XM Radio

[James Fennern]

I just bought my ST (2004 new to me) In my old vehicle I had a XM radio with a magnetic Antenna. I just can't bring myself to doing that to my ST. Can any tell me if there is a kit or is there a company that will instal an antenna correctly?



Jim

 

[A1cntrler]

Unless you get factory installed XM, then the antenna is magnetic. It is not a problem as long as you do it right. In my '01 I ran the antenna wire out the third brake light. Got great reception up there, and is small enough that it is not noticable. I took off the light (phillips head screwdriver) and puta small notch in the trim ring around the light (to allow for the wire to pass through) and then sealed it up with a bead of clear silicone to make sure it was watertight. The wire that was exposed was only a couple of inches long and was not seen because it was up so high. I see so many cars on the road with crappy installs on those antennas. I saw a good one the other day..it came out of the trunk and up the middle of the back window and up onto the roof. My other favs are the ones people run out thier doors and onto the roof. Even the installs of the factory XM on Nissan (Maxima/350Z) does not appeal to me. Who wants that thing on thier roof looking like that??? Hopefully that helps you. I don't have any pics of the install for you, as I don'thave the '01 anymore. In the '07 I have there is a notch in the third brake light that allows the wire to pass through. The wire runs out the bottom of the light and under the outside edge of the light and out the little notch. Works great!

 

[Robert Poole]

I have my second antanna on the XM, the first one I had run through the 3rd brake light. After a year of baking or freezing on the roof of the 'Trac, the antanna croaked. So I went with an internal install. I had an old mount for a radar detector,(the one with suction cups). I bent the prong back toward the suction cups so the prong would be pointing at the windshield, and placed the antanna on that. It works quite well.



Y'all have a good one



Bob

 

[A1cntrler]

I had one antenna fail on my ST. It was one of those first gen Pioneer ones from when XM came out. Looked liek a 5" tall sharkfin (had it the day they started broadcasting). It had gotten water in it. They are intended to go out on a large metal surface such as a trunklid/roof. In my '07 I had tried to put it inside the vehicle, but was getting too many signal drops through the glass/plastic of the dash. It needs to have a somewhat unobstructed view of the southern sky to get a good signal. The roof mounting location allows for this. The new antennas are quite small and only have one wire to hook up. My Pioneer tuner came withan antenna and it is just a bit larger than a quarter, and the wire is quite thin and flexable.

 

[Frank Marano]

I had a xm then sirius magnetic antenna on my yellow Trac for over 3 yrs with no damage.

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Mine has been fine for almost two years now. Been through a 100 degree temperature range since then (7 F - 107 F). Never missed a beat.

 

[Johnny O]

I have mine in front of the luggage rack on the passenger side. It blends in and you hardly see it.

 

[OFF TRAC]

If you mount it on comming out of the third light and the antenna you have doesn't come with a piece of plastic trim to cover the wire exposed you may want to try covering it with a piece cut out of the plastic door trim/guards that they sell at auto part stores. It works well to "protect" the exposed wire from the "Baking sun". I've done such "mod" to an antenna in one of my cars, been on for over 2 years and no problems what so ever from the Texas heat

 

[Mike Ioco]

I had real good luck with the roof mount through the brake light. I'm in Michigan where we get our share of baking and freezing temps, and haven't had a problem in 3-4 years. The notch in the trim and th sealant is a good idea though. My CHMSL burned out and when I went to investigate, I found the lens cover full of water.

 

[A1cntrler]

Wehn I sold my '01 I had taken my navigation and XM out of it. Both antenna were out through the CHMSL. I sealed it back up, but somehow water still got in there. It wasn't there when the future buyer was looking at the ST, but 4 days later when he took delivery I was out cleaning it up waiting for him to get here to get it, and saw the CHMSL half full of water (or was it half empty???). I had to buy a new one at the dealer. It did not come in in time, so I just sent it UPS to him. I never heard anything back, so I assume that all is well...

 

[William Washington]

Can any tell me if there is a kit or is there a company that will instal an antenna correctly?

Any competent Auto Stereo Shop can do the job for you.