I recently bought an '88 560 sl that had been neglected for the better part of 10 years. The good news is that it only has 41,000 miles on it...but it is going to take so TLC to get this car back in shape. My problem is that the radio antena is stuck in the up postion which prevents me from putting on the car cover which is needed because I dont have any garage space available. The antanea motor doesn't even make a sound when I hit the switch. Radio still works fine. I was thinking it may be a bad switch or perhaps a bad motor. Does anyone have any thoughts?

CMP outside NYC

The radio would work as the mast is still receiving a signal. If the mast was frozen/rusted, the motor would still attempt to retract/extend if it was working despite a frozen mast. Easiest is locate the fuse for the antenna and check that it's not blown or corroded at it's contacts. (worth changing to brass fuses as the alloy originals corrode in contact with the brass connectors) If all's well there, Get a test light and check the connectors on the actual motor to see if it's getting power. If no power, test the switch with the test lamp to establish if it's faulty. If you have power to the antenna and it still doesn't work, good chance it's lunched. The motor in the antenna works on a brass worm drive, so if alive it will still make some noise. If there are sounds of life, try lubricating the mast with wd40 first. If it;s a no go, remove and inspect the internals, they are a relatively simple assembly and an internal check as a last resort will establish if it's corroded beyond repair or repairable. Start with the simple checks first before looking at the expensive options.
Good luck.

If you need a quick fix, unscrew the top nut on the fender, and pull the antenna and its tail out. Try to collapse the antenna. If it is bent and won't move easily, cut the tail off and put it back together as a manual antenna. Or just plug the hole.

__________________
Chuck Taylor
Falls Church VA
'66 200, '66 230SL, '96 SL500. Sold: '81 380SL, '86 300E, '72 250C, '95 C220, 3 '84 280SL's '90 420SEL, '72 280SE, '73 280C, '78 280SE, '70 280SL, '77 450SL, '85 380SL, '87 560SL, '85 380SL, '72 350SL, '96 S500 Coupe

Thanks for your help. I just replaced the antenae motor and now it works perfectly.