DIY: Quick and Easy Antenna Relay Solution for Those Who Have Aftermarket Spoilers

MrPeacock72 · 11-29-07, 09:40 PM

As the title states, this is a really simple and fairly inexpensive remedy to the spoiler/ power antenna problem that we face. For those of us who weren't blessed with that wonderful dealer option that came with a relay and stronger trunk springs, I took matters into my own hands and relayed my antenna myself.

For those of you who don't know, the engineering marvels at Acura didn't realize (or maybe they did but didn't care, hmm...) that the placement of the antenna, when fully extended, would interfere with the spoiler when the trunk was being raised. Instead of relocating the antenna, they decided to offer a relay for the antenna to go down when the trunk was opened.

Now finding this "magical" relay nowadays is virtually impossible, so you're either stuck with turning your system off eveytime you need to access your trunk, or lifting the trunk a part of the way and reaching in for what you're looking for. Either way, it sucks monkey balls...

Ok... enough with the history lesson... on with the DIY!

Mind you, I have done all of my own stereo installs on every car that I have ever owned, so I have most of this stuff lying around the house all of the time. The materials you will need to do this install with a minimal amount of frustration are:

1. One (1) Bosch-style relay. You get them off Ebay, but I chose to get mine from Oreily's Auto Parts. It was $3.70 w/tax and right down the street.

*NUGGET OF INFO*
Most of your typical Bosch-style relay are single pole, double throw (30, 85, 86, 87, 87a) which allows you to alternate between 87 and 87a. However, this particular relay does not work that way. It acts more like a single pole, single throw (30, 85, 86, 87), although it has five (5) pins, it has two (2) identical 87 pins which makes them act the same way. By the way, if you're planning on tackling the JDM headlight DIY, do NOT buy these relays. I found out the hard way that these were not the ones I needed. Go on and get the ones from Ebay with the #87 and #87a. It will save you a week of frustration and throwing tools around. It not necessary for this relay to have the 87a pin, because it will not be needed anyway. Note the values of the pins are diagramed in the pic below.

2. One (1) ratchet, one (1) 10mm socket, and one (1) 1/4" socket and philips bit OR a bits holder and philips bit.

3. 18-gauge wire long enough to cut into strips (12 ft. minimum to ensure you have plenty).

4. Four (4) female insulated slide connectors. $1.99 for a pack of 5 @ Radio Shack.

5. One (1) roll each of electrical and masking tape.

6. One (1) small bolt and nut.

7. One (1) pair of wire cutters/ strippers.

8. One (1) soldering iron (my choice).

9. One (1) roll of solder (also my choice).

10. One (1) pair of crimpers.

11. One (1) ball point ink pen or permanent marker (Sharpie).

12. One (1) flat head screwdriver

*OPTIONAL MATERIAL*
13. One (1) pack of butt connectors (in lieu of solder and iron).

You can remove the trunk interior trim to access the antenna, however, I chose to just peel back that corner. It didn't hurt the trim, and it looked fine when I put it back into place. Now what you want to look for is the harness that goes to the antenna as seen in the pic below. Unplug the harness. There are three (3) colored wires attached to the motor itself (black, yellow/white, and white/yellow). Locate the yellow/white wire and cut it in half. It will more than likely be the one in the middle (also pointed out in the pic).

First, cut one (1) three-foot section of wire, and three (3) one-foot sections of wire, strip about 1/4" of insualtion off both ends of each, and crimp one of your slide connectors to just ONE end of each wire. Next, take a piece of masking tape and your pen (or Sharpie) to lable your connections as follows: "to antenna harness #30" "to antenna motor #87" "trunk light #86" "ground #85". See pic below.

Now locate your trunk light housing, pry it off the cover using the the flat head screwdriver. Then pry out the housing and disconnect the harness from the light. The power from the trunk light coming on will be your activator for the relay to retract the antenna. On one side of the light housing, there is something that looks like a resistor soldered to it. Take your three (3) foot wire and solder the 1/4" exposed wire to it as seen in the pic below (or wrap it around if no solder).

