Without being there I can't guarantee anything, however if your ground is making good contact with the metal you should have a good ground. I would go ahead and adjust the tip up or down depending on what your readings are for channels 1, 19 and 40.

http://www.radioscanner.nl/swrtest.htm

read through that... it'll give you the process of properly tuning your antenna to your CB. Also the proper changes that need to be made to get it in tune.

 

That very high reading of 4 still leads me to believe the antenna ground is still an issue. The fact that the magnetic base antenna you swapped in had a reading of 1.2 tells me that the coax and radio are in great shape. The Wilson antenna adjustable tip can fine tune a smaller range of SWR, but 4 to 1.2 is a significant jump that is not likely done with just tip adjustment.

Do you have a simple volt/ohm meter available? If not, you can pick one up for maybe $20 at a Radio Shack, Auto Zone, Pep Boys, Sears, etc. It be a worthy investment to have even a cheap one around when working on simple wiring projects like this or any other bells & whistles. Don't forget the dielectric grease while you're there.

Bear with me because I don't know how much you do know. We want to check continuity in the grounding circuit of the antenna. Think of continuity as a straight line between two points, only that straight line is electricity. Set the meter to do a continuity check. Check the meter's instructions on how to set it for this check. With the meter ready to go, touch one probe tip to the other. This is a good connection electrically and the meter should either sound a tone or have the needle peg at max. Now you're ready to check your system.

The first check I would do is to see if there is anything wrong with the antenna itself. Do this check with the antenna removed from the Jeep. Touch one probe to the wrenching flats at the bottom end of the antenna and the other probe to the adjustable tip at the top. The meter should sound off with a tone or peg the needle at max. This would tell us that the antenna wire wound on the fiberglass shaft is in one piece. Now, with one probe on the same wrenching flats, touch the other probe to the end of the grounding pigtail at the bottom of the Wilson antenna. The meter should remain quiet with no needle sweep. (CORRECTION: The pigtail off the bottom of the Wilson antenna is not a ground wire, but an impedance matching wire. Doing a continuity check between this pigtail and either end of the antenna will read as a short, or having continuity. This tidbit is per Wilson tech support. My bad!)

The next check is to see if there is an issue right at the antenna base. The antenna should not be in contact with ground to function properly. If you look at the end of a coax connector, think of the center pin as the antenna and the outer barrel as the grounded antenna base, mount, and the rest of the Jeep. Keep this relationship in mind as you work the installation. Touch either probe to the wrenching flats of the antenna. With the other probe, touch the outer barrel of the coax connector below the antenna mount. A good installation should give you no tone or the needle should remain at zero. If you get a tone or a needle sweep, the antenna is shorted out to ground and is your source of the problem. If there is a short here, the antenna base might not be assembled quite right. Reassemble the antenna base again making certain that the antenna and coax center pin are insulated from the grounded parts of the base and mount. The typical insulator for the base would be either a plastic bushing with a plastic washer, or a one piece plastic flanged bushing. This would keep the antenna's threaded stud centered in the mount's hole, but not in contact with the metal surface of the mount. After reassembly, repeat the check to make sure you don't get a tone or needle sweep.

Next, we check the ground between the antenna mount and the tire carrier/tailgate. Touch the two probes together to confirm the meter is working. Now, touch one probe to the coax outer barrel and the other to the bolt head of the tire carrier attach bolt being used to attach the antenna mount. This should be the same bolt you prepped as your ground path. Your meter should sound the tone or peg the meter. This would indicate a good ground path exists between these two points.

Now let's check the tire carrier/tailgate ground to the rest of the Jeep. Again, check the meter (...see a pattern?) now touch one probe to that same attach bolt we just checked. With the other probe, touch some bare metal part inside the tub area. On my JK, I used one of the subwoofer mounting studs in the floor to check the ground. If all else fails (this hurts to even suggest it) use the pointed end of the probe to pierce the paint of the tub to make contact with bare metal. Again, the meter should sing a happy tune or peg the needle. Be sure to touch up the pierce point in the paint if you took that approach.

Recheck your SWR now that the ground path checks good. If needed, the small grounding pigtail at the bottom of the Wilson antenna can be attached to the antenna mount making certain you have good bare metal contact at the connection. I would use this as a last resort because it would make quick antenna removal a PIA. For the long haul, I would still suggest the use of the dielectric grease so the grounding surfaces don't degrade due to corrosion.

Sorry for getting so long winded but I hope this helps you and others to square away the grounding problem. Good luck.

 

Ok. I have a volt/ohm meter here at work. I read the manual and set the meter to check continuity. I touched the two probes to check to see if the meter was working; the meter started to beep and had a digital reading of 150-160.

I then took the antenna off the mount, touched one probe to the tip of the antenna and touch the wrenching flats with the other end. The meter started to beep and the reading spiked to 100.

