DIY Satellite Radio Install (lots of pics)

[geminon2k7]

This is my first DIY on this forum and in general. I installed XM radio on my FA5, but didn’t have a camera, but I got XM radio for the gf and asked her to take pics of the install. She’s a great camera person . This XM radio will be going into a sedan.

The install will have the antenna on the outside and use as much of the Honda factory installed equipment as possible. It’s basically the same installation that Circuit City or Best Buy would do minus the hardwire into the electrical system.

Tool(s) : A letter opener with a rounded tip
-I recommend getting a car electronic installation tool kit from Wal-Mart for $15 to tuck the wires if your scared of scratching or chipping the paint. I didn’t scratch or chip cuz I’m that good :-P

Step 1: Mount the Satellite Antenna above the windshield right about the rearview mirror. Make sure it’s centered (you don’t want it to look lopsided).



Step 2: Tuck the antenna wire under the weather stripping towards the driver’s side door. There is a little gap between the stripping and the that allows you to tuck in the thin wire. When you get to the end, make a 90 degree turn with the antenna and pull up a little bit on the hard black plastic and continue to tuck in the antenna wire along the right side of the windshield.



Step 3: When you get near the bottom of the windshield you’ll notice another piece of that hard plastic covers the one you were tucking the antenna wire under. There is a gap where the two pieces meet, tuck the wire in there and make a U with the wire and begin to come up the outer side (see the pics)




Step 4: You’ll notice a break in the metal along just above that small triangular shaped window. Pull the metal out just a litttttttle bit and it will make room for you to continue and tuck the wire in.



Step 5 (The hardest part of this installation): There is really small weather stripping around that little triangular window and that’s where we have to tuck the wire next. You must be extremely careful when doing this, you can scratch the paint here if you aren’t using plastic tools. Continue to tuck the wire behind the weather stripping but CAREFULLY!




Step 6: When you get the wire around the window, just follow the edge of the window UP to the top of the triangular window. At this point you can get a firm grip on the interior weather stripping (should be gray and black) and run the antenna wire in behind the stripping and go down to right beneath the dash board.




Step 7: Run the wire under the dash and steering wheel. Bunch up the excess and ziptie it and leave enough slack to play with. Leave about a foot between the excess wire and the end of the antenna that plugs into the satellite receiver.





Step 8: Position the satellite radio and all the other wires. I tucked all the wires between that little cubby hole under the radio and the tray behind the shifter. There’s a little gap there that will allow you tuck everything in there without little or no problems at all. I plugged the power cord into that 12V outlet right there and used the AUX input there using a double sided 5mm jack (under $10 at Radio Shack). I fired it up and Ta-DA satellite radio installed in the car.




The complete installation took 1.5 hours. Not that hard if you have any questions, feel free to ask me! Good Luck!

[webby]

moved to the audio area - nice work on the diy

[maxxnitro88]

if you use the 12 volt outlet in teh center counsil you can cut a hole and run the power from there but you will have to extend the power wire

[geminon2k7]

Originally Posted by maxxnitro88

if you use the 12 volt outlet in teh center counsil you can cut a hole and run the power from there but you will have to extend the power wire

I saw the DIY about that one and I thought about doing it, but I don't have a garage to take the time to that and its very cold here in Jersey right now. Maybe I'll do it sometime in the spring or summer when its warmer out.

Did you do that for your satellite radio? If so, how hard would you say it is to do?

[maxxnitro88]

i did but i was able to d it w/o removing the center council just unscrewed the two screws in the bin and by lifting it up a bit i threaded the wire through with a coat hanger. then just stuffed the wire up along the side till i got close to the front. but then i took the under dash piece out (just pull it off) and slid the wire in behind the radio

[Jeff909]

What a hassle with the antenna. Just put it on the rear shelf.

[vincentek9]

NICE! thanks for the writeup man!

[NavyFlip]

not really. i did mine 9 months ago! very easy to do, even a caveman can do it! lol!

[NavyFlip]

i just hotwired my outlet on the lighter wires, and used an FM modulator for a cleaner install. good job on the DIY. now people got a reference on how to install portable satellite radios!

[geminon2k7]

Originally Posted by Jeff909

What a hassle with the antenna. Just put it on the rear shelf.

