[Kelly2221]

So I did an oopsie and backed out of my garage with the door not fully open. Ripped the shark fin antenna casing off of the car. The chips are exposed and one of them is broken where it screws down....I'm at a loss of what to do.

I'm pretty handy so I think I could possibly repair it, but I can't find any images online of what the inside of the shark fin casing is supposed to look like. Has anyone taken this part off before? Any advice??

 

[Steverino]

Get a new fin?

 

[wssix99]

Look at post #9 in this thread: Someone stole the “fin” from the roof of my Chevy Volt 2017

The antenna simply unplugs and installs with a single nut. The two challenges you will have are:

• You may have to remove the ceiling lighting fixtures and/or drop the headliner in order to get to the nut. (Dropping the headliner is not easy and it something that needs to be worked around carefully as to not damage it before it goes back up against the roof.
• Paint. You may have to take the new antenna to a paint shop to get it color-matched to your car. Some paint shops may require you to leave your entire car with them so they can do the match right. (And guarantee the color will match.) Painting may also cost you more than the entire antenna.

If you can find a used antenna from a junk yard that matches your car, that may save you a ton of money, particularly on paint.

 

[Steverino]

If you can find a used antenna from a junk yard that matches your car, that may save you a ton of money, particularly on paint.

You can buy a can of spray paint to match the car Exact-Match Car Paint | Premium Automotive Paint for Flawless Results | Easy-to-Use Auto Paint | Truck and Car Touch-Up Paint | AutomotiveTouchup

 

[Kelly2221]

Look at post #9 in this thread: Someone stole the “fin” from the roof of my Chevy Volt 2017

The antenna simply unplugs and installs with a single nut. The two challenges you will have are:

• You may have to remove the ceiling lighting fixtures and/or drop the headliner in order to get to the nut. (Dropping the headliner is not easy and it something that needs to be worked around carefully as to not damage it before it goes back up against the roof.
• Paint. You may have to take the new antenna to a paint shop to get it color-matched to your car. Some paint shops may require you to leave your entire car with them so they can do the match right. (And guarantee the color will match.) Painting may also cost you more than the entire antenna.

If you can find a used antenna from a junk yard that matches your car, that may save you a ton of money, particularly on paint.

Thank you, that photo is very useful. I did find a used fin online from a red Volt so thinking about getting that. I'm wondering if I can just replace the broken bits instead of having to go in through the roof and replace the whole thing. The GPS still works but my radio does not. Although, now the base of the antenna is also no longer flush to the roof of the car. How can I find out about opening up the ceiling to get to the nut?

 

[Kelly2221]

As a follow up, since I couldn't find any photos online of the antenna internal chips I took some photos in case it helps anyone in the future. If anyone knows how I can get a replacement for the any of the chips I would appreciate it.

 

[wssix99]

I'm wondering if I can just replace the broken bits instead of having to go in through the roof and replace the whole thing. The GPS still works but my radio does not. Although, now the base of the antenna is also no longer flush to the roof of the car. How can I find out about opening up the ceiling to get to the nut?

The front board is your GPS and Sirus XM. The back board is your AM/FM antenna. It looks like the AM/FM antenna was physically damaged along with the antenna casing. In theory, you could scavenge the rear board from another antenna and then use a soldering iron and special screw drivers to install it - but your antenna casing will still not be straight or sealed properly. Those electronics are custom-made by the antenna manufacturer and are not for sale separately.

I looked at my Volt today and think you can get at the antenna connections by dropping the rear part of the headliner. To do that, it looks like you will need to remove the rear light fixture, some push retainers, and some of the rear hatch trim. Some screwdrivers and trim removal tools (https://www.amazon.com/Panel-Remova...cphy=9021716&hvtargid=pla-1416001861605&psc=1) should be all that you need.

The GM Service Manual for the car, which has all the instructions for this runs several hundred dollars, but you can get a 3-day subscription for $20. Just go here: Techline Connect Diagnostic System Software | ACDelco and subscribe to the "General Motors Service Repair Manual Information" item. You can also print out any instructions you want for later use, but you can not save the files off to your computer.

 

[wssix99]

The full service manual can be had from Helm Inc-Your Source for Factory Authorized Service Information

Printed manuals are $475 and a secure USB (.pdf version) is $349

 

[Kelly2221]

As an update to this, I managed to replace the antenna. Here's how I did it.

I bought an antenna from a wrecked Volt online, it was about $100. It was grey and my Volt is blue, so I unscrewed the casings and switched them around.

I decided that it was too risky to try to drop the headliner and opted to go inthrough the rear dome light. Removing that thing was a huge pain in the ass. The outer casing was a pain because it's attached by 3 clips in one side and I still don't quite understand how it is actually fixed to the body because the clips didn't really make sense. Then the dome light itself is clipped into the roof. Its the same dome light as on a few other Chevy vehicles, namely the Silverado and I found a great guide on another model's forum with photos. You have to pry the clips out of the roof casing with a pry tool or a couple of screwdrivers and I found it to be pretty much impossible to do alone because you can't see a damn thing up there.
Once the light was out I could see the bolt where the antenna was attached but it was quite hard to get to, you can use a socket wrench but quite tough and tutoring to position. The bigger hassle is unplugging the two cables attached to the antenna, you better have tiny or hands or know a kid willing to stick his hands into an area with lots of wires because it is so hard to reach. But I managed to do it and managed to reattach the new antenna in the same way, but I can't stress how frustrating and difficult it was.

Now my antenna is on but it isn't flush to the roof, so my last question for the forum is any advice on how to get this thing flush? It is screwed in all the way. See photos.

 

[wssix99]

It should be flush.

The fastner on the antenna looks like it might be a wedge that tightens up as the bolt tightens. If so, this might be a two person job. I would loosen the bolt for the antenna and then have someone on the outside hold the antenna down flush while you tighten the bolt. (The act of you pushing on the bolt to tighten it may be what is causing the separation.)

 

[dannyV]

TThanks for posting this. My FM is weak for some reason... I was hoping someone had a link to an aftermarket windshield mounted antenna and write up on an easy installation lol I'll just leave that **** weak and stream from my phone to BT or android auto. eff that