Adding Sirius

[ka7gzr]

I have been following with interest this thread. I recently purchased the Visteon Sirius Sat module via “Radios and More” for my 2006 Explorer. With the module, I received a mag mount type antenna and wire harness. My Explorer has the Nav unit (no DVD). I found the factory 12 pin connector in the kick panel and lashed it up to the Sirius module and was able to register it with Sirius and have complete functionality except for Audio. I suspect I will need to install the wire harness to gain audio. Studying the wiring diagrams It appears that the 2006 was wired assuming that a DVD player would be present and the Sat audio is routed through the DVD. Without the DVD player, Sat audio is not routed to the Nav unit. However the digital bus and power are not dependent on the DVD installation and therefore all works except for the audio.
I would like to install a more permanent antenna then the mag mount. If somebody has the Ford P/N for a 2006 Explorer Sat antenna could you pass it along?
I finally found the Sat mount P/N in the kick panel and have ordered one through Ford.
TIA
Jim

 

[kagee108]

Based on a tip I got here I believe, I mounted my magnetic mount antenna under neath the cowling between the hood and the windshield. Works terrific. No holes in the metal.

I have the DVD/Rear Entertainment deal. I had to replace the DVD cable that connects in the C post and runs through the head liner as per the TSB.

 

[Sams01XplrSprt]

which one is better to get xm or sirrus. My 03 cadillac coupe deville has the xm radio but i am thinking of getting sirrus for my 01 sport.

 

[06EddieNav]

i had the harness switched out per the TSB and the Sirius plays the audio using that connector in the kick panel.

 

[ka7gzr]

Where does the Ford TSB harness route? It sounds like it connects to the DVD connector in driver's side roof (C949) and routes where?
Thanks,
Jim

 

[dwink]

Based on a tip I got here I believe, I mounted my magnetic mount antenna under neath the cowling between the hood and the windshield. Works terrific. No holes in the metal.

I have the DVD/Rear Entertainment deal. I had to replace the DVD cable that connects in the C post and runs through the head liner as per the TSB.

I also purchased the DVD cable, but gave up trying to route it. Did you have to pull the headliner down to make this work?

It seemed like a lot of work, I ended up getting the adaptor that ties into the stock headunit (like gh67 did), but the downside with that is no Sirius for the rear DVD player and headphones (meaning that I have to listen to Kid's Stuff on long trips as the kids can't use the headphones).

If it is not too bad, I might tackle it again. Also, as gh67 mentioned, it is very tight getting the nav back into the dash with the adaptor. Tighter than I like it.

 

[06EddieNav]

I had the same problem when i first installed Sirius. Would not play separately thru the DVD player headphones. I had the dealer replace and install the harnesses per the TSB (there were actually 2 harnesses they replaced) and now it plays as it should thru the headphones. It did not cost me anything.
I have the Navigation radio and the rear DVD player and added the Sirius because it was built in Oct 05 before they started installing Sirius at the factory.

 

[EmJay]

Wow! I've been trying to follow all these posts, but I'm lost! I have an '06 Explorer Limited that came with the audiophile radio (w/ 6 CDs) and the DVD player, but no nav. I just bought an '08 Escape Limited for my wife that came with Nav & Sirius, so now I want the same in my Explorer. I've been in communication with Tony and he has one for me, says he will program it for Sirius. What kind of Sirius module do I need, and because I have a DVD player, do I need some different harness?

Thanks,

MJ - Seattle

 

[ctj]

what would be the cost of having the dealer install a sirius radio on a 2008 sports trac-the invoice price for the radio is $166 but the dealer said the cost of istalling one would be about $800-seems very steep

 

[EmJay]

Wow! I've been trying to follow all these posts, but I'm lost! I have an '06 Explorer Limited that came with the audiophile radio (w/ 6 CDs) and the DVD player, but no nav. I just bought an '08 Escape Limited for my wife that came with Nav & Sirius, so now I want the same in my Explorer. I've been in communication with Tony and he has one for me, says he will program it for Sirius. What kind of Sirius module do I need, and because I have a DVD player, do I need some different harness?

Thanks,

MJ - Seattle

I picked up an OEM nav unit from TAuk ($699) and it was truly a "plug n play" installation. It took me about 30 minutes, but I'm very methodical and it would probably take a "normal" person less time. Like others have reported, the splash screen does say MERCURY on startup, but since the dealer wants $100 to reprogram it, I’ll live with it.