I didn't want to put it on the rear shelf because I'm afraid it would get optimum reception there. I live in New Jersey and there are a lot of bridges and low-lying highways that sometimes make it hard to get a good signal for XM. Even on the roof of the car the digital feed cuts out under some bridges, so the roof IMO is the best place to put it. Besides it wasn't that difficult, it only took about 45 minutes to do in the freezing cold :-)

[geminon2k7]

Originally Posted by NavyFlip

i just hotwired my outlet on the lighter wires, and used an FM modulator for a cleaner install. good job on the DIY. now people got a reference on how to install portable satellite radios!

How's the strength of the FM mod? I'm usually against using them because of all the frequencies being used by all the radio stations nowadays. I like the AUX wire because it's a direct signal without any interference.

Sidenote about wires...
When i first installed that satellite radio I used a really thin AUX wire and it made the radio sound like garbage. Garbage meaning low volume and crackling noises at the speakers for high notes and bass. I had a spare AUX that was much thicker (the one in the pics) and it was like a 100% increase in sound quality, no more crackling. I won't underestimate the benefits of thicker audio wire again :SHOCKED:

[NavyFlip]

Originally Posted by geminon2k7

How's the strength of the FM mod? I'm usually against using them because of all the frequencies being used by all the radio stations nowadays. I like the AUX wire because it's a direct signal without any interference.

yes you are right, using the aux input on satellite radios have a better quality, compared to using a wired FM modulator. At low volume, you can hear a constant static sound on FM compared to no static sound on the Aux Input. It does not bother me because I kinda tend to play my music louder! lol! But I also have an Mp3 player, so I use the Aux Input for that one!

[Superjudge]

Originally Posted by geminon2k7

I didn't want to put it on the rear shelf because I'm afraid it would get optimum reception there. I live in New Jersey and there are a lot of bridges and low-lying highways that sometimes make it hard to get a good signal for XM. Even on the roof of the car the digital feed cuts out under some bridges, so the roof IMO is the best place to put it. Besides it wasn't that difficult, it only took about 45 minutes to do in the freezing cold :-)

I'm new to my civic, picked it up last week without XM and this thread is exactly what I'm looking for. Reception in NJ is tough, there are still some tall buildings and low areas where I lost Sirius reception in my last car and the modulators never worked well in the more urban areas in my opinion.

Great post, thanks for the info and pics, the aux in is the way to go with an ipod in the console for me.

[geminon2k7]

Originally Posted by Superjudge

I'm new to my civic, picked it up last week without XM and this thread is exactly what I'm looking for. Reception in NJ is tough, there are still some tall buildings and low areas where I lost Sirius reception in my last car and the modulators never worked well in the more urban areas in my opinion.

Great post, thanks for the info and pics, the aux in is the way to go with an ipod in the console for me.

Glad you like the DIY. 287 near exit 1 is the worst for me. It always cuts out If you have any questions PM me.

[337]

For people with sirius, I mounted my antenna to the metal of the moonroof cover, fed the line to my sun visor and ziptied the excess, ran it to the rearview mirror and down to the head unit. I mounted the head unit to the left of the radio using the air vent. It looks very good and nothing had to be ran outside. I made use of the aux jack and cig lighter and just tucked the wires as I ran it down. Fast and easy. Took me 15-20 minutes

[geminon2k7]

Do you have a pic? I'd like to see how and where the antenna is mounted. The XM antenna is smaller so it should fit in the same location.

[rraabb11]

did this install-the part where you go around the triangle window SUCKED! i scratched my paint bc the plastic tools were too fat to get under the weatherstrip. one tip is to cover the wire in the door area with 3M rubber tape.

[crawldaddy]

need help trying to find a spot to run ant wire so it is not visiable. bad exper with wires hanging out on door hinges.....

[geminon2k7]

You could try to take out the driver's side dash board and place it near the Digital speedometer. I just installed the D3, which has a digital satellite antenna similar to XM's, in that location. It only take a few minutes to remove the dash, it's like 3-5 screws and just popping the panels off. You could try that instead of running the antenna like I did. Check out Jepetto's D3 DIY for more info on how to take out the dash. If you have more questions please ask

[markshih]

since this was so helpful I wanted to add my experience to this. I found that using one of those laminated IDs give the thinness and flexibility to help pry the weatherstripping aside to push in the wires. I use the cap from a Bic pen to push the wires in the grooves. Works pretty well.