Then, i took a reading from the wrenching flats to the grounding loop on the antenna. The meter started beeping and spiked to 100.

Im going to continue through the other steps you outlined, but could the antenna be the problem?

 

I screwed the pooch PatAck. After writing a response to you I went to Wilson Antenna tech support to see if I can help figure out the problem. I was wrong about that pigtail that comes off the antenna. Here's their link: http://www.wilsonantenna.com/tstesta.htm According to Wilson, it still looks to be a grounding issue. I would suggest running though the steps I outlined in the earlier post to verify the ground at all the other locations. ...hey, at least I admit when I'm wrong...that hurt to say that

Here's a cut & paste from their tech Q&A:


IV. The Wilson FGT & Flexible Fiberglass:

1. Remove the rubber cap at the top of the antenna.

2. Touch one lead (negative or positive) of meter or tester to the threaded portion at the bottom of the fiberglass antenna.

3. Touch the other lead of meter to the brass whip tip at the top of the antenna.

4. This should produce a shorted condition (or reads continuity), if the antenna is in proper working order.

5. Touch one lead (negative or positive) of meter or tester to the threaded portion at the bottom or the brass whip tip of the fiberglass antenna.

6. Touch the other lead of meter to the lug attached to the matching lead wire.

7. Either position should read a shorted condition (or reads continuity), if the antenna is in proper working order.



After Testing Antenna

If, after verifying that the antenna has tested properly, the problem still persists, it is from another source. The most common problem is one of poor or inadequate grounding. This may be from either the vehicle, antenna mount, radio, or amplifier. Check the following items and potential sources:

1. Recheck the ground on the antenna installation

2. Check the ground on the radio - not the power ground. You may need to add an additional ground wire from the chassis of the radio to actual metal ground.

3. Check the ground on any amplifier.

4. Check the center hole of the SO-239 Mount on the antenna. It can be the cause of fluctuating SWR and poor connections. There are some poorly manufactured mounts on the market that is the source of a lot of antenna problems.

 

I re-read the manual and im sure the meter is working right

Im the first of my friends to venture into a "decent" CB setup. Everyone else purchased the cheap walmart kits (cheap yes, but they work better than mine ).

I will give Wilson tech support a call and post my new findings...

 

Ive been out of town for the past few days.... but i FINALLY had a chance to work on the CB last night.

Turns out, i was shorting out the antenna through the mount . I centered the antenna in the hole on the mounting bracket. I check the connections/grounds with a voltage meter and it seemed good.

so... i hook up the SWR meter and im getting 1.5 on channel 1 and 2.5 on 40.

The tip on my antenna is all the way down and i cant get a better reading... raising the antenna is making the readings higher.

Questions: Does this seem to be a grounding issue OR have people cut a little off the antenna tip to get it even lower?

 

https://www.jk-forum.com/forums/jk-cb-ham-radios-128/3rd-brake-light-antenna-install-96042/
Here's how made a good ground from the mount to the tailgate, no issues. Thought the pics may help. If you read through the posts you'll read I added a ground wire from the tailgate to the jeep itself. Some have said that the hinges on the tailgate don't carry a good ground or could be intermittent. Better safe than sorry.

 

Good to hear that you found a source for the problem. As for cutting off some of the tip, that's not uncommon at all. But, before doing that, try a different approach before cutting. Just remove the tip itself first. Leave the small set screw in the antenna, and just slip the rubber antenna tip back onto the top of the antenna. Now check your SWR. If this appears to improve the SWR reading, then go ahead and trim down the length of that removable tip and reinstall it on the antenna. If cutting down that tip, cut the end opposite the little knob on the end of the wire. From what I understand, that knob allows a more uniform transmission, rather than some ragged trimmed end.

I can appreciate what others have to offer with their grounding efforts but I would think twice before you start hitting finished body parts with a body grinder. Like I said once before, you can kill a fly with a stick of dynamite, but why? My 07 tailgate has been opened a few times (x100) over the years, yet I maintain enough of a ground to maintain a 1.3 - 1.4 SWR. No smoke, no mirrors, no grounding straps. Judging by the SWR readings you just posted, you're at least in the neighborhood now. It's vital that all bare metal contact points are cleaned of any crud or paint, and sealed from the outside elements in some manner so as not to allow corrosion to degrade the connection. Some dielectric grease in these connections will help keep a good contact. Some primer, paint, or caulk (silicone) would help keep that connection "golden" for years to come. Give it a try.

 

i sorta had the same issue but moved my ground to the bumper and that seemed to help

 

I removed the tip, put the plastic cover back on now im getting a reading of 1.1 on channel 1 and 1.5 on channel 40.

Its my understanding that a lower SWR reading on channel 1 and a higher reading on channel 40 means the antenna tip is to long.

Suggestions?