Since I live in an area with a lot of salt in the winter, the antenna constantly gets dirty and now after a year stopped working again. (Yes I probably should have cleaned it more often). Anyway, is it possible to just bypass the whole power antenna and just put one in that stays up all the time. I mean I would like for it to be manually removed or at least pushed down when needed. Is this possible?

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1985 500SEL 124k miles
2001 Honda Civic EX

...or did you mean 'when not needed' (for the radio), or when needed to deter theft/vandalism? At any rate, you could probably use almost any manual antenna, which you'd manually push down/pull up, but you might need an adaptor for the Mercedes plug-in from the radio. Some come with the right fitting, though, so check first. I don't know of any antenna that can be 'unplugged' (and put in the car?) when not in use. Maybe one of those inside electronic antennas might be an answer?

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Well basically I want it to be up all the time except during car washes and other places it can be bent. I just got tired of the power antenna constantly breaking down and needing attention.

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1985 500SEL 124k miles
2001 Honda Civic EX

I heard not too long ago that the antenna isnt even used for the radio reception but only for the optional telephone. The radio antenna is somewhere i think in the rear window.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

Well, here's a suggestion, although it makes me cringe to say it because I've practically made a hobby out of refurbishing my worn out Hirschmanns: Open up the casing (flat blade screwdriver works best, insert between the catches and twist slightly, then gently pry out one catch at a time. They pop nicely once started. No need to remove antenna from car). Inside, you'll see a small curved plastic cover piece with 2 screws. This is part of the guide for the toothed plastic piece that the gears engage to push/pull mast. Remove this cover piece and, with the antenna fully down, cut the toothed piece with wirecutters. You should now be able to pull and push the mast manually.

(added edit 2004/06/25)
I got my new-to-me Hirschmann (EBay $60.00) on Tuesday. I went out at 6:00PM last night, opened it up, completely disassembled and cleaned it, put in a new mast (EBay $20.00), then made up a new bracket (it was from an '89 with the shorter tube), and had it all done by 10:00PM.
Those are beautifully working units, when they work of course. You should re-think this and make it a point to wipe the mast down bi-weekly with silicone sprayed on a rag. It should work forever.

PS: The antenna in your car is definitely for the radio

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

I changed two cars and both times i had to deal with a broken antenna. Of course the first time took longer. Basically I just got a working antenna from dismantlers (50). However, when i came home i found my antenna to have a different plug. (a 3-spoke instead of a 5-spoke). That was my first DIY piece - i just took the new one apart, found that cleaning was unnecessary and switched the plugs and their circuit boards. Put everything back together and stuck it into my car. Worked perfectly. Then when i got a new (15 years new) car, same problem - no antenna. This time it was simpler. However, this car seems to struggle with my antenna as if it did not have enough power to pull it down against the resistance due to tension. Cried for a day thinking my DIY trophy just became useless. Day later worked it out by spraying it (the antenna) with some silicon-based lubricant. So i figured just cleaning it periodically really helps.
So, adding to what donbryce said - Hirschmann and SILICONE forever.

Otherwise, there are many non-automatic antennas outthere. Just find the one that will fit into the hole and still be held by the original rubber pieces and install it instead of the original. (that is relatively easy to do). You may also want to try looking for newer rubber pieces if the original ones wont hold. And i bet that you will find that the the original antenna cable will fit the new antenna. Poke it first though, just to be sure.

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[b]


1990 300E 152k 'Pink'
1989 260E 82k (rip) 'Cookie'

Do not cut the toothed line. The mast will free fall. i thought it would work and did that some time ago. Do not cut it. Pop the worm gear out and leave the push line to hold the mast up.

Thanks for the clarification. I certainly didn't think that suggestion through! And for the price of a good manual antenna, I hope he either removed the Hirschmann and replaced it, or repaired it.

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

No I just left it as is. It's now stuck in the up position. Works for me.

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1985 500SEL 124k miles
2001 Honda Civic EX

Attn Donbryce or anybody else who might know the answer to this.

I have two of these power antennas, both from 1990 300TE. One of them works just great, but the other one will only raise up 13 inches or so, at a time. The PO had this problem, and so the mast corroded to this height. I replaced the mast, and this did not fix the problem. I switched antennas between both vehicles and know that it is the antenna itself, and not the vehicles wiring, or radio, or antenna button at fault. It is the antenna. With the antenna button in the up position, when you turn the radio on, the ant goes up about 13 in. If you turn the power off, but then turn it back on quickly, it will go up another 13 inches or so. Do you know how to fix this problem?

Update...I was tinkering around with the defunct unit on the bench, and this is what seems to be happening. Pin 5, which becomes +12v when you turn on the radio, seems to be causing the antenna to glitch. If I bypass pin 5, then everything works fine, except the radio no longer controls the antenna. I do not know much about electronics, but this seems to be a logic problem.
Example of a simple logic circuit...your third brake light.
If A (your left brake light) is +12v
and
If B (your right brake light) is +12v
then
C (your third light) will also be +12v and light up.

If A or B is not +12v, which is the case with a brake/turn signal assy that is, say currently signaling a right turn, the logic circuit prevents your third brake light from blinking as well. At least this is how I understand the whole thing.

Now, the antenna has similar logic circuits on the circuit board. I looked over the board, and it seems fine. All the wires are hooked up fine and have solid continuity. I am not knowledgable on how to test specific circuits, so this is where I stop. I am going to bypass wire 5 internally by rerouting 5 over to pin 1 on the board. This will bypass the max position on the antenna switch, but should max the antenna everytime the radio wire (#5) is active. Maybe a board will turn up somewhere for cheap so I can do this right.

Thanks

Sounds like the problem is indeed in the circuit board, which is what I'd have suspected. I don't know about the 1990 TE model with the Hirschmann, but here's a couple of diagrams from my reference manual for general interest. The internal setup of the control appears to have been changed to a solid state circuit board early 80's, and may have been changed again in yours.

(just read your post on changing the internal wires. That appears to agree with the diagram for the 84/85 126, sending the signal from the radio (pin 5)to where the antenna would get a signal for 'full up' from the switch, pin 1)

Attached Thumbnails

   

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1986 560SL
2002 Toyota Camry
1993 Lexus

Hi Don..thanks for catching my posts.

The funny thing here....why does power to pin 5 PREVENT the antenna from rising properly. Since it seems to simulate the antenna switch in mid position, I would assume the flaw is that power to pin 5 turns off the power coming from pin 1....but who knows...hehe

I guess I could yank the known good board, and go side by side getting readings from resistors, capacitors, diodes....use that logic tester I have to get some info from the two chips I remember seeing there.....NAW...too much time, and not enough knowledge. Besides, I got an oil pan to replace....thanks again