Aerial Removal And Refit

darkan9el · February 14, 2007

Hi peoples, anyone know how to remove the aerial mast on a Lexus GS300 SE Auto (P-97)(Mk-I I think)

I have tried but at the last second it pulls it back in. I have read a tip somewhere else that you can press 2 buttons AM and DSC and the radio will Display ANT and it will expel the Aerial fully, but I don't have these.

I have looked in the owners manual I can't find anything about aerial removal

best regards Lee

Keith Bowler · February 14, 2007

Lee

I replaced mine after I went through a car wash with the arial up.

My original mast snapped and all that was left was the plastic insert.

I just unscrewed the metal nut that retains the mast removed the remainder of the metal mast, turned on the radio to remove/eject the plastic insert.

I then just teased out the surplus taking note of how it came out, turned off radio and inserted the new plastic insert and mast. When I was happy that it had located properly I refixed the mast nut and got my little helper to turn the radio on and off a couple of times whilst I checked the operation of the mast.

All worked fine and took no more than a half hour.

Guess I may have been lucky that it all worked out ok.

darkan9el · February 14, 2007

Lee
I replaced mine after I went through a car wash with the arial up.

My original mast snapped and all that was left was the plastic insert.

I just unscrewed the metal nut that retains the mast removed the remainder of the metal mast, turned on the radio to remove/eject the plastic insert.

I then just teased out the surplus taking note of how it came out, turned off radio and inserted the new plastic insert and mast. When I was happy that it had located properly I refixed the mast nut and got my little helper to turn the radio on and off a couple of times whilst I checked the operation of the mast.

All worked fine and took no more than a half hour.

Guess I may have been lucky that it all worked out ok.

Thanks for the reply Keith, I have tried to remove the mast but just as it seems to be coming out it pulls it back in again by a small amount, I didn't want to force it out for fear of damaging the gears. will have to try again tomorrow

RayKhan · February 15, 2007

Try changing the radio station as the aerial adjusts the length according to the frequency. Don't know the best way to go but if you like I could try it and see which station gives me the longest aerial

darkan9el · February 15, 2007

Try changing the radio station as the aerial adjusts the length according to the frequency. Don't know the best way to go but if you like I could try it and see which station gives me the longest aerial

Now thats a lateral way of thinking, what's the posh word for upways thinking lol!

finding the highest signal would be great Raykhan, would be much appreciated.

Brett · February 15, 2007

Crikey is that really true that the aerial doesnt just go all the way up all the time???

genius149 · February 16, 2007

finding the highest signal would be great Raykhan, would be much appreciated.

Cue politically incorrect religious joke..... :D :D :D

RayKhan · February 16, 2007

Just been in the car park with a sceptical Renault owner who is now impressed that the aerial moves with different frequencies.

It would appear the lower the FM frequency the greater the aerial length. Radio 2 on 88.something seemed good.

Hope it works for you.

darkan9el · February 17, 2007

Just been in the car park with a sceptical Renault owner who is now impressed that the aerial moves with different frequencies.
It would appear the lower the FM frequency the greater the aerial length. Radio 2 on 88.something seemed good.

Hope it works for you.

Cheers RayKhan, will let you know how I get on, steve wright here i come lol!

Keith Bowler · February 17, 2007

Lee

I should have mentioned that at the bottom of the metal mast is a sprung sleeve arrangement that stops the metal mast from coming out once in place.

When you have got the plastic inner bit out just carefully pull and twist the metal mast part.

Mine was broken so I just pulled it out with a pair of needle nose pliers.

darkan9el · February 21, 2007

Well I now have several radio stations from France through to luxemburgh, I must say the belgian language is very soothing

Anyway to the task in hand; the Aerial ain't letting go, I cannot get it out no matter what station its on, it always winds back a few cm... its about as reluctant to come out as a virgins knickers are to come down.

I've had the rear passenger door window open, my snooker cue strategically positioned through the window between the headrest and seat and on towards the On/Off button. Neighbours gave me some funny looks but I just carried on.

For half hour I tuned into every station I could find, but twas all in vain, so its back to square one people.

Any more Idea's guys?

I'm going to phone the Notts Lexus Garage tomorrow see if they have a few tricks I can try.