Now feed the wire through the channel where the light sits down the side next to the antenna and motor. Connect the harness back to the light, and push light housing back into place. If you go back to pic #4, you will see that the antenna motor harness is held in place by a nut and bolt. This is where you will use the philip head bit and socket. you will notice that the head of the bolt is facing the opposite direction, making it impossible to get a screwdriver in there. Use your ratchet, bit holder, and philip head bit. If you don't have a bit holder around, the 1/4" socket will hold the bit, it's just not as secure so be careful. Also, be very careful not to lose the nut down in the crevices of the trunk (it's not fun fishing for it). In the next pic, you will see that I have labled the wire that has been cut as "antenna motor" and "antenna harness." The bottom half of the wire that is still attached to motor is labled "motor" and the top half of the wire still attached to the harness is labled "harness." It is very important to remember these lables, because your connections depend on them. You will also see my choice for a ground connection (gold 10mm bolt at the bottom).

Take your wire with the slide connector attached to it labled "to antenna harness #30," attach it (either solder or butt connect) to the actual antenna harness wire, and wrap it in electrical tape. Now take the wire labled "to antenna motor #87" and do the same for the actual motor wire. Now take your wire labled "ground #85," strip back about an inch of insulation from the wire, loosen the nut using your 10mm socket, and wrap the bare wire around the bolt pointed out in the pic. Tighten the nut down.

Now take your slide connectors and connect them to their corresponding pins (30, 85, 86, and 87). In the next pic, you will see that I wrapped the bottom half of my relay in electrical tape to keep out moisture, dirt, etc. I also secured my relay in an existing square whole with a nut and bolt. Lastly,
reattach your antenna motor harness back in its original location.

The only thing left to do is to test out your relay. Turn your system on. When you pop the trunk with key or with the trunk button, the antenna should go down. When you close the trunk, the antenna should go back up. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to PM me or post them here. I will help you in any way I can. Good luck, and enjoy your new relay.

Daryll

ptan1968 · 11-30-07, 01:09 PM

Bookmark your post. Thanks a lot for your contribution to the forum. It's an excellent write up Daryll. Will try to tackle this mod soon.

MrPeacock72 · 11-30-07, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptan1968

Bookmark your post. Thanks a lot for your contribution to the forum. It's an excellent write up Daryll. Will try to tackle this mod soon.

Thanks. I figured that this website has helped me in so many ways, I thought I'd give back to the community somehow.

Daryll

G Rahn · 12-04-07, 01:14 AM

Excellent, detailed DIY. I'm sure Koji would like to add this to his site- You can contact him at www.LEGENDtuner.com.

MrPeacock72 · 12-04-07, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by G Rahn

Excellent, detailed DIY. I'm sure Koji would like to add this to his site- You can contact him at www.LEGENDtuner.com.

Thanks. I sent him an email attachment.

Daryll

edcypha · 12-19-07, 01:04 PM

wanna hear something funny? I bought one of those relays the other day from radio shack cost me 7 bucks, then the next day I went to the junkyard and found a handfull of them sitting in a car...I hope they work!

maracura91 · 12-19-07, 10:47 PM

Great write up, i have the same setup on my coupe now, but i didnt have to make my own, it came from Japan(JDM) off of some Honda vehicle. only thing i had to swap was the harness plugs, because it had four wires , while our setup has three wires. this would have been great to know about 6 months ago, it could have saved me $70+. i dont have a spoiler, but this mod is great to have none the less.

edcypha · 12-20-07, 06:48 PM

it worked...kudos to Daryl for the DIY...make a note to not cut the white and black wires coming from the antenna motor when you cut the middle yellow wire...I had to learn that the hard way...THE LEGEND CONTINUES>>

MrPeacock72 · 12-20-07, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maracura91

Great write up, i have the same setup on my coupe now, but i didnt have to make my own, it came from Japan(JDM) off of some Honda vehicle. only thing i had to swap was the harness plugs, because it had four wires , while our setup has three wires. this would have been great to know about 6 months ago, it could have saved me $70+. i dont have a spoiler, but this mod is great to have none the less.

I appreciate it, man. I've had my spoiler on for about 2.5 years, and I have been fighting with my antenna ever since. I just got tired of it and took matters into my own hands. I'm sorry I couldn't have gotten to it sooner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by edcypha

it worked...kudos to Daryl for the DIY...make a note to not cut the white and black wires coming from the antenna motor when you cut the middle yellow wire...I had to learn that the hard way...THE LEGEND CONTINUES>>

Thanks. Yeah, I didn't realize until after I had saved it that the font was way too small on the pic showing what wire to cut. Any way I can contribute back to the community is my pleasure.

