aerial wiring - what is the fly lead for?

aerial wiring - what is the fly lead for?

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Discussion

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
quotequote all
I am just in the middle of installing a new stereo and trying to sort out the wiring, as the stereo that was in the car when I got it was useless and the wiring loom behind the stereo had been bodged and taped several times.

Before I get all the 'what do you need a stereo for' comments, the new one has a USB port so I can charge my phone that I use as a sat nav, and on longer journeys in the winter when the roof is on I do occasionally like to listen to some music.

I have wired in a new ISO connector and sorted out all but one of the wires. The stereo/radio works, but only picks up one station on FM. That however is crystal clear.

The aerial has a short fly lead in addition to the twin wires that disappear in to the bowels of he car. The fly lead was not connected to anything when I took the old radio out but did have a bare end on and some glue residue suggesting it had been connected at some point and just taped over . Reading through some other forum post has not helped as some posts say this is the earth for the aerial, and others say it is the positive power feed for an aerial amplifier. So what is the fly lead for?



Edited by Smokey Boyer on Wednesday 20th April 15:14

FoxTVR430

452 posts

110 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
quotequote all
With a limited knowledge I would say it's for an "extra' grounding to reduce any signal "noise"smile
BTW no power should go through that plug!

Edited: as obviously after reading the posts below I know nothing. getmecoat

Edited by FoxTVR430 on Thursday 21st April 11:36

Argent

478 posts

240 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
quotequote all
Actually TBH I would dump the existing aerial as it's c#@p and won't do justice to a new head unit.

I went DAB last year and had a DAB/FM aerial fitted in the boot away from all the electrical noise which works really well. Have a look at these guys they do everything:

http://www.dabonwheels.co.uk/DAB_car_aerials.html

This is the one I have - Kinetic DRA-6003 stubby DAB/DAB+/FM/SW/MW/LW car aerial



Edited by Argent on Wednesday 20th April 12:11


Edited by Argent on Wednesday 20th April 12:57

Belle427

8,864 posts

232 months

Wednesday 20th April 2016
quotequote all
Most amplified aerials ive seen like that need connecting to a 12 volt supply, mine was disconnected too so i spliced it in to the radio 12 volt and the reception went from being crap to excellent. Most stations can now be found.
Im assuming its the same but would be nice to find out for sure.



Edited by Belle427 on Wednesday 20th April 15:30

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
quotequote all
progress, sort of....

I checked the continuity between the fly lead and the aerial plug and it is not connected to the plug at all. On closer inspection the fly lead appears to go in to the cable clamp, loop and go straight back out again.

Taking the fly lead to ground blew a fuse in the main main fuse board, which I think is for the interior lights, horn according to the fuse diagram. I only spotted it as one of the random wires in the mess that I had been trying to sort out had +12v on with the ignition switch when I had done my first round of testing and I was going to use it for the power feed for the stereo. When it stopped working I traced it back and found it was a previous owners addition and was a wire spliced in to a cable loom behind the glove box.


On the assumption the fly lead is therefore the power feed for an aerial amplifier that appears in the wiring diagram in the Steeve Heath book, I connected it up to the blue wire (12v power out from the stereo).

I can confirm it has made absolutely no difference to the tuning ability of my stereo. It still only auto tunes to Smooth Radio and Capital FM. Good job I can plug my phone in and play music from that. Time for a new aerial as suggested by Argent....




Paulprior

864 posts

104 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
quotequote all
My reception is rubbish as well, we're is the radio aerial?
Can head units in there own be replaced to gain such things as usb, or is it replace the complete unit?
Thanks
Paul

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Thursday 21st April 2016
quotequote all
I do not have a CD changer, so for me it was a relatively simple swap after I had sorted out the wiring. The 4 speakers in the car were already pretty good.

The new stereo performs pretty well, apart from the poor reception which is a fault of the aerial not the stereo.

I purchased this from Halfords, less than £50

Pioneer MVH-1809UBG

and the new ISO plug was only a few quid, part number PC3-08 from memory.


The stereo charges the phone and plays audio from the phone via the USB. There is an app for Android, and I assume iOS, called Pioneer ARC that works really well and lets you control the stereo from the phone. As there is no CD player, the stereo is half depth which makes fitting it in even easier.


Belle427

8,864 posts

232 months

Friday 22nd April 2016
quotequote all
Paulprior said:
My reception is rubbish as well, we're is the radio aerial?
Can head units in there own be replaced to gain such things as usb, or is it replace the complete unit?
Thanks
Paul
Some find them above the fuel tank in the boot others say they are in one of the windscreen pillars.


Paulprior

864 posts

104 months

Monday 25th April 2016
quotequote all
Hi Argent
Could you tell me what is involved with fitting the aerial you have used, how and where to mount it, easiest way of running the cables?
Am I right in thinking that the radio itself is not mounted in a standard din cage?
Thanks
Paul

Argent

478 posts

240 months

Monday 25th April 2016
quotequote all
Paul

Broadly speaking the aerial is mounted on a piece of steel strap fixed to a fuel tank stud mounting which allows the tank to be the "ground" if I remember rightly. It sits just over the beginning of the o/s rear wheel arch and being a stubby doesn't take up much space. The cabling runs over the wheel arch and down the side of the car under the carpets to the dash, and the cage is standard. I will check tomorrow and let you know if I've got anything wrong.

HTH

A

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
The slot appears to be a standard single DIN radio size for width and height, and the cage that was supplied with my pioneer stereo fitted very well, perhaps better than the old kenwood I took out.