Watch this space...

RayKhan · February 22, 2007

I can just picture you with the cue!

lol

darkan9el · February 26, 2007

Ok phoned Lexus Nottingham, took me 5 attempts, got passed to service, bodyshop, service then parts, and still got no joy. They wanted me to drive over so the mechanic could tell me how to do it while he was there. Apparently I'm not responsible enough to take instruction over the phone; after all I am only 45 years young.

So, it looks like I'm stuck with a bent aerial, a new aerial, and a 'remove the whole damn thing' job. So much for 'Just whip it out'

hey Raykhan, just noticed you're from Bournemouth, I bought my Lexus from there.

RayKhan · February 27, 2007

We seem to have quite a few Lexus's in Bournemouth. Currently I have 2 garages within 3 miles of where I live with GS300's for sale. I'm tempted by both of them.

Brettster · February 27, 2007

have you tried setting to AM rather than FM, I was under the impression that it adjusts height for the modulation type too.

darkan9el · February 27, 2007

my system doesn't seem to have AM, it has LW/MW and FM. I know on some systems they have an AM and a DSC button if you press these together while turning the ignition to on it will activate ANT on the display and the aerial will come out easily.

But mine doesn't have these and I wondered if there was a similar way for my radio type.

RobIS200 · February 28, 2007

FYI

AM is LW/MW.

AM = amplitude modulation and FM= Frequency modulation

long wave and medium wave are both amplitude modulated.

darkan9el · May 23, 2007

FYI
AM is LW/MW.

AM = amplitude modulation and FM= Frequency modulation

long wave and medium wave are both amplitude modulated.

Thanks for the info I consider myself enlightened lol

Ok I now have the new aerial in. I had to take the aerial apart and do it like that, it wasn't too messy just have to control a curly strip of nylon while trying not to get covered in grey grease. Needless to say I won the battle and now have glorious TrentFM booming out.

Thanks for the tips help and advice.

P4UL T · May 26, 2007

I've had the rear passenger door window open, my snooker cue strategically positioned through the window between the headrest and seat and on towards the On/Off button. Neighbours gave me some funny looks but I just carried on.

ROFPMSL

Crikey is that really true that the aerial doesnt just go all the way up all the time???

This is true, as people said, it adjusts its hight depending on the station selected

GS3000 · May 28, 2007

I did the same as keith but masts are over €40 here so I took the whole lot out and put a crappy one instead for a while , then i came across a crashed 97 st202 celica noticed the whole lot is practically the same and put it in my GS only changes you'll have to make is to change the blue/green box for the GS unit near the motor and modify :winky: the mounting bracket works fine on my car

Mk IV Supra antennas are the same too so if you find a crashed one it should swap straight out

Max_UK · June 5, 2007

I've just had to do the aerial (antenna) replacement as my wife had mysteriouslly bent the aerial on Sunday.

Ordered a replacement from car-masts-uk via eBay. £27.55 including postage, & it arrived Tuesday morning - great service.

The tip from darkan9el & Lexls.com is the one that worked for my 1998 GS300:

Have a helper press the "AM" and "TAPE," or "AM" and "CD" buttons on the radio and simultaneously turn the ignition switch to "ACC." This should fully extend the antenna mast and release it from the motor. So once the motor starts you need to help the mast out. Keep the ignition at "ACC." (The radio display will show Ant)

The full tutorial is at:

http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/audio/powerantenna.html

Thanks to all contributors,

Regards,

Max.

darkan9el · June 5, 2007

Glad we could help, nice tutorial as well, I can't remember that many steps but its is all a blur now lol!

rich1068 · January 6, 2020

Thread from the dead!

Work has yet to pick up this week so I've just spent an extremely enjoyable (really!) couple of hours replacing the broken aerial and I wanted to say thank you to all in this thread and @LEXLS

The link to lexls.com was invaluable and even though mine is a MK2 GS the procedure was much the same. Unfortunately my plastic cable had broken so I ended up stripping down the aerial unit itself to remove the old one but extremely simple with a good guide and a car manufacturer that has the foresight to build a car and install parts that can actually be mended. Nuts, bolts and screws rather than one time clips and sealed units.

👏👏👏 to all concerned.