Replaced the mast on Hirschmann motorized antenna on my 1990 300SEL. Now it doesn't go up when I turn on the radio. If I disconnect the connector in the trunk, I hear the motor working and trying to pull the mast down.
Looks like the motor is only running in the down direction.
Removed the fuse for the radio and the antenna to reset them, no change.

Does it sound like the motor is shot or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for any help.

Oops - meant to say when I disconnect the connector and then reconnect it the motor turns on again in the down direction. Can't get it to move in the up direction no matter what I do.

Could the +/- be backwards? I don't know, but that sounds like something to consider. What I know about electrical stuff could probably not fill the head of a pin, but COULD possibly get me killed one day. Just a suggestion.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

You have it wired backwards .

Is it working now?

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Thank you for the suggestions.
Sorry for the delay, did not want to indicate a lack of appreciation but must have my membership set wrong - I thought I would receive an email to tell me there were responses.

I don't think I could have it wired backwards because I haven't changed any of the wiring and the plug in the trunk coming from the radio only fits on the antenna motor one way.

Any other suggestions? I sure hate to buy a new motor and I know it was working before I replaced the mast!

Searched the forum until my eyes are bleeding.
Took the motor apart, found the classic broken tab anfd fixed it. Motor runs up and down by reversing power & ground direct to red and green motor wires. BUT stupidly didn't make a good drawing of the circuit board connections that I can read now.

Really need pinout on circuit board:

Viewed from the top, the left side has one connector, a space, and then 4 more connectors. I think I remember that the first was motor red, then motor green. For the next three connectors on the board I have another red, a brown, and a black coming from inside the cable connector on top of the case. Again, viewed from the top going down, what goes where?


Please help...Anyone????????????????

I sent you a PM....hope you received it. For the benefit of all, the wire colors are (left side, bottom to top) R-G-R-Blk-Br, (right side, bottom to top) W-Blu.

__________________
1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Thanks a million. Only can't tell if the first red is the plain one or the one from the motor.

I took the housing apart, cleaned the inside and repaired the wheel so the motor works great when direct red/green power is applied. Reattached the connector, I get nothing - no motor activity at all.

Take the connector off and re-attach it, motor runs in reverse and retracts the antenna.

Any suggestions on how to test radio control output without removing it by metering the pins on the connector? I guess that will tell me if the problem is the motor circuit board or the radio control output.


Any help still appreciated!!

Hirschmann 6000EL
Repaired the famous broken tab, motor works fine on the bench, doesn't work in the car.
Don't know how to test the circuit board.

Turn radio on or off, no antenna action. Take off the connector and then re-plug it in, antenna goes down. Never goes back up.

6 wire connector coming from radio: 3 is blank. #6 is permanent ground, #2 is always hot. With radio on, I found 6 is ground, 5 is 12v, 4 is 12v, 2 is 12v, and 1 is about 11.9v. Doesn't matter, antenna doesn't turn on. Any way to know for sure if circuit board is bad?

Circuit board hooked up top to bottom: on left, white then blue. On right, Red, then motor green, motor red, black, then brown. (Thought 1st position was motor red but Walter O. sent me a diagram showing regular red on #1.

Can anyone please, please help me?

What is the position of your dash antenna switch while you are testing? My shop manual diagram, for my W126, which may differ from your 1990 model, shows no direct connection to the antenna from the stock radio. Rather, the power to the antenna ciruit board is from the dash switch, antenna plug pins 5,6,and 2, and from the fuse, pin 1. Pin 3 is ground, pin 4 is unused. The 'trigger wire' from the radio goes to pin 1 on the dash switch.
If someone has wired in another radio/head unit, you may need to check the wiring to and from the dash switch, as it must be wired correctly to 'talk' to the circuit board in the antenna. I never found the switch to be anything but a nuisance, as I always want my mast up as high as it can go for best reception. The switch and antenna circuit board are designed to allow momentary 'bumping' to a selected height less than maximum.
Sorry, but I really don't know what exact steps to take to confirm the circuit board is working correctly. With the switch in the 'max' position, the mast should go full up when the radio is turned on. In the center position, it should go up about 30cm, then you can 'bump' the rocker to raise or lower it in increments. In the 'off' position, the mast will stay down, or retract if it is up.

__________________
1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Thank you again for hanging in with me on this.

I have the stock radio. When I got the car a couple months ago, it had been sitting for over 2 years. The mast was bent. I think I remember the motor making noise like it was alive in both directions but the bent mast only allowed a couple of inches of travel.

Since then the only "intervention" in the wiring was to take the center console plate off (complete with the switches) in order to refinish it. Didn't touch dash, radio, or antenna switch. If I weren't so tryinmg to preserve the original function (even though unnecessary), I would just buy a modern antenna, give up the switch, and in 20 minutes be in business.