Next, I picked up a Ford OEM Sirius unit ($28.09 + S&H) and a standard Sirius Antenna ($17.50 + S&H) on ebay. Because my Explorer came with DVD but no Sirius, I had to get a new harness for the Rear Entertainment System from my local Ford dealer (Ford PN 6L214588DA, list $37.93, "my price" $27.31 + tax). Installing the Sirius module behind the front passenger kick panel is a snap. Remove the sill plate and the kick panel and there's the connector that plugs into the module. I plugged in the module, plugged the antenna into the module, turned on the radio, and sure enough, "SR" showed up as an option on the menu. The radio actually started searching for and registering satellite channels! (I thought I'd need to register w/ Sirius before the thing would work.) Less than 5 minutes, and I had satellite radio! I didn’t have any Sirius sound yet, so I knew that I needed the new harness. I popped the hood, lifted just the corner of the plastic cowl panel and placed the antenna there. It took a few minutes to find a route for the wire through the firewall and then to place the wire, but I had the module and the antenna installed in less than 30 minutes. I'm not sure how long it will work before Sirius pulls the plug and I have to subscribe, but for right now, it's free! (Update . . . after four days, Sirius pulled the plug! It might have been exactly 96 hours, I installed it Friday a little after 5:00 and Tuesday, a little after 5:00, it stopped!)
Installing the harness was a little more complicated, to pull the panels that cover the C pillar, you first have to remove the seat belt anchor. After I had the panels out, I dropped the Rear Entertainment System and before going on, I plugged the new harness in and sure enough, I had sound . . . . Sirius was up and running! I didn’t take the headliner out all the way . . . . I cut out as much of the old harness as I could reach, and then snaked the new harness into place. I re-installed the Rear Entertainment System, re-installed all the panels and the seat belt anchor and I was good to go! Elapsed time less than 90 minutes.

The entire job took less than 2 hours. Total cost: Factory Nav $699.00 plus S&H, Factory Sirius $72.90 plus S&H and tax. Grand total: Ford Factory Navigation and Sirius Radio, $771.90 plus S&H and tax. Such a deal!

 

[bustemupbob]

I am a little confused; I have a 2006 Ford Explorer with navigation, no rear DVD. I am looking for the most cost affected way to install Sirius. What type of ford adapter should I get? Thanks

 

[EmJay]

You can go to your Ford dealer and buy the specific module (or at least get the correct PN), or just search ebay for "Ford Sirius module" and "Sirius antenna" . . . The part number of the module I put in mine was 8S4T-18C963-AE. I believe the last two digits refer to the year of the vehicle and aren't critical. There are lots of antenna listings on ebay, but they're not that much at Best Buy, or wherever . . .

There are a couple on ebay that I think would work http://cgi.ebay.com/OEM-Ford-Lincol...wItemQQptZSatellite_Radio?hash=item3a540dffa4 and
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FORD...e92eQQitemZ370278918446QQptZSatelliteQ5fRadio but they want too much (I think.)

PM me with your email address and I'll send you a detailed pic of the module that I installed in my '06 Limited.

Since you don't have the DVD player, you won't need a new harness.

 

[bustemupbob]

Okay so I got the Sirius Module & Antenna shown below. Hooked it up very easy to do, took 5 Minutes. Actually spent allot more time on the phone with Sirius to activate.
Now the problem, at first it seems to work fine loaded up all info etc... On the screen station title,song titles etc, but no sound is coming out.. Nothing and I DO NOT have a DVD system. Please Help
Thanks

 

[bustemupbob]

Anyone?

 

[EmJay]

Did you see gh67's posts on page 2 of this thread? Take a look at his 03/21/07 and 05/31/07 posts for "no sound" info . . .

 

[Rfkiki]

I am a little confused; I have a 2006 Ford Explorer with navigation, no rear DVD. I am looking for the most cost affected way to install Sirius. What type of ford adapter should I get? Thanks

The connector in the OEM Sirius unit is Fakra Yellow connector .So one end of the adapter or pigtail you need is Fakra Jack yellow .Does this antenna will be suitable for Sirus unit :

 

[noway]

Hi,

I have a 2006 Explorer with the Nav unit added and now I want to get Sirius.

Installed the factory Sirius module behind the passenger kick panel. Receiving the Sirius signal, But no audio. After reading this thread, the solution seems to be to add a harness of some type.

If someone can tell which harness I need and where does it route through. That would be great.

Thanks
PS. I have a moonroof , and no DVD Entertainment system.

 

[JeffreyM]

New to the forum, and I have the same issue, no sound after adding SDARS module. This is in a 2008 Explorer Limited. It has 6disc audiophile radio (with rear sub woofer) and Sync. No DVD, no moonroof. Radio displays satellite channels, but no sound. The post from GH67 regarding the incorrect wire harness seems like it may be the problem. His post was in reference to a 2006 model, I wouldn't think the same problem would still be around 2 years later, but.... What harness would I need, and exactly where does it connect? If it goes the the DVD connector in the roof, how hard is it to remove headliner for access? Or is there an easier solution. Appreciate any help.