89redcoupe · 12-25-07, 02:11 PM

Very nice diy i have the stock spoiler but my antenna dont work right now

.

11-29-07, 09:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
MrPeacock72 The Sicilian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Crestview, FL Posts: 595 Car 1: 91 L Sedan (wrecked) Car 2: 03 3.2 TL Car 3: 91 Escort iTrader: (2)	DIY: Quick and Easy Antenna Relay Solution for Those Who Have Aftermarket Spoilers As the title states, this is a really simple and fairly inexpensive remedy to the spoiler/ power antenna problem that we face. For those of us who weren't blessed with that wonderful dealer option that came with a relay and stronger trunk springs, I took matters into my own hands and relayed my antenna myself. For those of you who don't know, the engineering marvels at Acura didn't realize (or maybe they did but didn't care, hmm...) that the placement of the antenna, when fully extended, would interfere with the spoiler when the trunk was being raised. Instead of relocating the antenna, they decided to offer a relay for the antenna to go down when the trunk was opened. Now finding this "magical" relay nowadays is virtually impossible, so you're either stuck with turning your system off eveytime you need to access your trunk, or lifting the trunk a part of the way and reaching in for what you're looking for. Either way, it sucks monkey balls... Ok... enough with the history lesson... on with the DIY! Mind you, I have done all of my own stereo installs on every car that I have ever owned, so I have most of this stuff lying around the house all of the time. The materials you will need to do this install with a minimal amount of frustration are: 1. One (1) Bosch-style relay. You get them off Ebay, but I chose to get mine from Oreily's Auto Parts. It was $3.70 w/tax and right down the street. NUGGET OF INFO Most of your typical Bosch-style relay are single pole, double throw (30, 85, 86, 87, 87a) which allows you to alternate between 87 and 87a. However, this particular relay does not work that way. It acts more like a single pole, single throw (30, 85, 86, 87), although it has five (5) pins, it has two (2) identical 87 pins which makes them act the same way. By the way, if you're planning on tackling the JDM headlight DIY, do NOT buy these relays. I found out the hard way that these were not the ones I needed. Go on and get the ones from Ebay with the #87 and #87a. It will save you a week of frustration and throwing tools around. It not necessary for this relay to have the 87a pin, because it will not be needed anyway. Note the values of the pins are diagramed in the pic below. 2. One (1) ratchet, one (1) 10mm socket, and one (1) 1/4" socket and philips bit OR a bits holder and philips bit. 3. 18-gauge wire long enough to cut into strips (12 ft. minimum to ensure you have plenty). 4. Four (4) female insulated slide connectors. $1.99 for a pack of 5 @ Radio Shack. 5. One (1) roll each of electrical and masking tape. 6. One (1) small bolt and nut. 7. One (1) pair of wire cutters/ strippers. 8. One (1) soldering iron (my choice). 9. One (1) roll of solder (also my choice). 10. One (1) pair of crimpers. 11. One (1) ball point ink pen or permanent marker (Sharpie). 12. One (1) flat head screwdriver OPTIONAL MATERIAL 13. One (1) pack of butt connectors (in lieu of solder and iron). You can remove the trunk interior trim to access the antenna, however, I chose to just peel back that corner. It didn't hurt the trim, and it looked fine when I put it back into place. Now what you want to look for is the harness that goes to the antenna as seen in the pic below. Unplug the harness. There are three (3) colored wires attached to the motor itself (black, yellow/white, and white/yellow). Locate the yellow/white wire and cut it in half. It will more than likely be the one in the middle (also pointed out in the pic). First, cut one (1) three-foot section of wire, and three (3) one-foot sections of wire, strip about 1/4" of insualtion off both ends of each, and crimp one of your slide connectors to just ONE end of each wire. Next, take a piece of masking tape and your pen (or Sharpie) to lable your connections as follows: "to antenna harness #30" "to antenna motor #87" "trunk light #86" "ground #85". See pic below. Now locate your trunk light housing, pry it off the cover using the the flat head screwdriver. Then pry out the housing and disconnect the harness from the light. The power from the trunk light coming on will be your activator for the relay to retract the antenna. On one side of the light housing, there is something that looks like a resistor soldered to it. Take your three (3) foot wire and solder the 1/4" exposed wire to it as seen in the pic below (or wrap it around if no solder). Now feed the wire through the channel where the light sits down the side next to the antenna and motor. Connect the harness back to the light, and push light housing back into place. If you go back to pic #4, you will see that the antenna motor harness is held in place by a nut and bolt. This is where you will use the philip head bit and socket. you will notice that the head of the bolt is facing the opposite direction, making it impossible to get a screwdriver in there. Use your ratchet, bit holder, and philip head bit. If you don't have a bit holder around, the 1/4" socket will hold the bit, it's just not as secure so be careful. Also, be very careful not to lose the nut down in the crevices of the trunk (it's not fun fishing for it). In the next pic, you will see that I have labled the wire that has been cut as "antenna motor" and "antenna harness." The bottom half of the wire that is still attached to motor is labled "motor" and the top half of the wire still attached to the harness is labled "harness." It is very important to remember these lables, because your connections depend on them. You will also see my choice for a ground connection (gold 10mm bolt at the bottom). Take your wire with the slide connector attached to it labled "to antenna harness #30," attach it (either solder or butt connect) to the actual antenna harness wire, and wrap it in electrical tape. Now take the wire labled "to antenna motor #87" and do the same for the actual motor wire. Now take your wire labled "ground #85," strip back about an inch of insulation from the wire, loosen the nut using your 10mm socket, and wrap the bare wire around the bolt pointed out in the pic. Tighten the nut down. Now take your slide connectors and connect them to their corresponding pins (30, 85, 86, and 87). In the next pic, you will see that I wrapped the bottom half of my relay in electrical tape to keep out moisture, dirt, etc. I also secured my relay in an existing square whole with a nut and bolt. Lastly, reattach your antenna motor harness back in its original location. The only thing left to do is to test out your relay. Turn your system on. When you pop the trunk with key or with the trunk button, the antenna should go down. When you close the trunk, the antenna should go back up. If you have any problems or questions, feel free to PM me or post them here. I will help you in any way I can. Good luck, and enjoy your new relay. Daryll __________________ Daryll THE BIONIC LEGEND "1991 Acura Legend, sedan, a car barely alive. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it, we have the technology. We have the capability to make the worlds first Bionic Legend. The Acura Legend will be that car. Better than it was before. Better... Stronger... Faster..." Antenna relay DIY Forum rules

