Power Antenna problem

I bought my 97 Aurora 2 years ago and haven't had to spend $1 on maintenance....until now. The power antenna would not go down one day and it drained the battery overnight. I replaced the relay and it still doesn't go down. I can hear a "tick" every few seconds from the motor itself when it is connected (I unhooked the power connection so it wouldn't drain the battery) but the motor itself does not start. The owners manual states you should be able to push the antenna down manually but you cannot. Possibly a seized motor? Anyone selling a power antenna motor? Anyone have any other thoughts......

Power antennae masts of these type have a common failure mode; the flexible nylon "rack" that engages with the drive-motor's pinion will break. You may, or may not be able to push the antenna back down as the entire mechanism may be binding. I have not taken one of these a part in some time so I am not certain how easily it can be repaired on the Aurora. You may want to take a look at EBay and do a search on “power antenna”. I have noticed several "stores" on EBay selling replacement parts for the power masts along with some simple instructions pertaining to their repair.

Let us know how you fare.

Thanks for the reply. I have taken the entire motor apart and the "rack" is fine, as is the pinion. It would appear the motor itself is ceased and not turning the pinion, which in turn is not turning the rack. The motor does not come on at all, only a "tick" every few seconds. Any other thoughts?

Cool! I did not realize you had already cracked it open. Well, no doubt you’ve already discovered the start/stop/reverse switch. Again, as I recall the switching is controlled by a mechanical device that is actuated by the motor’s torque. That is, when the motor extends the mast to it’s full-up/stop position the motor’s torque causes a switch to toggle the positive current to off on the “extend-side” of the motor winding (it’s a DC motor or course). At the same time the switch is oriented such that when it “sees” positive current applied to the “retract-side” of the motor’s windings (turn off the radio or the ignition) it will rotate in the opposite direction and pull the mast down. Hopefully that makes at least some sense.

The real point is that perhaps that spring-loaded mechanical switching mechanism is not functioning properly. Again, it’s only a guess on my part. Since you’ve had it apart I suspect you’ve given it a good inspection. It almost seems as if the switching mechanism isn’t being toggled when the mast is extended and therefore is not made ready for retraction when the radio/ignition is turned off. I’d investigate the switch and perhaps see if you can apply voltage to the opposite motor pole to see if you can make it retract. I assume you can manually wind the mast down when you have the unit cracked open(?).

Anyway, that’s the full breadth of my experience with the matter. Again, let us know how you fare.

Here's some additional stuff that I posted pertaining to the antenna:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=250905&highlight=antenna

Thanks for the info. I took your advice from your first post and bought a replacement from an Ebay auction. Hopefully this will solve the problem. If not I would gather its a short in the wiring and that's when the real fun will start! Thanks for your help.

Well, I installed the new antenna from AntennaX I got on Ebay and it works perfectly. The only difference between the stock and replacement antenna is the replacement has a longer mast. Also, the antenna rises and lowers about three times faster than the stock one. If anyone else is installing an AntennaX antenna remember to bypass the relay. Connect the wires going directly from the front of the car to the wirers on the new antenna. If you hook it up via the relay it won't work at all!

Well, I installed the new antenna from AntennaX I got on Ebay and it works perfectly. The only difference between the stock and replacement antenna is the replacement has a longer mast. Also, the antenna rises and lowers about three times faster than the stock one. If anyone else is installing an AntennaX antenna remember to bypass the relay. Connect the wires going directly from the front of the car to the wirers on the new antenna. If you hook it up via the relay it won't work at all!
what i didnt like about the antenna x model was the part that stuck up a bit from the body. however, they may have 2 types. I had a blown fuse the whole time i had the antenna x product, so i returned it and went to the junk yard for $50. once i fixed the fuse, antenna worked.