I will try that tomorrow when I have some light to work with and report back. I forgot to mention above, before I scraped the paint off the bottom I was off the chats with antenna short lights on all channels. So it appears that with grounding I am on the track as 1 of the 3 test channels is in the green and the other 2 have at least come down substantially.

Thanks for the help and suggestions.

 

Hope you get the numbers down. Good luck

 

So Today I added the ground wire as was suggested. I also took a wire wheel to the underside of the mount. The ground wire made things worse. At this point it appears my coax is the culprit. Once I removed the ground wire it went back to where I started with slightly better results.

To check the radio I have plugged in my old mag mount Lil' Wil. Works like a charm. So other than new coax are there any suggestions?

 

Make sure you are using a flat braided style RF ground wire. A regular battery style ground wire can actually cause problems from my readings on the forum.
Also have you tried any bonding on the Jeep?
I bonded the tailgate to the body as well as the hood to the fire wall. I even bonded my exhaust to the frame.
Also if you are using a firestick you might try taking some reading with the plastic tip off completely. I had a very high reading on my upper channels but the adjustable tip was all the way in. Instead of cutting the tuning screw I removed the tip and all my SWR readings went down to a very safe range.
I could just cut it down and reinstall it but I don't mind seeing the copper screw.

 

Problem solved. Pulled off the tip cover, trimmed 1/4" of antenna wire and all readings are in the green with no more shorts showing. Thanks for the help guys.

 

Good to hear