Antenna Question; 97 Passat

Does anyone know for sure whether a 1997 Passat has the power for the Fuba antenna as a separate wiring harness or is the 12 volts on the center conductor of the RF cable?

Also, any suggestions for where to buy a replacement base and mast would be appreciated.

TIA-trebor

Reply to
trebor4258
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This year and model should have one, and there should be an easy way to tell. Pull out the head unit and look at the wiring. If it has not been butchered to install an aftermarket radio, you should see whether or not there is a black wire coming from the harness and leading down alongside the RF cable. The 12V power wire sits next to the RF cable, and you shold be able to see it if there is one. The other way to tell is to do this (which is not as scary as it sounds...) Pull down the long plastic trim strip that runs along the back edge of the headliner, and you will see that you can pull down the headliner enough to peek into the area where the antenna mounts into the roof. You'll surely see a 12V power wire here if there is one. A great place to buy a replacement one (other than ebay) is at

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post a reply here if you need more info about installing a new antenna or connecting it to the head unit. I just went through this on my car.

Reply to
AudiAvant

AudiAvant,

I had read about pulling out the trip and looking under the headliner, but was leary about getting that deep into the interior. The radio head unit is still stock, but I'd rather try your suggestion than pulling the head unit back out.

I did look at the web site you suggested, and the picture of the antenna that they show doesn't have the separate power harness. I'll send them an email to confirm that they have the correct one. I had already looked on eBay and all I found were the fake "Fuba-style" knock offs and wasn't interested. Couldn't believe that they even sell non-working ones that just look "cool".

Thanks, trebor

Reply to
trebor4258

At

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the picture is just for illustration purposes. I got one from them and it works fine - but you will end up buying a whole new cable and everything - because the antenna can't be bought as a mast alone. The headliner trick is really easy, and there are like 6 snaps that hold the trim into place where the window glass butts up against the headliner. It is a ten second job to get it out, but pry carefully. I think that the OEM ones are Fuba. Let me know how you make out. Sometimes the reception gets bad due to poor ground as well, so while you are peeking in there, look for corrosion.

Reply to
AudiAvant

A'Avant,

I popped the trim piece off like you suggested and was able to see the antenna mounting & connection with no problem.

Mine does not have a separate power harness, so it's the type that has the

+12V impressed onto the coax. No corrosion or evidence of water leakage even though the gasket is in pretty bad shape from the outside. What has me working on this in the first place is that the cloth part of the headliner has come loose from the backer board over most of the car and it really looks bad. I've tried putting it back in place in several spots using some of the 3M spray glue with mixed results.

The shop that's going to replace the headliner material suggested that I take a close look at the antenna mounting for leaks and consider replacing it and the gasket at the same time that they do the rest of the work. I placed an order through the site you recommended and hopefully it'll be here next week. When it arrives, I'll take the car in the upholstery shop and while they have the headliner out, I'll swap out the antenna and gasket.

Thank you very much for the information.

trebor

Reply to
trebor4258

I hope everything works out - the guys I told you about are pretty good, and won't sell you a wrong part if you give them all the details. They ship really fast, too!

Reply to
AudiAvant

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