The power antenna booster is still baffling me. Does the booster need to run off 12v like the headunit or does it need a lower voltage?

I read a post stating this.........
Is this correct? Isnt that the same as switchable 12v? I have an old Kenwood VZ907 touchscreen tv/cd and dont even know if there is a "amp turn on" lead.

5 months ago I ran my booster wire to the amp turn on lead on the amp and the wire caught on fire and burnt some of the car and fried the wires. Any idea why it would do that? Im really apprehensive about running that wire again.

Please help

 

According to the factory service manual, the antenna amp requires 12v. You can power this via the igniton lead, or amp turn on lead, or whatever--any 12v source should work, as long as its on when you are trying to listen to the radio.

If you have a touring model, you can grab 12v from some of the Bose wiring that is located close to the location of the antenna amp. Otherwise, you will probably have to carefully run your line again from the head unit.

Also, let me know if you want me to send that metra kit to you for modification...I am chomping at the bit wanted to get my head unit installed so that it looks right...

 

Scott, I used the power antenna lead on my headunit for it.

 

Hmm, you would think the power antenna lead would POWER 12v but I dont think mine does at all.

Lemme check it out.

 

My Z gets the poorest radio reception of any of my vehicles by far with the stock factory install stereo - I plan to upgrade soon, just cannot decide on the head unit I want.

Do you think it is possible somehow the factory head does not have an amp for the stock antenna connected? Has anyone else noticed terrible radio reception on certain freq's with their stock Z stereo (non-Bose, why spend more for what you toss anyway)

Thanks!

 

Where did u p/u your factory manual? I've only seen straight from Nissan for ~3 bills, kinda steep I thought
Thanks.

 

My antenna amp is just spliced in to the remote line since my headunit does not have a power antenna lead. I have no problems.

 

Your head unit is stock or aftermarket? One thing I noticed with my Alpine head units in my other vehicles is their radio reception is much better than the stock crap they replaced.

 

SteveZ, either goto ebay for a FSM ($10-$20), or go to the Nissan FSM site and sign up for a day $20, and download all the PDFs and you can use them from then on.

 

It's aftermarket. a Pioneer. It isn't really "spliced" in. I have the remote lead from the headunit connected to the metra plug thing and to a lead that goes back to my amps.

 

Wadd3456
Just connect the antenna power to any IGNITION source. The Z doesn't truly have an antenna power lead, that is, +12 only when the radio is on. The antenna amp is on whenever the IGN is on. If that's what you meant by "switchable 12v" , then you were correct.

 

Yo' da' man

 

Bringing this post up from the dead........this subject is still sour for me. After nearly 1.5years I still cant listen to the damn radio.

I had the antenna boster plugged into a lead I ran straight off the fusebox. Once again, it blew the fuse after a few days. Please, let me know exactly what you wired your antenna booster to.

Thanks
Scott

 

I wouldn't say any 12V source - one that is not used is better. If you're tapping into the power lead for the head unit amp, sure, you'll blow the fuse.

Put a fused line into the fuse box on an unused lead - like for an accessory. If you are blowing in-line fuses from the fuse box to the head, you're pulling too much juice - likely using the main power lead (which really should go to the battery, but that's another story). If you are blowing fuses in the box, you are overloading the circuit (shared circuit model).

I wish I could take a pic to show but I'm now in a G Coupe, not a Z. I've run into this since in other cars, too - lack of a dedicated antenna amp lead.

Just don't try to splice into the main amp power lead - sharing the high power lead (still 12V, more amps) with anything is bad news - as you can see earlier in this thread.

If you find yourself really screwed, go to a shop - my local shop here is who turned me on to some of the finer points of cost-saving bs manufacturers pull when putting in stock head units. I'd personally start there, get something put in I really trust with the right in-line fuse, hooked into the right connection at the fuse box.

Good luck, wish I had a diagram or pic to show what I mean. You might get some help from another post I remember who had detailed pics showing the removal and replacement of the head unit - he probably has some idea as what he put in required more than the factory power lead for the amp itself.

 

Did the radio play correctly before the fuse blew ?

I would suspect something else is wrong. The antenna amp should draw a negligable amount of current, and most fuses are 10 amps or better. Remember, fuses are there to protect the car wiring, not the devices connected to it. If you are continuously blowing fuses, and the circuit is direct to the antenna amp, then there may be something wrong with the amp.

 

Only time I ever blow a fuse is when the antenna amp wire is attached. I have hooked it up in 3 different places and also have owned 3 different headunits with the same results.
Shoot, it blew a 20amp fuse a while back haha.

 

So.. how long does it take to blow the fuse if when you hook up the antenna wire ? If it doesn't blow immediately, do you get good radio reception prior to it blowing ?

Did you ever try to read from the antenna wire to ground with an ohm meter ? What's the chances of a "pinched" or skinned antenna wire ?

The antenna amp is "relatively" easy to get to. only need to take out the trunk area interior panels. There is a connector right at the amp. You could try to power the amp from there and see if it fixes your problem.

You either have a shorted antenna amp, or a shorted wire from the HU to the amp. There isn't much else to it.

 

Typically it takes 3 or 4 times of driving the car short distances or 1 time of driving for 45min or so.

1st time it was on an overloaded circuit (I guess you could say). I had to much plugged into teh same source. Basically the interior caught fire and some plastic melted......it wasnt pretty. 2nd time I ran it off the cigarette outlet and it lasted a couple trips. 3rd and 4th time it was run straight off the fuse box (dont remember to where, id have to look).

Reception is VERY good when its plugged in.

If the wires run under the spare tire then it could be pinched. I took the spare out when I bought the car and put in a box.

 

Hope this picture helps. The red-circled wire is the antenna amp. If memory serves me, it goes down the center console from the trunk area. I would suspect that you have some melted insulation or this is pinched and keeps shorting out. The antenna amp draws very little current. Sounds like the amp itself is still working when you can get power to it. Look for a shorted or damaged wire... or just run a new one and be done with it !

 

Rock on...... Ill rip the system apart tomorrow and run a new wire to the amp back up to the fuse box. If it still blows........i will give up. Its a 50/50 shot that the dash will ignite again haha.