53-55 antenna wire installation
i am installing an antenna wire in a 55 and was wondering what needs to be done to connect the ground cable if the original ground cable is missing. can a wire be fed from underneath and reached in the trunk area without pulling the gas tank? the 55 will be more difficult than a 53-54 in that the 55 does not use a hole and plate where the ground wire exits the car, it has just a thin slot! also, is the ground wire necessary for the radio to play properly?
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Re: 53-55 antenna wire installation
Hi John! Here's my two cents but it's not based on the original 55 Delco installation method.
Theoretically you should have the end of the cable grounded. Did Delco ground it? I have no idea but can ask a man who would know for you if no one else answers that question.
Practically; hook up the cable to the antenna and adjust the antenna trimmer screw. If it peaks within the range of its travel then yes, the radio itself will work correctly. BUT, "Practically part 2" is: start the engine and notice if you hear the pecking of plug noise coming from the speaker as they fire. If you do, clip a ground wire on the end as a test and see if the plug noise goes away. That's the reason I would suspect a ground would be there.
I'm not familiar with 55's but the 54 or 55 I looked at ages ago had the antenna cable ground behind the passenger seat (as I remember).
When your radio was tested with your new cable after the connector was rebuilt to fit right, I used the frame of my car as the ground plane. The trimmer worked just fine and adjusted as it should. When I disconnected the cable ground at the antenna end, it still peaked in an almost identical spot on the trimmer screw. So there was no radio antenna system alignment problem. I did not fire up my engine however.
Anyway, the impact of ignition noise was what I wanted to bring to your attention. Drop an email if I can help with anything and I'm gald to see you're getting all the pieces back together. Now if only all the snow would melt (GRIN).
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