Article by: RobRed

Applicable Models: 1998 – 2007 / 100 Series Land Cruiser or Lx 470 with Aftermarket Head Unit

So you installed an aftermarket headunit / amplifier in your Land Cruiser and now the power antenna goes up when you simply turn on the audio system to listen to your iPod or CD – right? OR maybe your aftermarket head unit doesn’t have a control mode for the power antenna. Here is an easy fix to get control back.

Problem: Most aftermarket head units have a single trigger lead for amplifier turn on and antenna trigger. Thusly when you activate your deck the trigger wire signals the amplifier to turn on which also triggers the power antenna relay.

Fix: Add an override switch to the antenna relay. This gives you full manual control of antenna deployment. What you’ll need: – A few feet of 18ga stranded wire – A rocker switch from Radio Shack – A few misc wire lug connectors and crimps (depends on your original install) – Cordless drill and drill bit sized for your rocker switch – Misc trim removal tools, philips screwdriver, wire stripper and crimper.

Install: In this install I’m using Lexi4Darins LX470. First thing you may notice is that Darin has done a “three dial conversion” to his Lexus. Looks sweet. The head unit installed is a Pioneer AVIC120BT which as I described above has a single trigger wire for antenna and amp. We are simply interrupting the trigger wire from the Pioneer with a switch, after the amplifier connection is made.

• 1. Remove center stack bezel around the radio. There are 4 multi pin connectors to the HVAC controls, unplug them and set bezel aside.
• 2. Unscrew (4x) the head unit from the mounting in the dash. Pull the radio out and unplug all of the harnesses and connectors from the rear of the radio. Set the radio aside.
• 3. You’ll need to loosen the lower center console bezel (shifter and xfer surround) for this next part. We chose to remove it. Remove the ash tray and set aside. Remove the trim panel surrounding the ash tray. You’ll need to un plug the power and lighting connectors from the 12v outlets and ash tray illumination. Set aside the the trim.
• 4. In our case the Pioneer trigger wire is blue… locate yours and trace it from the radio harness plug to the point where you have a connection to the amplifier and antenna. In our case we had a nylon crimp cap tying the amp and antenna relay wires to the blue trigger wire with a vampire tap on the Lexus end to the factory harness.
• 5. Now it’s time to wire. You’ll need to intercept the trigger wire after the amplifier connection but before the antenna connection (see diagram). In our install I crimped our head unit blue trigger wire to the amplifier turn on and a new piece of 18ga wire about 12″ inches long. Then take another 12″ pice of wire and crimp a connector on one end to plug into the vampire tap at the Lexus wire harness. You should now have two 12″ long wires to feed to the 12v outlet areas. Feed these two wires down, inside, the dash to where the two 12v out lets live.

Antenna Diagram

• 6. Pick up your ash tray/12v outlet trim panel and locate a suitable position between the 12v outlets to drill a hole for your rocker switch. DRILL BABY DRILL. De-bur the hole you made if necessary and mount your rocker switch. I prefer the up is on orientation for the switch. You might have noticed I installed 2 switches in Darin’s dash. The bottom switch is an illumination interrupt for the Pioneer. That will be a different post.

Console Detail

• 7. Crimp a lug (or other suitable type) connector to each of your wires and attach them to your switch terminals.

Back of Console / Wiring

• 8. Get your radio and plug in all of the connectors you previously removed and slide back into the dash. 9. Put your newly installed switch in the “Off” position. Get your key out and turn to Accessory postion. Turn on the radio. Antenna should not rise. If it does flip your new switch to the other position. The antenna should retract. If it doesn’t then you need to retrace your steps. If it does retract you have your switch mounted upside down…. or maybe you like that orientation. 10. Replace you lower ash tray trim being mindful to reconnect previously disco’d wires. Reseat or remount your lower center console bezel. Remount the radio and return the center stack bezel to it’s original state and position. Final result:

Final Result