59 Cadillac Antenna Help!!

[Jeff Wilk]

SOS!!!  My son and I have so much already out from under the hood for this what started as a let's replace the power brake booster job......that turned into the oh so familiar.....while that is out lets take this out......and while that's out lets remove that and paint that.....and boy it makes sense now that all of THAT is out of the way to remove THIS and paint the firewall......that NOW I remember that our power antenna is often working and often not.  SOOOOO......while I can now get to it easily I removed it only to now not be able to find anyone that sells replacements or knows how to trouble shoot this one.

Any tips out there to test this while it is out of the car to see if it actually needs to be replaced?  And if so who sells replacements that are OEM??

Thanks......

Jeff & Noah

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

USA Parts Supply  www.usapartssupply.com lists "Antenna-Rebuilt w/New Mast" w/ 1yr guarantee for $295.95 less $100.00 core charge for 1959/1960 Cadillac.

-You say it operates intermittently? Could be faulty connection/ground or motor brushes starting to go bad. Occasionally the motor must be tapped on my '62 antenna to get it to work. If that's the case with yours, it's likely the brushes.

[Jeff Wilk]

I must be missing something as I checked their catalog earlier and did not see 59 or 60 listed.  I just checked in the link you provided and still do not see this listed for this year.  is there another page?

As for testing it out of the car.  Do I still need to ground the unit somehow, or simply hook up one hot and one neg lead from the battery to the two pronged connector coming off the motor?  There actually was no bolt securing the motor to the wheel well and that bracket was just resting against it.  Could that have been the grounding problem?

Jeff

[Glen]

It does not matter if you ground the antenna to the frame of the car or connect a wire from the grounded side of the battery to the body of the antenna.  Either way the body of the antenna must be connected to the grounded side of the battery (negative). 

The two pins in the connector are the up or down connection and should be connected to the hot side of the battery one at a time but not both at once. 

[David Greenburg]

You might also check with Klaus Wojak  in N. Carolina (check Hemmings), who rebuilds antennas. He rebuilt mine a number of years ago; it has held up well.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Jeff, it's your antenna. At your place, I would not send it to USA Part Supply. Klaus Wojak is probably the sole alternative.

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

The bottom needs to be securely attached to the bracket, or it can swing around and put excess strain on the top mount.

Bruce.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

Jeff: Sorry- the USA catalog I had grabbed was a 2008 edition that showed the rebuild service for 1959/1960 Cadillac antenna. Just dug out the 2010 edition which no longer shows the service for 59/60 antenna. At any rate Klaus seems to be the preferred vendor and given the choice, I would have to agree. (Couldn't find him in Hemmings: under Cadillac Services: Antenna- must be buried somewhere else)

From everything you've described, it definitely appears the grounding issue is a possibility.

[eldo59]

 If the antenna is working intermittently then it must be a bad earth or lose contact.

[Jeff Wilk]

You are all so awesome.......my oldest son and I took the antenna and firmly held it onto the negative post of a battery, then carefully placed a lead from the connector to the positive post of the battery and it goes up and down.......slowly, but it works.  Is covered in desert sand from its Arizona days so probably needs a simple disassembling, oiling, and clean up.  Chrome on the mast is perfect. 

Any suggestions on what to clean and oil it up with?

Jeff, and Alex, and Noah..........

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

I wouldn't use any oil or grease on the antenna as this will attract dust, and end up a horrible mess.

The rest of the internals, apart from the bushings, are supposed to be dry as well, because the "string" relies on friction against the drum to move it up and down.

They are easy to dismantle and clean, but do you have the Workshop Manual?   It describes it perfectly.

Bruce.

[Jeff Wilk]

Thanks.  I do have the Shop Manual.....actually never thought that this would be covered in it.  Sounds like another weekend project in the near future.  Thanks to all for the advice and money saved!!!

Jeff, Alex, and Noah

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Section 14, page 40 starts the removal, and on page 43, shows the Pioneer Antenna, and page 43 shows the Tenna Antenna.

Pictures are worth a thousand words, and these pictures take up a full page each.

Bruce.

[Eric DeVirgilis CLC# 8621]

The antenna on my '59 works but it is also very s l o w.

It barely worked at all when I first got the car but was able to rejuvinate by using some 000 grade steel wool and some WD-40 on the mast. Incredible how tall the 59/60 antenna is compared to those on the later cars.