Since buying the car about 6 years ago, my antenna has made what seemed to be a little more than 'normal' noise going up and down. The other day it finally stopped working.
Pulling it out I disassembled it as far as the mast and drive assembly but found nothing obviously broken or worn. All the teeth are there and appear to work properly. When I tested it unmounted a couple of times it began working so I reinstalled it. But it only worked once or twice before stopping again. It has power on both sides of the plug, but makes hardly any noise at all when the radio is turned on, just an occasional and faint 'click' sound.
Is there anything inside the motor assembly that I could check or service? I'm not great with electronic issues, but is there something obvious I might be missing that would explain the intermittent operation? Thanks,

 

Intermittent operation in the antenna is likely a broken or loose connector.

Been awhile since I've torn one of those apart, there may be a solder connection at the antenna motor that could use some resoldering.

 

Disassemble it again, and apply some white grease to the antenna. Spray the grease or oil on a cloth and apply to the entire antenna. This will keep it from sticking in the future.

Dion

 

one of the gears has 2 sets of teeth on it. just peering into it its not obvious. but if you pull it out you will see the other set of teeth that connect directly to the motor. its possible that is your problem. that was the case with mine. I ended up getting an adjustable flex antenna for like 10 dollars from walmart.

 

Well...there is always that option if you don't care about keeping the car anywhere near 'new' condition with everything operational. And obviously if you are on a budget it makes sense to 'cut corners'. Personally, I can't stand having ANYTHING that doesn't work, but that of course is my personal choice.

 

Mmmm. Maybe I'll break it down again and take another look. Thanks Dude (you'll never see me use that phrase again.)
If it can't be fixed, I'll probably spring for another antenna assembly, in my line of business, the retractable antenna is a good thing. Besides, I like keeping things like this 'stock'.

userjh5174...Appreciate the input but I don't think it's from lack of lubrication. Nothing seemed to bind and I re-lubed it with some grease that's similar to the stiff OEM stuff that was in there when I disassembled it the first time. I just didn't mention it.

jkstill....I checked on both sides of the connector and as far as I can tell with my poor skills in this area, I have continuity. If I tear it down again to check those teeth, I'll look closer at the solder joints etc.
Again, I probably should just buy a new assembly, but they're not cheap and I'd hate to have it be something stupidly simple.

 

I dont see how your post is very helpful to the original poster. Nor do i see how the choice of antenna's has anything to do with keeping a car in "new" condition. Maybe stock condition, but hardly anyone keeps their car stock on here. I also do not see how replacing a common failure point, (an expensive one at that) is considered "cutting corners". The small rubber antenna looks better then the enormous RC car look the factory one gives in its upright position. But this is all my OWN personal choice.

As another option a glass mount antenna could be used. I'll probably go this route when i fill the hole in the back.

 

Well...evidently YOU think so...lol! I think it looks like total rice but as we observed before...opinions only.

But you are correct and I apologize to Sgt. Blue, my post was not helpful to him at all.
Like you, I recently took my antenna completely apart WHEN I FIXED IT and noticed the same thing as you, so you could be on to something. Usually the rack on the mast loses a few 'teeth', but your gear observation could be spot-on.