High SWR problem

[RedRock]

Hey guys, just put on my firestik antenna tonight and it's reading really high SWR's. I have all the washers right, I checked my coax cable and I can't find out whats wrong...

Any ideas?

I know I have it mounted a little low, but I park in the garage and didn't want it to hit all the time.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Here are some pictures

[Martinez]

Have you tuned the antenna?

[RedRock]

I tried too, but it yielded no change in SWR. I'm going to try and mount it higher up above the taillight and sand the paint off behind the bracket and where the bolts contact the bracket.

[Martinez]

How much did you cut off of the antenna?  I did 1/2 inch increments on my firestick and ended up cutting three or more inches off.

[RedRock]

I didn't cut any at all. Mine is the FS II version with a tuneable tip. So no cutting is needed. I adjusted the tip and the swr did not change one bit. It was still holding steady in the red. The needle was pegged at the same spot every time. A few guys have told me I need to mount it higher. I just have to figure out where and fab up a new bracket. 

[Martinez]

Then it definitely sounds like a grounding problem, I am relatively new to CB?s but in all of my research I have not heard that it being located low on the vehicle can cause a high SWR.  When I attached the mount to my TJ I used my dremel with a wire brush to remove all paint to get to bare metal.  Once I get the mount painted then I will be using some silicone around it to keep water from getting behind it can causing rust.

[RedRock]

Hmm... well it could be a combination of both really. I won't know till I try anything.