2002RX300

Hey,

I've been having issues with the antenna mast not extending or retracting fully, only goes about a quarter of each way. I check the antenna mast teeth and all the gears in the motor are all good.

I even pulled the motor out of the plastic housing and checked it by itself. Even by itself the motor only spins partly for a quarter extend or retract. All the solder points look good as well on the board.

I thought it might've been just a week battery, so I replaced the 5year old battery with a new one, but still same thing. Now I'm thinking it's receiving a bad signal from the head unit, so there must be a reset of the stereo to factory maybe besides disconnecting the battery?

salimshah

Never heard of such a thing. It does not mean that since I am not aware it does not exist

I would suggest that you take the mast off and mechanically verify that the mast extends and retracts on the bench with ease. Fully extend and roll it to see if there is a bend or kink.

The next thing to check would be the antenna motor. Maybe it can not generate the torque needed. After cleaning and proper lubing if it still does not work as expected, swap it out.

Just weigh out your time (translate that into $$) and subtract enjoyment of doing it. Check the price in used market. Then maybe you can skip cleaning and lubing.

Salim

VegasRX300

^ What Salim said. I suspect its the antenna mast itself. It might not fully extend. That would be the first thing I would check.
I bought a used antenna motor off eBay. I installed it without first checking the antenna extended all the way. It didn't.
All I had to do was buy a new mast, install it (after I made sure the motor was clean and gears were lubed)

I missed the part where you stated that the motor was not functioning properly. Was the antenna still attached when you checked the motor?