to install the new one. we charge $89 fitted. easy job todo in your driveway.

cheers scott

[ShakeyCan]

My little Astra has a nice little rubber antenna on the back - looks like a mobile phone kit. The BA's have them in the rear window. Up down metal antennas are soooo last century ;)

[mavss]

I don't mind the up-down electric derivative but I'd prefer a switch to allow me to only raise it half-way. That probably comes standard in the upper-speced models.

As far as the BA is converned, placing it in the rear window is a great idea but it requires a special type of tinting which isn't metal based (or something along those lines).

[karter42]

I don't mind the up-down electric derivative but I'd prefer a switch to allow me to only raise it half-way. That probably comes standard in the upper-speced models.

As far as the BA is converned, placing it in the rear window is a great idea but it requires a special type of tinting which isn't metal based (or something along those lines).

Thats right, A mate is a tinter and he used a good qaulity tint because his arial is on the quater window of his BA ute.

The last time I got a broken arial was my old run around VK in the car park at Bathurst for the V8 long weekend. as far as you could see, all Holden arials broken. ford supporters find it hard to deal with loosing I am afraid......

[VQ304]

They don't break as long as you take care of it, and don't have any accidents (ie. a bird hitting the mast).

Here's what I do...

- Only raise the antenna up half way, if it's up the whole way then it wobbles around which I'm sure isn't doing it any good
- Clean the mast with some chain lubricant each time I wash the car. You'd be surprised how much dirt comes off it even if it looks clean

This will stop it getting clogged up with crap and breaking. You should've seen my old antenna before I replaced it, there was actually mud inside the motor. God knows how it got in there. So since then I've been taking care of it...

[scotty]

My antenna broke on the way to bathurst last year....

But I think that had something to do with the duck that flew into it while I was travelling at around 100ks...

[mavss]

Why can't Holden use one of those flexible CB-style aerials. Sure, you wouldn't be able to retract them but hey, they wouldn't break even if a duck flew into it at an aledged 100 km/h and it would look real cool to see how much flex you could achieve at various speeds.

Hours of fun for all the family :)

[Devil CV8]

That probably comes standard in the upper-speced models.
.

Yep, calais, monaro etc get it standard.

[plonkerchops]

Ive done mine twice on branches from overgrown driveways :bash:

[SV8VY]

Never had an electric one brocken so far...then again I mostly listen to Cds and have the radio off when traveling 170 km or above ;)

[Y2kGoofball]

well being a company car it had to be fixed under insurance (I think I may have mentioned that)

today the insurance co demanded it go to a smash repairers seeing as we claim it was "further damaged" at a dealership.

The smash repairer showed us, it hasnt been "snapped loose" under the guard like I said, it has acctually been cut with something similar to bolt cutters or wire cutters or something like that!

How it come to not go down all the way in the first place is still a mystery, we didnt hit or touch anything the night it stopped working, but that aside the true fact is we have it to a Holden Dealership to replace under warranty, it come out more damaged then when it went in, and we get told it has to be replaced - $150!

Sounds like the dealer was trying to sell an antenna? I mean you guys have already said youve had yours replaced under warranty if youve brushed against a tree for example, and the fact it come out loose and now we've seen it quite clearly someones had a go at it with some form of cutters!

Oh well, as mentioned elsehwere we're considering buying an Adventra, and lucky for me I work across the road from a different dealership who I payed a visit to today during my lunch break, and they seem to be genuine (what dealer just tells you their having problems selling the Adventra and fuel consumption is quite large so their happy to negotiate the price well and truley down!!!!)