Hey, I saw this on ebay. Has anyone used one of these before? Does it plug right into the factory wireing harness?

 

Looks OK. I installed 2 Radio Shack power antennas this year, following the instructions found somewhere in the archive. That involves a slight change in the wiring.

Getting the old antenna out and the new one in is an adventure. I've done it several times thru the access hole, but some people take out the tailllight, but I couldn't figure how to do it that way.

I think the RX-7 power antenna was a standard import part, so the $60 replacement unit at the auto store should work. And the eBay unit looks like that part.

B

 

I have one of those in my 82GSL and it works fine. It took me about an hour to install due to having to wire alway to the front because my car did not have a power antenna from the factory. Other than that works great.

 

You might want to check your local Autozone, NAPA or Advanced Auto Parts. I saw one there recently for about $30 that looked like it was of better quality than the ebay one, similar to the now extinct radio shack ones, which were of superior quality.

You can find installation and wiring instructions at jimrothe.com, someplace deep in his website about upgrades for your rx-7.

It is definately easier to take out the rear tail light and you will need a mounting bracket for your new power antenna, if your car doesn't already have one.

Ray

 

Will the bracket for the factory antenna work?

 

Yes that's the one you need because it bolts into the body in the right places and fixes the angle for the antenna. For the radio shack antenna and probably for most other aftermarket replacements you need to bend the bottom of the factory bracket 90 degrees and change the spacing for the holes for the mounting screws just a bit, but this is easy to do and is described on Jim Rothe's web site.

 

Yeah, transplant the bracket to the new antenna. Make sure it runs alongside the antenna pretty tight so you can squeeze the whole thing into the fender.

I always put it in thru the access hole, and now I've done it a half dozen times I'm pretty quick. But how do you guys get the taillight off? I undo a few 10mm nuts from inside and run out of ideas.

I'm down to my last 3 Radio Shack antennas, and have two 7s left to fix.

B

 

Bliffle, I think there are about 6 of those 10 mm nuts that need to be removed to get the tail light out.

They are usually real easy to get off, sometimes you can just back them off with your fingers and sometimes they have come off all together, which isn't too good for keeping the tail light sealed to the weather.

While I had my lights out I used the opportunity to fix up the rubber seal around the light with a little silicone.

Ray

 

What after the nuts are removed? Just punch it out? I wiggled it and it doesn't come loose.

B

 

Be sure all the nuts are off, there are two on the side where it curves around that may not be so obvious. If it still doesn't come out it must be stuck on, either because it hasn't been removed in twenty years or because it has been stuck to the metal with some kind of sealer or paint. In either case some careful prying to break the seal, and not the light fixture, should do it. I think I'd use a plastic putty knife or something like that to work around the seal between the fixture and the metal.

Ray