Hi folks,
I've just bought a 1990 Golf II which needs a couple of things doing to it, but overall a nice car.
First problem which is turning out harder than expected is the radio aerial. The previous owner replaced a broken aerial but didn't pull a piece of string through on the end of the cable, couldn't get the new cable back through, and gave up. So I now face the difficult job getting the cable of the new aerial from the plenum chamber through to the back of the radio.
The hole it's supposed to go through is pretty clear and it's really not far from the back of the radio (about a foot to the left, as you sit in the car) but I just can't find a way to get it through.
It appears that when you push the cable through the hole in the engine bay, it disappears into a conduit built into the top of the bulkhead, rather than appearing behind the dash - it pushes in very easily, suggesting it's not snagging on all the cloth damping stuff behind the dash which I'd expect it to.
I can't think of any way of doing this apart from pulling the entire dash out - and as you can imagine, that's not a job I relish.
I tried to remove the glove box to see if that gave access, but couldn't get it out (or even work out why it wouldn't come out) but I'm not at all confident it would help anyway.
There's a cable in a hole right next to it, which appears to be the washer jet heater. If I could find the other end of that, I could probably tie a string to it, pull it through (either inwards or outwards) then pull both cables back through. But I can't find the other end.
Any ideas would be much appreciated! Most stuff on this car seems pretty accessible so I'm disappointed that I can't manage this straightforward job!
Thanks!
-Mark
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Only general advice like taping a piece of stiff wire ( eg coat hanger) to the aerial lead so you have some control of its direction.
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I wasna fu but just had plenty.
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excellant advise Glaikit Wee Scunner {P} i use a welding rod for many jobs like this.
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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Going from memory...this is the front wing aerial? These are a problem. The aerial lead (the plug in fact) gets caught simply be the acute angle it has to pass behind the glovebox. If there is now no lead coming through to help "pull" the new, I think you will have to find an alternative route for the lead. I never discovered how to remove the glove boxes either. For reference, even with the original lead to use as a pull wire, it's a tricky job...much swearing involved.
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Thanks very much for the replies!
Yes, dereckr, it's in the wing. Sounds like you've been there. I did look for an alternative route but couldn't find anything much better. I think I might have to get the dash out and see were that leaves me.
Thanks,
Mark
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Thought I'd post an update, just in case anyone searches for this in the future.
I did the job on the weekend. Total nightmare. Took eight hours - dashboard right out which is very fiddly.
I think with hindsight I could probably have done it by removing the radio, heater controls and the outer-most piece of trim around them, and the vent by the passenger door, then pulling out the duct that feeds that vent. I think that would have allowed enough access to the back of that conduit to reach in or poke the cable/stiff piece of wire through.
(To top it all off, having done all this I bottled out and decided a wing aerial was too risky - someone's going to snap it off and I'd be back where I started - so installed a roof aerial, which was much simpler.)
-Mark
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