I have the switch and the connectors, but does the guage of the wire matter. I assume it's 12 or 14. I plan on doing the install this week so I can keep the antenna down most of the time.

 

More likely 18 or 20 gauge. For the short length of wire to the switch, it is not much of a concern anyway.

 

Great thread.

What's weird is that the antenna goes up when just using the CD player; at least it did on the 2002 I am looking at. I press the CD button and the antenna goes up. Makes no sense.

 

I agree that 18ga or better is fine as there's not much current involved. As for the antenna going up with the CD player, that's most of the reason for adding the switch. A smarter radio would only extend the antenna when the tuner is selected hence the need for the switch.

 

Such an incredible automobile one must wonder why such a simple thing like this goes totally overlooked by the designers. Then again, there are likely many other more significant details that go overlooked. This car deserves more loving care from the designers imo when it comes to the little things.

 

IIRC the radio was designed by Alpine 15 years ago so it's not as sophisticated as we might like today which is why I replaced the radio last year with a modern version with Bluetooth, HD Radio and a USB port. I saved the old radio for a future owner who may want to retain the original look though.

 

This forum rocks with a ton of useful information. Funny as it may seem to some, this particular thread is one of my favorites. I'm a music lover to the extreme and one of my pet peeves with the XK8 is the auto antenna when playing a CD. It totally takes away from the beautiful sleek look of the car "for me" and for no reason.

Thanks to all of you who contributed to this thread. A few days ago I added this mod to my 2003 XK8 and used the same switch Daren shows in post #10. I preferred it installed on the vertical back part of the center compartment as opposed to the horizontal flat area shown; but that's just personal preference.

While a small thing, it brings me a tremendous amount of pleasure and joy listening to CD's with the antenna reclined.

Although I could have easily done the job myself given the wonderful detail provided here, I paid my jag repair shop to do it as they were taking care of a few other minor details and knew the result would be excellent, which it was.

Again, I know to some this may seem like such a minor detail, but it's huge for me in adding to the pure "fun factor" of this baby. You folks are the best.

Cheers -Terrapin

 

Hey guys i have a 2005 XKR coupe and was wondering if there is a fuse you can remove to disable the antennae or alien beacon if so where is it located?

 

Yes in the Luggage compartment fusebox:

Fuse No 9 (10 amp)

Graham

 

That fuse was mentioned in the thread about installing an XM radio unit. If one is not planning to need the antenna for am-fm anymore it would seem to be the easiest solution to the ugly alien beacon problem. I assume the fuse is ONLY for the antenna and not the radio.

 

I pulled the fuse and the radio still works fine for me.

 

YES - antenna only.

The reason the antenna is always powered even when Tape or CD is playing is so the TA (Traffic Announcement) system can operate.

I understand TA is only available in the UK and mainland Europe and not the US. This explains why US drivers get so upset by the feature and ask why the antenna extends when Tape or CD is playing.

With TA selected, the Radio / Tape / CD sound is temporarily muted whilst traffic info messages are played.

Graham

 

You mean they would interrupt "Take it Easy" (Eagles) for a traffic report? Augh!

 

You've explained something that's puzzled me for years - that's exactly why you don't have the TA system in the US.

Graham

 

I installed my switch in the same place as you did. I used a different style switch but it does look professional. Getting at the green/black wire was really tight, and if I had to do it again I would have taken the center column out as this would give you more room. Most of the pictures showing how to do this fix are shown with the consul out. I think Rev Sam's video showing this procedure makes it look easy except I used the connector that Paul Pavlick used as it is easier to get at. Thanks Rev Sam and Paul for your inputs.

wcnesta
03 XKR
01 XK8

 

This site and the people here are brilliant. I did a very similar mod on an 80 TR7 (RIP) I had. Can't wait to do this mod.

 

I have 98, and I pulled the #9 fuse and had no sound from head unit, It turns out that the fuse not only controls the antenna, but the power to the head unit amp as well. And I thought it would be so simple. The diagram on the outside of the fuse box states that as well. Of course I didn't see that until I removed the fuse. Oh well, found a nice mouse nest under the spare tire, on top of the toolkit, so it wasn't a waste. yikes!

 

You must have the premium sound system

 

Thanks to all for the detailed information and photos.
Much appreciated.

 

How do you tell the difference?