Roof antenna for E320 Coupe (C124)

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LoveMercs

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Dec 18, 2007
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Hello!

I've got a 1993 E320 Coupe and would dearly like to fit a DAB/FM bee-sting antenna to the roof. Without removing the headliner, a bit of a poke with my finger suggests I could either mount it to the rear of the interior light, or - maybe! - just in front of it, which I would prefer. But I'm not sure how far back the sliding sunroof mechanism extends. And I don't want to remove the headliner and start drilling holes in the roof before running it past you wizards.

Has anyone removed the roof lining on the C124 Coupe with a sunroof? If so... a pic would be nice! Is there room between the sunroof and the rear interior light assembly for the 1/2" diameter hole I'd need to drill for the antenna?

Any other comments? And can you recommend the definitive "thread" for removing the rear section of the headliner?

Cheers peeps!
 
It will almost certainly be above the rear interior light. I am considering doing the same to the B class, but unsure of final appearance, and I have lost the AM signals, LW & MW, so the amplifier may be up the swanny.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Can you please clarify what you mean by "above" the rear interior light? If it's literally "above", that would mean the antenna wires and mount intruding into the space occupied by the lightbulb, surely? Or do you mean "in front", ie, towards the front of the car?
 
Why do you want to drill a hole in the roof? Fit a splitter and leave the roof alone.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Can you please clarify what you mean by "above" the rear interior light? If it's literally "above", that would mean the antenna wires and mount intruding into the space occupied by the lightbulb, surely? Or do you mean "in front", ie, towards the front of the car?

I have a B Class with a B sting antenna on the roof. To remove the antenna I have to remove the rear interior light which is located way back in the car. If you have a coupe then it would not be above the light as your light is probably in the centre of the rood lining, I should have read it better :D and yes all the wiring is above the roof lining for my antenna.
 
Why do you want to drill a hole in the roof? Fit a splitter and leave the roof alone.
Thanks for the reply.

A previous owner has filled in the hole in the rear wing where the standard antenna was mounted, in favour of a rear windscreen antenna. It's crap (even for just FM) and I have a decent (Hirschmann) bee sting antenna handy, so I'd like to use that.

Presumably you don't happen to know if there's room between the front of the rear light and the sliding roof mechanism for the 1/2" hole required to mount an antenna?
 
I don't off the top of my head but can find out if you can wait a couple of days.

Have you considered putting an ordinary telescopic antenna inside the rear wing where the original one used to be? I've no idea if the reception would suffer much from being inside but there should be room enough to have it fully extended alongside the sunroof motor. I've thought of doing this on mine before, that way I could eliminate the hole in the wing. I don't like holes in panels...
 
If you're still determined to make a hole in your roof, below pictures show the inside of a saloon roof. I'd imagine a coupe to be similar although there is additional strength built in to that part of the roof to compensate for the loss of the B-pillar.
 

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IMHO you'd have to be barking mad to drill a hole in the roof of a W124 to fit an aerial

If you do, look forward to obnoxious wind noise and water leaks

Nick Froome
 
I have a roof aerial on my W124 coupe' that was fitted from new, so it can be done. I've also seen a few others with the same aerial.
 
Thanks for the photos. The saloon's roof is "longer" than the coupe's though, so there's probably considerably less space.
 
I have a roof aerial on my W124 coupe' that was fitted from new, so it can be done. I've also seen a few others with the same aerial.
Ah, interesting. Is it right at the rear of the roof, and located in the center? Any chance of a photo?
 
Won't a stick on window DAB aerial suffice?
I'd really like to use this (expensive) antenna I already have here if possible. Plus, I've heard the stick on glass ones aren't very good, and I absolutely HATE drop-outs when listening to the radio!
 
IMHO you'd have to be barking mad to drill a hole in the roof of a W124 to fit an aerial

If you do, look forward to obnoxious wind noise and water leaks

Nick Froome
I imagine wind noise would be more of a problem if the antenna were mounted at the front of the roof. A lot of cars have bee stings mounted at the rear, so I'm reasonably optimistic about installing it there IF there's the space for it. But so far I've yet to see any photos of the rear of the inside of the coupe roof without its headliner.
 
It is at the front, sorry I do not have a photo to hand showing the aerial
 
To answer my own question: yes, there is room to install an antenna
between the rear interior light and the sunroof case, and here's the proof:

car.jpg
but it's a BIG job, at least it seems to be so if you've never removed the headliner before.
I could probably get it down in a few hours now that I know how everything bolts
and clips together. It would have been far quicker if I'd put it at the front of the car but I
don't think that looks as good, and would probably have generated more windnoise, too.

If I hadn't had this bee-sting antenna sitting around I'd probably have put
a sharkfin on; they're a bit more robust. The bee-sting gives great reception,
though, far better than the old stick-on glass antenna it replaced.
 

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