We must have different wiring, because on this car the #3 is blank, not #4 like yours.

When I had a similar series of issues like yours, I finally gave up on the circuit board/switch. Years ago, those boards were available rebuilt, but very pricey, and in the end, not worth the functionality IMO. What I like about the Hirschmann design is the quality of the moving parts. So, I bought a relatively inexpensive aftermarket power antenna designed like the 6000EL and replaced the circuit board with the one from the new unit, wired into the motor leads internally. It worked great, only 3 wires needed, a 12V trigger from the radio (or ignition), a constant 12V, and ground. I tested the pins in the original plug and used the 3 I needed.

__________________
1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Sounds like where I'm going to end up.

What does "designed like the 6000EL" mean - what am I looking for in a new antenna? I think they are all 3-wire today, so what would make one brand better to use than another?
Any recollection of which one you bought?

Do I correctly understand that I would take the circuit board out of the new antenna and transplant it into the Hirschmann, then

1. Match the internal connection of the Hirschmann red and green motor wires to the same place on the new board that the new antenna like wires were connected,

2. Strip the wire bundle in the trunk coming from the radio/switch - I can easily identify the constant 12v and the permanent ground. Connect them to the board just as the like wires from the new antenna were connected , and

3. I will then still have 3 wires coming from the radio/switch - trial and error to find the right "trigger" wire? Hope I don't fry the new board while trying that. Best guess that trigger is the original blue? Any suggestion on how to identify the trigger right off without killing the new board?

I so much appreciate your help. I was trying to preserve the original functionality even though I would probably never use the manual antenna switch. If I was going to buy a new power antenna, I could see just using it as is to make my life easy, but on a good day I agree that the motor and gears in the Hirschmann will likely outlast anything I would otherwise buy and I could keep the original mounting.

I'm in Canada, so this may not be relevent to where you are, but it was a cheap (about $30.00) Carquest brand I ordered from a mail order supply here. In my experience, there seem to be 2 basic designs out there, that based on the Hirschmann, and one that seems very common on the Japanese imports like Mazda. The latter has a readily identifiable circular bulge on the casing that the nylon mast cord winds into. The Hirschmann copies have a box-like casing and internals that are almost exact to the Hirschmann, except cheap plastic and poor quality mechanical parts. You should be able to find one at local auto supply places. I don't know if the circuit boards in the Japanese style antennas will work, as the design is different and the 'sensing' of when to stop the motor, from an electrical signal, I think differs.

Yes, exactly right. I left the harness side plug alone and just modified the antenna side to use the 3 wires I needed. Makes a neater job and you're ready to plug in a new/better used Hirschmann later if one comes your way.

The 'trigger' is just 12V when the source is 'on'. By that I mean, you might want the antenna up only when the radio is on, or always when the car is running, or in the 'acc' key position. Since I always have my radio on, I just found a wire that is hot in the 'acc' key position only, which allows listening as long as the key is turned, engine running or not.
No danger of frying the new board if you only apply 12V to the designated wire. The 12V + 'trigger' will extend and keep the mast extended as long as the power is there. Removing power turns the motor on in reverse direction, from the constant 12V in the other wire. When bench testing, remember to attach the - ground wire to the battery/battery charger and a ground to the antenna body (the braided wire on the top of the mast casing). Fooled me into thinking it didn't work several times before I caught on.

I guess the economics of this exercise will vary greatly. At the time I converted mine over, it was a choice between a used EBay replacement, with possibly the same end result (bad board), or saving the old one for less than $50.00. If you're already out the $ for a new mast, and with the time already invested, this may be a similar saving/compromise.

Later today, I'll take a picture of the unit and you can see how the donor board fits. It's out of the car now, since I did eventually find a good replacement that works perfectly, but I used the mast from my converted one in the replacement. Also, this old 'gal did several years duty in my now gone Mazda 929, so the wires you see have been changed around several times. At one point, I wired in a toggle switch to keep the mast always up in winter, as the ice kept jamming it. The switch essentially made the trigger wire always 'hot' with ignition on.

EDIT: I just went on fleabay and guess what....this guy is selling circuit boards for $9.99! Sounds fishey to me, but you might be interested. He's worded the description carefully, the board itself that he is selling is not quaranteed to work, it's just the one "that works for most Mercedes models" http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-SL500-E320-S500-HIRSCHMANN-ANTENNA_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQitemZ310105984505QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5f PartsQ5fAccessories
And here is the complete 6000el stock from antenna world, with whom I did some business back in the day. We're on our own now! But just look at this pile of goodies! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lot-Hirschmann-6000EL-Mercedes-Antenna-Repair-parts_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp3286Q2em20Q2el1116QQitemZ110318587440QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPa rtsQ5fAccessories

__________________
1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus