Sirius Starmate Installation

[Mark86]

I went to Best Buy yesterday and finally decided on a satellite radio. I went with Sirius because I thought they had a better selection of Rock channels and they offered more sports coverage. I really don't like the idea of anybody tampering with my truck so I wanted something that I can install by myself. In addition, I wanted a unit that was portable. I ended up going with the Sirius Starmate Replay and it had a $30.00 rebate! My brother and I installed the antenna within 10 minutes. We basically stuck it on the roof just behind the liftgate. In order to not clip the wire, we pulled back the weather strip just enough to thread the wire through and then put it back in place. We then tucked the wire between the headliner and rear pillar, ran it down the rear driver door to the carpet and then just tucked it under the carpet until we reached the cupholder. As of now, power is supplied by the 12V outlet. The unit has a built in FM transmitter, which transmits good sound. I get occassional static but it is not that bad. I may lift up the plastic trim by the shifter to tuck the wires under. Overall, I am thrilled with Sirius radio. Here are a few pictures of how it looks:

Sirius antenna mounted on the roof. It is only a magnet.

Antenna wire going through weather stripping:

Wire tucked under the headliner and pillar:

Only evidence that you see in the interior of a Sirius antenna. When I have more time, I will probably remove the trim and tuck the wires behind.

Finally, the finished product which is awsome!

 

[Phil79886]

OOOOOOOOO I love the vault!!!!!! That is my favorite station. Just a word of advice because eventually your going to hard wire the power probly dont do it cheap. Run a wire to your fusebox and make a fuse for it. DONT take that power from your existing radio power! Thats cheating! Your going to love Sirrus just to let you know here are some GREAT rock stations Buzzsaw (Classic Rock) Octane (New Rock) to name my 2 favorites.If you need a laugh Laugh Break is awsome!

 

[Mark86]

OOOOOOOOO I love the vault!!!!!! That is my favorite station. Just a word of advice because eventually your going to hard wire the power probly dont do it cheap. Run a wire to your fusebox and make a fuse for it. DONT take that power from your existing radio power! Thats cheating! Your going to love Sirrus just to let you know here are some GREAT rock stations Buzzsaw (Classic Rock) Octane (New Rock) to name my 2 favorites.If you need a laugh Laugh Break is awsome!

Thanks for the advice. I am going to eventually hard wire the power.

So far, the Vault is my favorite station. They play those great classic rock songs that you never hear. I installed it late last night so I haven't had time to experience all of the stations. I will defintely check out the stations you suggested today.

 

[leftyrb]

Phil wrote:

Just a word of advice because eventually your going to hard wire the power probly dont do it cheap. Run a wire to your fusebox and make a fuse for it.

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I tapped off the power plug in the console. I believe this is a fuses circuit. Do I need another fuse?

I installed my antenna above the driver and ran the wire down the side of the windshield and into the vehicleand installed my radio where a cup holder would be.

 

[Phil79886]

Quite honestly you dont HAVE to make a fuse for it but its the right thing to do. If you catch what I am saying. But if you understand electronics remeber a wire can only take so much power before it melts along with your truck. Lefty what your doing will work, and it is fused (too big of a fuse for that due to the universal nature of its use) but if you hook something big into that power plug it could get you in trouble. If you never intend on doing that, like I said before, its going to work. I would still go ahead and wire it with it's own seperate fuse. I hope I said that understandibly wait is that how you spell that? hmm Hope that helps! P.S. That is the second best Sirrus reciever I think. #1 is the portable one!

 

[AlexJet]

Originally posted by Mark86
Antenna wire going through weather stripping:

What about rubbing your antenna cord with the liftgate while you opening and closing it? I want to do same installation, but was warring about cable.

 

[Mark86]

AlexJet, the antenna wire does not rub against the tailgate when I open or close it. I left enough extra wire to prevent this. In the picture I posted, that is the closest the antenna wire gets to touching the liftgate. It actually gets looser when i close the liftgate. There is plenty of room behind there to prevent that.