Radio Information - Power Antennae - Irratic Behaviour

[sperold]

93 SHO - Power antennae worked great for a while, then did not go up or down at all for a week or so(that was after I put WD-40 on the mast). A week later, mast goes up and down at random while driving along with the radio on. Now, for the last few days, it seems to be working properly.
If I am going to troubleshoot this..... where should I look?

 

[sperold]

Got another symptom to share, I am driving this car now on a regular basis, so the symptoms are easier to observe.
When the mast goes up and down, the radio is turning on and shutting off. There is a better chance that the radio will play if the mast does not go up when the key first goes on. Every now and then, the radio will play when the mast is up.

All I know is,...... a radio with an amplifier uses a signal wire to turn on the amp. This same wire is used to run the antennae as well. Am I on the right track or is this ground or something else?

Anyone have any wire colour codes for a 93 SHO stock radio with a tape or CD thing below it.

 

[sperold]

What do you think of this.
I was sitting in the back seat with the accessories key position on, and the radio off, while working on my rear door power windows. All the time I was doing this, the antennae would extend and retract, not continuously, just when it felt like it.
Got the rear window motors regreased and working and put everything back together, and moved to the front passenger door set-up, as I had to change a mirror as well.
Put everything back together.... radio works A1 and the antennae works like it should also.
I am going to pull the radio out and have a look behind it to check the wiring situation. So far my advice to anyone having Antennae or radio problem is.... get your power windows working.

 

[93markVIII]

factory radio?

sounds like a wiring issue to me.

 

[sperold]

I don't want to take up too much time on a quirky topic, but I have to say that since I got the rear windows working, the radio and antennae have worked flawlessly.
The rear windows did not move at all, and when I took things apart, the mechanism had rust (around where the gears mesh) and there was no electrical activity when the switches were cycled. I could swear that by handling the switches while trying to troubleshoot, I could make the antennae begin its cycle (sometimes). I installed new motors, and away things went.
Am I crazy to think this unrelated matter had an effect?
Anyways, so far, so good.

 

[ctubutis]

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[SHOdded]

Seriously nice work on that 93 SHO. Is this kind of work your trade, or a hobby?

 

[sperold]

Yea, I was too quick to think my problem was solved. After a week of it working properly, it is now acting like an old tube radio, it comes on about a minute after you turn it on. You are right about the radio turning off and on and triggering the antennae, in the past.
I am going to try a different head unit and see if things improve. I appreciate the picture of the antennae circuit. If you have anything on the radio itself, it would also be appreciated.
I too am a Tempo fan, and good luck with that project

 

[ctubutis]

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[sperold]

Thanks to everyone who responded to this thread. Special thanks to ctubutis for the PDF - 19 pages of radio fun.

 

[ctubutis]

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[sperold]

Not fully solved yet as I have no replacement head unit, but it is coming. I believe all my trouble are in that unit.
As far as getting a cassette out of my current unit, I did get Error 2 message on the screen and no amount of pushing the eject button helped. What I did find out is the top comes off the radio without the need for tools, so I will lift the top panel, and my cassette unit is right there with all the mechanical wonders exposed.
I will let you know how that goes in a day or so.
Again, thanks for the wiring diagrams for all the systems. Can you post the pictures of the 4 head units that you sent me, on this thread. That helped me a lot, as who knows how many combinations are possible until you see the selection.

 

[ctubutis]

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[sperold]

That is the one.
The EPH130 pdf (thread #9) and this picture will become the bible of SHO radios.
I see a Tempo brochure hiding behind the photo, great little cars. That is the era when Ford ruled the world, 2 best selling cars in their classes. Enought said.

 

[ctubutis]

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[sperold]

Yup, you will see me on the Tempo / Topaz forum as well.
It seems everyone ends up with a free Tempo at some point. My wife's father gave his 91 Tempo to her when he gave up driving, and it is still going strong. All the kids learned how to drive on it. Lots of little repairs over the years but the parts are almost free.

Back to the radio.

I popped the top off the radio and the stuck cassette tape came right out when I moved a couple of levers at the top of the system.
The left-side-of-the-car speakers were not functioning with my original radio. I popped in another radio and everything plays as it should. A lot of problems solved with just one thing.

 

[ctubutis]

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[sperold]

Yea, do the moderator request to free up your side of the system. They could somehow make it a sticky in this section.
Otherwise, have a post where you direct everyones attention to the PDF for a period of a month or so, then pull it down. I have copied it onto my computer for safe-keeping.
It is probably not getting the attention it deserves now because of my wacky title, which doesnot have much to do with this great radio write-up.
I changed the title to Radio Information - to give it a bit more relevance.