12-04-07, 01:14 AM	#4 (permalink)
G Rahn Call me Mister Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Wherever it's nice Posts: 772 Car 1: 94 LS sedan iTrader: (5)	Excellent, detailed DIY. I'm sure Koji would like to add this to his site- You can contact him at www.LEGENDtuner.com. __________________ ~ Guy

12-19-07, 10:47 PM	#7 (permalink)
maracura91 Brooklyn Representer Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Nor Cal for now Posts: 1,274 Car 1: 94 white L coupe Car 2: VQ35 6-speed Maxima iTrader: (15)	Great write up, i have the same setup on my coupe now, but i didnt have to make my own, it came from Japan(JDM) off of some Honda vehicle. only thing i had to swap was the harness plugs, because it had four wires , while our setup has three wires. this would have been great to know about 6 months ago, it could have saved me $70+. i dont have a spoiler, but this mod is great to have none the less. __________________ Red, White, and Blue Grillz. Did someone say Alpha?

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11-30-07, 01:09 PM	#2 (permalink)
ptan1968 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 827 Car 1: 94 Black on Black Legend GS Sedan Car 2: 02 Toyota Camry XLE iTrader: (6)	Bookmark your post. Thanks a lot for your contribution to the forum. It's an excellent write up Daryll. Will try to tackle this mod soon.

12-19-07, 01:04 PM	#6 (permalink)
edcypha Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: orlando Posts: 60 iTrader: (0)	wanna hear something funny? I bought one of those relays the other day from radio shack cost me 7 bucks, then the next day I went to the junkyard and found a handfull of them sitting in a car...I hope they work!

12-20-07, 06:48 PM	#8 (permalink)
edcypha Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: orlando Posts: 60 iTrader: (0)	it worked...kudos to Daryl for the DIY...make a note to not cut the white and black wires coming from the antenna motor when you cut the middle yellow wire...I had to learn that the hard way...THE LEGEND CONTINUES>>

12-25-07, 02:11 PM	#10 (permalink)
89redcoupe Legend Lover Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Crestview Fl Posts: 388 Car 1: 1988 Acura Legend Coupe Auto Car 2: 1996 Cavalier R.I.P iTrader: (1)	Very nice diy i have the stock spoiler but my antenna dont work right now .

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