Aerial problems w202 c180

[Indyvidual]

Hey guys new to the forum, seeing as I bought my c180 w202 on sunday. Its manual, 92k on the clock, n plate for only £500. Had a mechanic friend look over it and he said it was sound. Really happy with it. However there is a slight problem.

When i bought the car it was from a guy who kept it in a garage. It seems the aerial had a problem where it wouldnt retract. You can hear the motor trying to work but it doesnt retract. I read up on it and tried cleaning it fully, adding a bit of wd40 overnight and seeing if it would be ok. As luck would have it, after just 1 night with the aerial up on my road a really nice person decided to snap it off

I found the aerial left next to my car snapped off with the white cable with teeth off. I managed to remove the excess bit of metal that was trapped in the aerial socket still in the car from the aerial and have ordered the new aerial. I followed the guide to install the aerial i found on here but ive run into difficulties. It seems that the motor wont catch the teeth of the white cable. Been at it for a couple of days and im getting really annoyed.Ive tried it at all different angles and now i fear the motor maybe damaged as well. But i can hear it working when the radio goes on and off.

Is there any1 who may have any ideas on how i maybe able to get the teeth to catch?

Thanks

-Indyvidual (sorry about the long post!)

 

[fuzzer]

It used to be possible to buy a replacement mast for the car. Give the dealer a call. Off the top of my head it used to be about £300 for a new aerial and about £50 for the mast.

As for fitting .. never did it myself.

 

[Indyvidual]

Sorry i forgot to mention the replacement ive been trying to fit is a new one and not the old broken one. Just having problem with the fitting

 

[BillyW124]

if you want to stay original: i'm pretty sure Merc uses Hirschmann.

i'm fitting a brand new maystar (company gone bust) which has been lying around in my uncles garage for years to my 124 on the weekend. The owner previously fitted a very cheap aftermarket arial which doesn't retract fully down either. I have just ordered the correct grommet that when installed will have the perfect angle the mast will pop out at giving it that original look. Again mine is fitted with the wrong grommet.

note: if you do replace the arieal have a look at the grommet itself. It may be worth changing this to a new rubber as the last thing you want is to leak rain into your boot.

if you do take the areial out and not bother with the grommet make sure you dont force pressure on the gommet itself otherwise it could miss align and cause leaks as mentioned.

recommend: Car-Masts-UK.com

they have a range of OEM spec arieals and replacement masts.

 

[Smiley]

Hey guys new to the forum, seeing as I bought my c180 w202 on sunday. Its manual, 92k on the clock, n plate for only £500. Had a mechanic friend look over it and he said it was sound. Really happy with it. However there is a slight problem.

When i bought the car it was from a guy who kept it in a garage. It seems the aerial had a problem where it wouldnt retract. You can hear the motor trying to work but it doesnt retract. I read up on it and tried cleaning it fully, adding a bit of wd40 overnight and seeing if it would be ok. As luck would have it, after just 1 night with the aerial up on my road a really nice person decided to snap it off

I found the aerial left next to my car snapped off with the white cable with teeth off. I managed to remove the excess bit of metal that was trapped in the aerial socket still in the car from the aerial and have ordered the new aerial. I followed the guide to install the aerial i found on here but ive run into difficulties. It seems that the motor wont catch the teeth of the white cable. Been at it for a couple of days and im getting really annoyed.Ive tried it at all different angles and now i fear the motor maybe damaged as well. But i can hear it working when the radio goes on and off.

Is there any1 who may have any ideas on how i maybe able to get the teeth to catch?

Thanks

-Indyvidual (sorry about the long post!)

This is really a two person job. You need one person in the car to turn the radio on. Feed the white cable into the aerial hole. Depending on which way around the aerial is fitted then the white teeth need to be facing the front or the rear of the car - poke it in and you should be able to get a feel for it. Then have your friend turn the radio off. The cable should catch very easily with only a small amount of wiggling. Then feed the whole aerial in and do up the 13mm nut. Job done.
Check that you have the equivalent mast to the old one - if it is a Hirschmann then there is a single number stamped in the very top surface of the antenna top - check you have the same number on the new one.

 

[Indyvidual]

This is really a two person job. You need one person in the car to turn the radio on. Feed the white cable into the aerial hole. Depending on which way around the aerial is fitted then the white teeth need to be facing the front or the rear of the car - poke it in and you should be able to get a feel for it. Then have your friend turn the radio off. The cable should catch very easily with only a small amount of wiggling. Then feed the whole aerial in and do up the 13mm nut. Job done.
Check that you have the equivalent mast to the old one - if it is a Hirschmann then there is a single number stamped in the very top surface of the antenna top - check you have the same number on the new one.

Thats exactly how i was doing it, had some1 helping me, but it just wont catch

The old aerial doesnt seem to have a number on it. The Hirshmann is number 11. The guy i bought it from said its compatible. Might he be wrong?

 

[Smiley]

Remove the aerial motor assembly from the car - that way you will be able to have a better look at it and should be able to see who the manufacturer is.

 

[Blackman]

As Smiley said, remove the unit completely from the car and disassemble it.

Then you will be able to put aerial inside, it will settle itself, once connected to the plug in the car.

 

[Indyvidual]

OK so I should be able to remove the bolt outside the car where the aerial is so it disconnects the motor and drops into the boot. Then i can look at the motor make sure its the correct aerial and try fitting it that way. Will update when i give it a go, most likely tomorrow now as its dark out and bit difficult to fiddle with this now.

 

[Blackman]

OK so I should be able to remove the bolt outside the car where the aerial is so it disconnects the motor and drops into the boot. Then i can look at the motor make sure its the correct aerial and try fitting it that way. Will update when i give it a go, most likely tomorrow now as its dark out and bit difficult to fiddle with this now.

You don't have to remove any bolts outside the car. Just undo the bolt that holds the aerial unit in place in boot, and then push the aerial in from the outside by holding the rubber thing. Then disconnect the plug, the radio lead and one more small bolt, which holds the short metal lead.

 

[Ben john]

If the picture is stable on your main TV, I don't see why it wouldn't be the same on the second TV. A splitter drops the signal by a little more than half (0.3 to 0.4 dB). If the main TV is stable with the splitter, the second TV should be also.

 

[Indyvidual]

OK so ive found that the motor seems to be an aftermarket one Really annoyed that i spend money on the aerial and now i need the motor aswell and have to replace the whole thing. I might just cut the white cord off the old aerial and put it back in the hole and disconnect the motor. That way it doesnt ruin the show of the car. Frustrating

 

[Smiley]

I thought that may have turned out to be the case. Have a look on ebay or a breakers for a used or new Hirschmann antenna - they are very robust and a s/h one is likely only to need a new antenna mast.

Also try euromerc to see if he has one.