[SlaveToTheNeedl]

I am planning on installing a Sirius Sportster 4 and have a few questions.

1. Is the A-Pillar easy to remove? I see the handles are installed, are they a hassle?

2. Satellite Antennae cable routing and placement: Has anyone found an easy way to run the antennae? I would like to install it in the center above the rear window on the outside of the cab. My radio will be located directly to the right of the drivers A-Pillar.

3. For power can I simply snake the power cord down under the dash after removing the A-Pillar? I will use an "add a circuit" to supply power.

After finding out its gonna cost me $100.00 just for an auxilliary input I am going with the wired antennae modulater instead at 20 bucks. All I want is no static and since 90 percent of the time I listen to Howard Stern the sound quality is not a big issue. Appreciate any help and BTW: I did review other install tips on the DIY thread but they only showed me certain aspects of an install.

 

[amp2oo1]

Didnt I tell you to go to Circuit city to buy the dftoy aux input module? its not $100...

 

[SlaveToTheNeedl]

Amp,
CC had it at 75 bucks, then with the necessary RCA jacks it was costin me $100.00 out the door! I don't use an Ipod so its simply not worth the cost. I will put that 100 bucks towards a set of seat covers instead. If I was planning on installing Focal speakers and JL Audio Ampsa in the car then yes I would have gone that route since its CD quality sound. With the Sirius I am on the Howard 100 channel 99.9 percent of the time anyhow so sound quality isn't that important.

 

[amp2oo1]

bah thats a crappy price... mine was only $60 at CC, and the 1/8th to rca adapter is like $3 at radio shack (especially if you dont care how nice that adapter cable is)

 

[SlaveToTheNeedl]

Well I started the install and the A-Pillars are GREAT! Looks like an easy job.
QUESTION: On the 12VOLT Power Cord: I broke apart the cigarette lighter adaptor to confirm that the wire with the white markers is positive and found this circuit board inside. ALL MY OTHER INSTALLS never had this circuit board.
ITS NOT A PROBLEM SENDING 12 VOLTS DIRECTLY TO THE UNIT?
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT CIRCUIT BOARD?

 

[Pb]

The A-pillar is easy to remove. Use a small pick to pop out those round 2 covers on the handle. use a 10mm socket to remove the bolts under the covers. Then pull off the handle. Then the rest just pops off as you pull up and out at the same time.

Now when you re-install it there is a little tab near the bottom that needs to be watched. It has to go behind the rubber door gasket, or else the tab will just get squished and the A-pillar will not fit perfectly in that area. I used a small pick to help the tab go into place as I installed the panel. Once you get the panel taken off you will see what I mean.

FYI, the B and C pillars also have these little tabs. If your panels are not fitting tight then you probably have some squished tabs that need to be coaxed into the proper position.

 

[SlaveToTheNeedl]

WARNING!:
I just found out that the newer Sirius units CANNOT BE HARD WIRED unless you use the circuit board thats inside the cigarette lighter adaptor. Its a step down transformer that drops voltage to apprx. 5VOLTS. 12 VOLTS WILL BURN IT OUT!

 

[ALL-TERRAIN]

Slave,

I just in stalled the same Sirius unit in my Truck this past weekend and ran into the same problem your having. Hooking the unit to the fuse box and sending it 12volts won't burn the unit up because I did it likle 20 times trying to get the damn thing to work until I finally realized that the Sirius unit is in fact running on 5 volts. I took it to a radio shop and he said that the sirius has a built in breaker that won't let the 12 volts hurt the unit. They charged me $30 to take that chip out of the cig. light adapter and hard wire it to my ignition. Well worth the money IMO because I have no idea how to hook the unit up besides using the add-a-ciruit.

I've got a question for you. Does the stock 6 disc JBL unit have an AUX in are do I need to by the DF-TOY unit and the wire to connect the Sirius directly to the head unit. The static from the FM modulator is driving me crazy.

 

[SilverStreak05]

Instead of hardwiring it, just pick up an extra cigarette adapter from radio shack and wire it up to the existing power outlet behind the panel. Then you can power the head unit with no modifcation needed and all the wiring is hidden.

 

[vsgls1]

Take some pics when you are done. My antennea is on the dash, and I might reroute the wires over xmas vacation.