Autozone shows a Metra 44-PW350 power antenna as a replacement for the original Hirshmann unit. Has anyone ever successfully installed one of these? Autozone wants $53.50. Significantly less that the 128.50 for a rebuilt Hirshmann at Performance Products.
TIA Bill
I just installed a Legacy
LEEP
Did you wire in the antenna rocker switch or did you have to bypass it? Also did it fit through the fender hole using the new parts or did you have to use the existing Mercedes molding pieces?
Yhanks for the reply. $42 is a good price. the Metra unit is $53.99
Bill
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It fit through the existing hole just fine and the model I bought (LN48) had three different types of moldings one said "European" so I used it and it seems to fit just fine. As for the wiring. The existing wiring had 7 different wires (I assume this is the rocker switch you ask about). My new unit only had two wires, so I had to play around and find the proper combination that worked. I ended up leaving the fuse in the box, turning the antenna switch in the "auto" section, and then turned the key on. I just touched the red wires together until the antenna went up, then I touched the other wires until it went down. Any unused wire I had I just taped up.
Aron
Go with the o.e. Hirschmann
Too late. I already bought the Metra. I spliced in the male plug end from the old Hirschmann. It works perfect, except the the antenna switch on the panel which is now useless (I never used it anyway).
I had bad luck with the Hirschmann'a units over the last 8 years. 3 in my 81
300SD, second in the 87 300D.
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