My factory radio antenna was too tall so it would hit on the support rails for our carport. I looked at short replacement antennas but most of those were flimsy rubber, cheap thin metal coils, and/or had poor performance so I decided to cut the factory antenna down. I wasn't sure how the project would turn out and I wanted to save the OEM antenna just in case I needed to revert back to full size later on, so I purchased an identical steel whip at the local auto parts store for $9.99.
I cut the top 40% of the new antenna off with a hacksaw but then I needed something to cap the top and protect the exposed metal from rusting. I initially used a round silver ball with a battery powered blue LED which was activated by a motion and light sensor. This worked ok but the battery drained in just a few weeks and the ball looked a little cheap since it was so big. I recently found a new lighted cap to replace the ball and I just finished hooking it up tonight. I will write up a full report for my site soon but I wanted to give you a quick preview.
- Remove the antenna
- Unscrew the base of the lighted cap and solder a long thin two-conductor wire to the power leads of the bulb
- Run the wire through some black heat shrink tubing large enough to fit over the antenna and the wire together (you will need two 12" pieces unless you have some really long tubes)
- Slip the antenna up inside the heat shrink tubing keeping the wire to one side and stopping when the base of the lighted cap is flush with the tip of the antenna
- Use a small wire tie to secure the stem of the lighted cap to the top of the antenna, then cover the lighted stem and wire tie with a larger but short piece of heat shrink tubing
- Adjust the wire so it lays flat with no twists or kinks and it is all on the same side of the heat shrink tube, then shrink the tube with heat until it forms a tight seal and lets the steel spiral wrap show through
- Drill a small hole in the rubber grommet antenna base and run the wire through from the outside
- Screw the antenna back onto the vehicle and pull the loose wire through to the inside
- Run the wire down to the front passenger head light, using small wire loom and wire ties to hold it in place
- Connect the antenna light wires to the wires which run up to the left front parking light bulb, then solder and protect with tape / wire loom
Now the antenna light looks great, switches on with my running lights, and is fully legal too. Best $10 mod I have done yet. See the attached for a few photos.
More detail and photos will be in my full install report which I hope to post up to my mod report site soon along with a bunch of other updates which are long overdue.
DIY: Antenna Running Light
Linear Mode
