aerial wiring - what is the fly lead for?
Discussion
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?
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
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....
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....
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.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
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.
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.
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.
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