Antenna with GPS Leads

Does anyone know how to open up the connectors on the antenna leads?

Yes, my antenna broke off during the big snow storm last month and I have yet to get up there and replace it. I can get in behind it by opening up the overhead console light panel. I can see 3 wires going up to the antenna. I suspect 2 are to the antenna and 1 might be a power feed to power the antenna base.

It seems I went through a rain storm recently and got a lot of water dripping down through the overhead console. I was able to clean all that up but when it happened I then lost the GPS. I suspect it has something to do with the single power lead going up to the antenna base.

Here are some pictures of the connectors. For the life of me I can't figure out how they come apart...

I'm guessing the white single wire connector is the power lead up to the antenna base. The black wires are the antenna wires. One is labeled GPS.

Anyone have any idea how to open the antenna connectors?

Hey folks, anyone have any experience with these dang plastic connectors on the antenna leads? How do you open them???

Not directly. My antenna was different but looking at the pics in your center pic it looks like the pink section is somewhat like a horseshoe or circlip that you could push back away with a pair of needle nose or a small screwdriver, or small screw driver slipped under the back of top pic, then pull the leads apart.

The color coding implies FAKRA A- (radio) and D- (GPS) code connectors - and the coax seems to be standard NVC3 which would be consistent. The male/plug is on the antenna base side; and the female/jack on the lines to the radio/gps. The jack side should have a plastic clip that needs to be lifted up to release the hook on the plug. See this for some help: https://sprinter-source.com/forums/showpost.php?p=442363&postcount=2

MikeSprints & HKPierce, thanks for the info. Turns out if you look at my first picture above left in the center of the connector the little darker square section which looks like a clip, if you push that down and pull at the same time you will get the connectors apart.

I have now unbolted the retaining bolt from the actual antenna on the back side of the roof metal and now I can see that the big threaded shaft goes up to a square that looks like it's pushed through from the outside. I've tried to push the threaded section up through the hole but it just will NOT budge. Is it supposed to be able to be pushed up through the hole?

This job is getting to be a pain in the ass!!!!

stew

Stew, It's the foam rubber gasket that has adhesive on it. They are stuck on good. I stabbed the threaded shaft up with the butt end of all peen hammer handle to get it started. Then topside I really had to rock the base back and forth to free it. The bottom layer of the gasket will remain stuck to the roof. I started to remove the residual foam and and adhesive with a terry cloth rag soaked with Xylene and scrubbed forever but it just moved around. Grabbed a sanding belt cleaner stick, which is like a giant rubber eraser, and that made it ball up and release. 3m makes a wheel that attaches to a drill for removing vinyl lettering and RV stripes, that would work too.
Then I taped the shiny paint (inside of the base's outline) and pre waxed and polished the surrounding area as rubber edge of the base turns white when waxing if contacted. The taped profile underneath was so the new gasket adhered well at the edges.

Ivessm said:

MikeSprints & HKPierce, thanks for the info. Turns out if you look at my first picture above left in the center of the connector the little darker square section which looks like a clip, if you push that down and pull at the same time you will get the connectors apart.
...
stew

Click to expand...

Well, I was wrong on the above set of instructions.

You can't push down on the little clip, it does not move and is a molded part of the part of the clip that pulls out of the connector. What you do to get these apart is, if you look at the pictures there's a rectangle you will see in the middle of the connectors. If you take a very small flat tip screw driver and slide it across the rectangle and into the "tunnel" where there is a connector that snaps over the clip, you can then pull the connectors apart.

Definitely over engineered.

stew