retro fit aftermarket elec aerial into vh sle

[82vhsle]

I have an vh sle and the original aerial has failed. I have purchased an aerpro branded electric aerial which is supposed to fit vb - vl. I cannot get this aerial to operate with the existing module. the new aerial will only work when radio is on. I cannot get it to operate via the override switch on the dash. has anyone ever tried this please and is there a way around it so it will work like the original unit. thanks for looking.
cheers
aaron

 

[hakhawk]

did you get a semi auto antenna or full auto?

im not familiar with the vh switch, does it control the height or just complete up/down?

 

[c2105026]

I have a full auto for the VB, I took the whole factory system out, left switch in the dash for looks but it is disconnected. Mine's hardwired into the radio. I get the impression that's the way the aftermarket unit is supposed to be?

 

[hakhawk]

you can by semi and full auto aftermarket.

semi is just 2 wires to the motor, need to apply power to one and negative to other, and vice versa to wind antenna up or down.

fully auto requires constant wire, then trigger wire(accesories from key, or antenna wire from aftermarket radio) to tell it to go up, remove trigger tells it to go down.

 

[Tasmaniak]

semi auto is da ghey. have to use relays.

 

[Darren_L]

I haven't seen semi-automatic for sale aftermarket in a long time
Aeropro only seems to list a full auto aerial for the Commodore.

I plan on fitting one to my VH. It hasn't got an electric aerial at all, but I have installed the switch.
I'm just going to get a full auto aeropro (because I can't find a semi-auto) and pull it apart, convert it over to a full manual aerial so I can control it with the switch.

 

[82vhsle]

thanks for the input guys.
it is a full auto aerial. the switch controls the height ( up & down ).
will a semi auto aerial work like the original? do you need to put relays with it to work?
thanks again.
cheers

 

[Darren_L]

The VH SL/E aerial is a 'semi-automatic'
full auto means there is no up or down control.
When you turn the radio on the aerial goes fully up, and when you turn the radio off it goes fully down.

So your best solution is to buy a semi-auto aerial. However I haven't seen a semi-auto aerial for sale for a long time. Aeropro is the main aftermarket supplier and they only list a full auto aerial.

If I can't find a semi-auto aerial, I'm going to buy the full auto aerial and pull it apart, and remove/disable any of the 'full auto' components and just wire it up so it works off the up/down switch. However only downside is it won't auto retract when the ignition is turned off...

 

[jandjmc]

You can wire a fully auto aerial to work with the OE wiring and module, basically the original semi auto aerial uses a seperate 12v up signal and a seperate 12v down signal, whereas the new fully auto aerials requires two 12volt supplies to make it extend and by removing one of them the aerial retracts.

Attached is the wiring I used and the module works exactly the same as the original using all the original parts, Aerial module and dash switch. I can't remember what diodes I used, but the antenna fuse's were only 5 amp and jaycar could advise on the best one to use.

By using a diode the 12v "up supply" is supplied to both terminals on the fully auto aerial. When the radio is turned on the aerial will extend approx 150mm like the original. and can be extended the rest of the way using the dash switch. When either the radio is turned off or the ignition is turned off, the aerial module will only supply 12v to the down terminal on the aerial (the diode prevents voltage to the up terminal of the aerial).

 

[Darren_L]

You can wire a fully auto aerial to work with the OE wiring and module, basically the original semi auto aerial uses a seperate 12v up signal and a seperate 12v down signal, whereas the new fully auto aerials requires two 12volt supplies to make it extend and by removing one of them the aerial retracts.

Attached is the wiring I used and the module works exactly the same as the original using all the original parts, Aerial module and dash switch. I can't remember what diodes I used, but the antenna fuse's were only 5 amp and jaycar could advise on the best one to use.

By using a diode the 12v "up supply" is supplied to both terminals on the fully auto aerial. When the radio is turned on the aerial will extend approx 150mm like the original. and can be extended the rest of the way using the dash switch. When either the radio is turned off or the ignition is turned off, the aerial module will only supply 12v to the down terminal on the aerial (the diode prevents voltage to the up terminal of the aerial).

very helpful, thanks for that
I'll save your diagram for when I hook my aerial up.