Jaime-TA-84

iTrader: (1)

I bought a Clarion DXZ785USB head unit and connected the dedicated antenna wire to the power antenna wire of the car. When I switch source to Radio, I think it turns off the amplifiers because I hear nothing out of the speakers (not even a hiss) and I must turn the radio off and then back on in order to get sound again. Everything works fine (amplifiers are on and music playing) as long as I don't select Radio as the source. If I unplug the antenna wire from the head unit, I can switch to the Radio and I am able to hear the normal FM static and a few more powerful stations.

It seems like having the power antenna connected to the head unit causes it to short or something and it turns off all power (even to the remote-turn-on wire). The manual says that the antenna wire of the head unit provides up to 500 mA of current. Does the antenna require more than this? I wouldn't think so considering it's on a relay, but maybe the relay is bad?

EDIT (10/20/2009): I put in a relay to power up the antenna circuit, instead of the radio powering it, and now the antenna works perfectly. The radio was not able to supply enough current.

JeremyNYR

iTrader: (2)

I believe I connected my power antenna lead to the "remote" wire off of my head deck and it worked fine. Maybe you could try that.

jermdm

Are you using a factory wire adapter on your radio and plugging it into the factory connector of the car?

Jaime-TA-84

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the only plug connected to the adapter is the one with the switched power and ground. I dont use the other two plugs since I am using RCA cables to the amps. This plug also has the antenna wire and I plugged in the antenna wire from the head unit to the adapter. The remote turn-on wire of the head unit is connected directly to my remote turn on wire going all the way to 2 amps in the back of the car.

jermdm

After thinking about it some more, the power antenna itself or the relay is bad. When you turn the source to radio, it powers up the antenna wire for the antenna to go up. If the relay or the antenna is grounded, when you turn the source to radio, the antenna wire grounds and shuts down the radio. All goes back to normal when you turn the radio off and back on again. Did the power antenna work before or ever worked since you got the car?

Jaime-TA-84

iTrader: (1)

Yea, the antenna works perfectly fine if I give it 12V. It was working properly with my previous Pioneer head unit (I had the antenna connected to the remote wire). It just doesnt want to work off the dedicated antenna wire on this new head unit. If all else fails, I'll just hook it up to the same wire as the amp remote turn-on. The only downside is that the antenna will be up even if I'm listening to a CD or playign a song from a USB flash drive.