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My C230 sport coupe antenna amp failed due to someone applying window tint. I found a replacement, but like a lot of these, it had been chiseled off the glass, and the contacts between the circuit board and the defroster grid were damaged.
I cleaned up the plastic amp board housing and applied new 3M two sided trim tape, but I've no way to replace all ten damaged pcb contacts. Or even one.
So I took the damaged contacts I had and took some measurements, and then used a pic of the contact to eyeball other dimensions for a model. I have an sti file, but can't upload it (not an accepted format).
Here's the questions: I need to 3d print at least a couple of these from TPU (used to 3d print flexible electrical parts), and check the fit and height. I'm assuming the contact should stick out .010-.020" past the tape. Does anyone have access to material and a 3d printer to do this? Or do you know of a business that will do 3d printing and not charge an arm and leg? My local library has a tech center with printers, but won't do the TPU due to some past problems.
One of my biggest gripes about this car has been the effectively inoperable key fob and no radio reception (yes, the amp itself is good; I checked, and the fob works with the amp plugged in and the fob next to it)
Check your local public library to see if they have a "Makers Space." Libraries across the US are looking for new ways to attract people into the libraries. They will have a 3D printer... give them the stl file and they will print the parts for you. My daughter runs the Makers Space in our local library. I'm not volunteering her, as you will find one locally if you try.
I was never able to find someone who could get the right conductive and squishy material. I did find something, but the local library said it clogged their printer and they wouldn't touch it.
I finally just bought a sheet of electrically conductive foam and cut little squares to replace the contacts. It worked. I really didn't expect it to, but the foam does conduct. As the amps for these cars now exceeds $600 to buy new, and the contacts are NLA, this was a decent solution.
Glad to hear you got the antenna working again. Just wondering, did you ever try electrically conductive epoxy? I remember repairing a window defroster with a few lines of that stuff once.
I thought about the epoxy solutions. You could probably wire everything together and mount the amp on the outside instead of between the glass and hatch. If this doesn't work permanently I'll go that route.
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