Other than a double DIN, and obviously the steros that are built in to the dash on mass production cars, I am not aware of there being more than one size for a single bay stereo.

Where you might have an issue is depth. I know on my S there was very little room for the head unit with all the cables in the lower dash and it was a real squeeze to get a full depth stereo in there. The Chimaera does seem a little better, but be careful about the depth if you go for a stereo that has a CD tray and is full depth with a large heatsink at the back.

As for aerial location, I would be wary about taking too much advice about location and just do your best to follow your aerial cable. Given how poor the original aerial is, I suspect many owners have added various retro fit aerials and there is no longer a guaranteed location that is the same for everyone. I would also not have put it past TVR themselves to put any old aerial they found in the parts bin, wherever they saw fit on any given day.

ou sont les biscuits

5,087 posts

194 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Smokey Boyer said:
Where you might have an issue is depth. I know on my S there was very little room for the head unit with all the cables in the lower dash and it was a real squeeze to get a full depth stereo in there. The Chimaera does seem a little better, but be careful about the depth if you go for a stereo that has a CD tray and is full depth with a large heatsink at the back.
On my Chimaera, there's loads of space behind the radio slot. There are a couple of boxes in there - the M36T2 immobiliser and some sort of control box - but they are only stuck down on velcro pads and can be moved sideways behind the hazard switch if you need to. You could put the immobiliser unit practically anywhere as it's got about 8 feet of cable on it!

Paulprior

864 posts

104 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Hi
If i replace the radio it will be for a non CD variety, sorry for gatecrashing the thread, but how do i actually access the radio for removal/, it doesnt appear to just want to come out forwards like most radios do
Paul

ou sont les biscuits

5,087 posts

194 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Paulprior said:
Hi
If i replace the radio it will be for a non CD variety, sorry for gatecrashing the thread, but how do i actually access the radio for removal/, it doesnt appear to just want to come out forwards like most radios do
Paul
Pulling it straight out backwards is the only way it's coming out!

You need the right 'keys' for your radio - push in both sides until you hear a click and pull straight back. I'd imagine that if it's not pulling out cleanly, the mounting cage has got a bit twisted and it's binding somewhere on the head unit. The cage clips on to some substantial glassfibre lips on the top and bottom of the aperture, and I suspect that you'd need to apply a lot of brute force before you damaged those. Make sure you cover up the top of the transmission tunnel with some thick towels or similar, as the radio and cage may well have some sharp bits on that could rip something if it comes loose suddenly.

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Paulprior said:
Hi
If i replace the radio it will be for a non CD variety, sorry for gatecrashing the thread, but how do i actually access the radio for removal/, it doesnt appear to just want to come out forwards like most radios do
Paul
You normally have to remove the black plastic frame/surround from the radio itself in order to get at the key slots. You need to release the head unit from the cage using the key. There are several types of keys available, some flat blades and some hooks. Place like Halfords sell a range of universal radio keys.

For my old radio, it was facia plate off, surround off, slide flat blade keys down side of stereo and pull it out over the gear stick with the keys still in the slots.

Once the head unit is out, there will be some of the metal tangs bents over that hold the cage in to the hole. These can simply be bent back up flat so you can slide the cage out.

Hope that helps.

Paulprior

864 posts

104 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Hopefully one of the above helps, it's just that one says it can only come out backwards, the other from the front?, the front seems logical but the facia on mine looks to be fitted behind the metal cut out, I need to rebook at the weekend and then try and trace the aerial, I probably won't use the aerial much but I just don't like that it doesn't work, a new one with a Ian to charge phones or gps would be useful though

Smokey Boyer

Original Poster:

509 posts

130 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
I think we are both right, but perhaps just an interpretation issue.

If looking at the car as a whole...
The radio does come out backwards towards the back of the car, over the gear stick. Forwards would be through the bulkhead and engine bay.

However, just looking at the radio...
The radio comes out forwards over the gear stick.

ou sont les biscuits

5,087 posts

194 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Paulprior said:
Hopefully one of the above helps, it's just that one says it can only come out backwards, the other from the front?, the front seems logical but the facia on mine looks to be fitted behind the metal cut out, I need to rebook at the weekend and then try and trace the aerial, I probably won't use the aerial much but I just don't like that it doesn't work, a new one with a Ian to charge phones or gps would be useful though
OK, for the avoidance of doubt, sitting in the drivers seat, the stereo comes out towards you. There should be some slots or some holes visible on the front of the head unit, if you can't see any, then there is some trim that needs to come off. When you can see the holes or the slots, the ' keys ' you need go in there.

FWIW the original head unit on my car had some trim that was smaller than the hole in the fascia, so the trim panel was to all intents and purposes countersunk into the dashboard. No holes visible, something needs to come off smile

Paulprior

864 posts

104 months

Tuesday 26th April 2016
quotequote all
Thanks guys, I will look at the weekend, yes it sounds like my misinterpretation of front and back😀, it's just that mine also does appear to have been fitted from behind the dash as the trim is both larger than the cutout and behind it and unless I can get it out somehow I can't access the release keys, could be fun😀

keith-vznby

163 posts

104 months

Wednesday 27th April 2016
quotequote all
just fitted a new head unit, the plastic surround comes off to give access to the slots to remove the unit. It is possible that if someone has put on an after market dash on they have put it over the edges of the unit frame.The lead you refer to runs along side the aerial cable and powers the aerial , I think it is normally attached to the switched live which comes from the ignition. The aerial cable in mine was in the compartment behind the passenger seat along with speaker cables and others , it then goes up over the rear arch and comes out in the boot just below the fuel filler hope this help