Power Antenna Repair- a few questions

[viper69]

All you need to remove is the nut at the top of the mast. The base of the mast has a ferrule that wants to get stuck in the socket but all and all it is very easy - a 1 wrencher. The hardest part is getting the new mast spline to bite into the motor gears - it may take a few shots.

The instructions on the bag are actually very helpful.

...Lee

Thanks..I just pulled it open..there was a fair amount of black "sludge" in between some of the teeth. However nothing major, I cleaned it off, and that didn't help any. I think the motor itself is OK.

QUESTION. After I undid the nut on the black rubber antenna mount, the old spline remains inside the housing. How does one take it out??? I'm clearly missing something very simple or obvious. I didn't want to pull on the spline, because I concerned about potentially damaging the gears of the antenna motor itself. For something so simple..this is a real pain.

[viper69]

Any suggestions or ideas on my last question?

[Ozark Lee]

Are there any bent sections on the mast?

Even the slightest bend will hang the system up. You can bend things back by hand.

...Lee

[viper69]

No there are not...none that I've detected. I certainly haven't driven by anything to get it bent either.

[BEJinFbk]

The spline "belt" is attached to the mast.
It's driven by a gear in the motor, but that's all that "connects" it to the motor.
With the nut removed and the cap broken loose, have an assistant turn the radio
on to raise the antenna. Then just pull up at the motor's feed rate and keep on pullin'.

BE SURE to note the direction of the spline teeth when you remove it!
You'll need to orient the spline the same direction for reinstallation.

When you reinstall, it's the same only backwards. Get the motor pulling down,
( turn the radio off so the motor "lowers") feed the spline into it and let it pull it in.
Reassemble and tighten!

[viper69]

The spline "belt" is attached to the mast.
It's driven by a gear in the motor, but that's all that "connects" it to the motor.
With the nut removed and the cap broken loose, have an assistant turn the radio
on to raise the antenna. Then just pull up at the motor's feed rate and keep on pullin'.

BE SURE to note the direction of the spline teeth when you remove it!
You'll need to orient the spline the same direction for reinstallation.

When you reinstall, it's the same only backwards. Get the motor pulling down,
( turn the radio off so the motor "lowers") feed the spline into it and let it pull it in.
Reassemble and tighten!

Thank you, I know the spline is attached to the mast, and I understand what you mean about feeding it in and taking it out. But here's what doesn't make sense to me.

As the motor is only on for a given amount of time, that means the spline can only travel a certain length. If that's the case, how does one feed in the appropriate length of spline?? Someone is going to say "turn the radio on and off 20 times." I've seen that posted elsewhere for the Volvo on the internet.

However, what I don't understand is if I am able to feed in a given amount for example 3 inches (im making this up), and I need 6 inches of spline in then, After I turn ON the radio a 2nd time, it will push out the spline, and my 3 inches will be spit out, then when I turn it off, it will take up 3 inches again. So in a given ON/OFF radio cycle it will give me a net movement of zero.

It's not that I don't believe you haha...It's that I don't understand exactly, as illustrated by my example.....Further clarification?? Sorry..

[BEJinFbk]

I haven't had one of those apart for a while, but I can tell you it's not timed.
As long as the radio is on, it gets power to a DPDT relay that reverses the motor
when power is cut. Then when the motor reaches "end of travel", it shuts off.

IIRC, there's a set of contacts in there that detects the torque at the clutch
or the two ends of the antenna. I wish I had a better answer...
Again, it's been ages since I opened one of those things up, but I don't remember
a timing circuit. There's a cheaper, electro-mechanical way to cut power.

You may just have a drive unit fulla crud or a broken chunk of spline in there.

[matthew1]

Just for anyone following this saga at home: antenna mast lubrication is a service item in the 850 manual, and probably a service item for S70/V70/XC70/C70 models with a telescoping mast as well.

[jblackburn]

As the motor is only on for a given amount of time, that means the spline can only travel a certain length. If that's the case, how does one feed in the appropriate length of spline?? Someone is going to say "turn the radio on and off 20 times." I've seen that posted elsewhere for the Volvo on the internet.

Nah. The motor runs for about 30 seconds or so, it should give you enough time to get the strip in there within a few tries. As BEjinFBK said, it then gives up when it reaches a certain resistance.

So, basically, once you get it to grab, if it doesn't take it all in on the first try, turn the radio on and off again (quickly - it will reverse the direction of the motor), and it should go all the way down by itself. Screw the nut down, then make sure it goes up, and done!

Matt, that's in the manual for the S70 as well. It's something that's easy to forget about til it starts making noise, or destroys itself in the winter.

[viper69]

Ahh I see..I'll give it a go...IF the spline is not exactly lined up..do I run the risk of chewing up bits of new spline and having them get caught up in the gears of the motor?