I just picked up a 91 and in all of the wisdom of turning the radio off and trying to listen to the engine I never checked whether the antenna mast raised or not. I can turn the radio (stock) on or off without the antenna moving an inch. Is there an electrical connection to the antenna that I can check? Can anyone forcast what the dealer might charge for such a repair? Thanks in advance!
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Antenna doesn't extend
- Thread starter JSpec
- Start date
My antennae wasn't going up either, so I had the dealer replace the antennae mast for $150. That almost solved the problem except the antennae would go down all except for the last 2-6 inches. Dealer then told me I needed a new motor at the tune of $450 additional dollars, ouch! I said screw that and decided to buy a used one off of nsxprime and do it myself. I was very easy and I am not very mechanically inclined. You can pick one up with everything for about $100-150, problem solved. There is a lot of people that are creating track vehicles and have no need for that part. Good luck.
the old owner may have disconnected it like me....i disconnected mine. so check the connection in the trunk. pull the carpeting back....and se 
Thanks, I'll check the connection first...then I'll start on the lookout for an antenna mast and motor.
Here's more insight on my problem. Seems a previous owner had some switches installed, one for the light and one for the antenna. After hitting the switch the antenna raises most of the way (one section towards the bottom stays collapsed) and makes a chunking sound. I've embedded some pics of the switches and electrical connection, and have attached movie clips of the antenna raising and lower so you can here the noise. The previous owner says the noise was normal, but he didn't really use the antenna much. Would this be a simple mast replacement, motor replacement, or both?
Antenna Switch on right, trunk light switch on left
Inside look at the switches and assembly
Electrical connection (you can see the two blue taps for the switch)
http://www.apexi.net/misc/ant_up.mpg
Movie clip of antenna raising.
http://www.apexi.net/misc/ant_down.mpg
Movie clip of antenna lowering.
Antenna Switch on right, trunk light switch on left
Inside look at the switches and assembly
Electrical connection (you can see the two blue taps for the switch)
http://www.apexi.net/misc/ant_up.mpg
Movie clip of antenna raising.
http://www.apexi.net/misc/ant_down.mpg
Movie clip of antenna lowering.
Are the NSX masts similar to this (RX7 mast pictured.) If so maybe some of the teeth are garbled up, just a guess.
You might want to consider just leaving the antenna down. The NSX has another antenna in the rear window, you may find you get just fine reception without the mast antenna.
A normal NSX mast antenna will stay up even when you have the CD player on. Which is why most people disconnect the darn thing anyway.
A normal NSX mast antenna will stay up even when you have the CD player on. Which is why most people disconnect the darn thing anyway.
Yep, many leave them down.
Check here: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Troubleshooting/antenna.htm
And for an alternative to the stock replacement search for Smartenna which is a modification to the stock antenna so it will stay down when the CD is on.
Check here: http://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Troubleshooting/antenna.htm
And for an alternative to the stock replacement search for Smartenna which is a modification to the stock antenna so it will stay down when the CD is on.
Stubby Antenna
When I first bought my 91 nsx I had a similiar problem with the antenna. It would only go down part way and it would leave 4-6 inches of the mast sticking out.
It bugged me for a week, until I decided to figure it out one weekend. I took the entire unit apart checked the teeth, the motor, lubed with wd40, lubed again with heavier grease. Lubed inside the assembly, I mean I tried everything for about 3 hours. I just could not find anything wrong with the damn thing.
As a last ditch effort, a thought had occurred to me as I was about to open the door and turn the stereo off for the 100th time. I stared at the lock and had gotten an idea of how sometimes keys are sprinkled with graphite to get in and out of stubborn sticky locks.
So I wiped clean with rubbing alcohol the mast and the internal wind up assembly, waited for it to dry. Then went in the house to get baby powder to sprinkle on the areas I had originally greased. Yes, you know how this is going to end -- it worked all of the antenna retracted into its housing. Unorthodox procedure, but excellent results, who knew? try it and see
When I first bought my 91 nsx I had a similiar problem with the antenna. It would only go down part way and it would leave 4-6 inches of the mast sticking out.
It bugged me for a week, until I decided to figure it out one weekend. I took the entire unit apart checked the teeth, the motor, lubed with wd40, lubed again with heavier grease. Lubed inside the assembly, I mean I tried everything for about 3 hours. I just could not find anything wrong with the damn thing.
As a last ditch effort, a thought had occurred to me as I was about to open the door and turn the stereo off for the 100th time. I stared at the lock and had gotten an idea of how sometimes keys are sprinkled with graphite to get in and out of stubborn sticky locks.
So I wiped clean with rubbing alcohol the mast and the internal wind up assembly, waited for it to dry. Then went in the house to get baby powder to sprinkle on the areas I had originally greased. Yes, you know how this is going to end -- it worked all of the antenna retracted into its housing. Unorthodox procedure, but excellent results, who knew? try it and see
If you listen to CD's a lot, but still want an Antenna that goes up for radio (specifically better FM reception), I highly recommend the Smartenna. If your unit is unrepairable, and you don't want to pay $500+ for the dealer to do it. An alternative to finding a used stock antenna is an aftermarket one from hirschman. It's what I used to fix mine and it works great (when my wife drives my car). I listen to CD's so the Smartenna keeps it down for me, and the occasional times whe she drives it, she gets a fully erect antenna mast with no funny noises This way we all are happy
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