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OK, anyone dealt with changing / adding / removing the mk3 front wing radio aerial and it's wiring before? I'm having a pain with it at the mo so could do with advice - photos etc will be provided.

Had a couple sticky points whilst doing it so far but managed to resolve them myself with a bit of careful examination, head scratching, reading etc but have got somewhere that's baffled me. Think i might have to take the left hand portion of the dash off, which will be a royal smegpot.

Got so far as pulling the old cable and connector through (with string tied tightly onto it just behind the wider portion of the connector, so the new one will come through easy ) and it's getting stuck on something.. thing is its far enough in that i can barely see the thing any more let alone what's wrong, and feeling it up (ooer) through the small hole left by removing the HU and between all the other wires isnt much enlightenment.

is the cable long enough? ones Ive bought in the past have been a very close call. Have you removed the ashtray and heater controls? That makes any wiring round there a whole lot easier. if all else fails you can remove the centre console (2 screws) and the thing that goes under the glovebox (about 5 screws) to aid access.

and fuppin is not a nice word to use. Sounds a bit gay if you ask me.

Fitting mine was a bit of a cnut (now there's a nice word!! ) especially after fitting one in the mk2 and finding that in the mk3, the ariel does not in fact go through the inner wing, but the engine bay - DOH!!

I think you'll just have to pull on either end to be honest until you can get it through. If you pull the cable back into the engine bay and wrap some tape around the connector and the string to sort of streamline it - you may have better luck!!

*I refer to that whole behind the dash area as THE ABYSS!!

heh i havent even got that far - the original cabley connector thing is still jammed inside the cabin. may give that a go however as it may just be a case of it wedging on something (it's a bit "lumpy")

dunno if the new one is long enough, i'll burn that bridge when i've got the original out to compare with doesn't look like it needs to be excessively lengthy

and i prefer "teenuck" myself (or... tnuc )

fuppin = another thing spelt with f and some ***'s. cant remember who taught me it but i bet you blind it was from on here

I recommend changing the F for one ot two different letters

clucking for example

I believe you may have learnt if from an episode of Father Ted, where an angry man shouts...

FUPP OFF YOU FUPPIN' GRASSHOLE!!!

Not to be confused with FECK, which is more commonly used on FT

Oh, and just remembered getting my old aerial out was the easy part - as the connector was no more!!

So there you go - if you don't want the ariel anymore - just cut the connector off!!

only problem with that idea is that i've tried to be "smart" and have tied some (very thin!) kite string onto it behind the flared bit of the aerial connector, so i can cut it once the whole thing's out and then attach that to the new one (similarly flared but much less pronounced) to feed it back through MUCH easier

but if i get hacked off enough with it, i'll go all the way on that suggestion and see how tricky it may be to get the new one through "blind"

got half the dashboard off now anyway so may as well give it a go. so far as i can tell there's a wire tie deep in the workings thats holding the aerial and a few other cables together for reasons unfathomable. if i can safely cut that it'll be plain sailing from here on out (?)

See my reply in the mk2 forum...

Cripes - mine only took half an hour to replace!!

I did the whole string thing too - but not having the luxury of a connector to tie it round - I just taped the string to the cable.

You definitely don't want to try doing it blind - you'll be there for days!!

tape!

damn it...... i think i'll be giving it just a little bit of that in a sec

either that or it's going to come down to the soldering / removing entire dashboard thing.
kinda weird to see this, as evidence that they put the stereo in place before the rest of the dash..

Let us know how the saga prevails!!

I can't talk tho - I still haven't finished fitting my central locking!!

Just waiting for a day when it isn't freezing cold, there's no rain, and my dad's around so we can take the other door off to drill a hole in!!

WHOOPS ----- i got badgered into moving the thing earlier, before i had chance to think (and therefore tuck the dangling aerial back up into it's original position) .... inch forwards... inch backwards... clatter... bang!

I daren't look, i just parked up, cursed my way back into the house and will carry on tomorrow... it's too dang cold!

Why does the weather always turn crap whenever i attempt something like this? Suppose at least this way i can put on lots of layers, but it involves a lot of minimal movement so not much heat production anyway....

(could be worse --- when i tried rust removal and respraying? started peeing down rain and i wasnt allowed to use the garage. finish was ruined. when i did the brakes? showers. most times i try to do something with the engine? black clouds draw in overhead. except... this time... a lot of the work is inside the car anyway! damn it all!)

So I can blame you for all the bad weather lately then?!!

It'll be great when I can stick the door cards back on and drive a normal car!!

funny i was about to ask you the same thing!