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Sirius Antenna Relocation?

Discussion in '3rd Gen. Tacomas (2016-2023)' started by UtahTaco2016, Mar 6, 2016.

  1. Mar 6, 2016 at 2:13 PM
    #1
    UtahTaco2016

    UtahTaco2016 [OP] Member

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    I put a pop-up camper shell on my '16 Taco, and that covers up the shark fin, which kills decent Sirius reception. So I need to relocate the Sirius antenna. I see some instructions on how to wire in a satellite antenna on Gen 1 and 2, but nothing re Gen 3s.

    Has anyone done this? Is the Sirius receiver incorporated right into the radio, or is there some other place to connect an antenna? (I use Sirius because lots of times I have no cell coverage on trips in rural areas.)

    Thanks.
     
  2. Apr 28, 2016 at 9:51 PM
    #2
    ozy129

    ozy129 Member

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    Flip Pac shell, Viper 5706v remote start alarm, OME 3" lift (OME 885 coils, 10 mm top plate spacers, drivers side trim packer, and 90021 shocks in front; 60091 shocks in the rear with Toytec AAL and Firestone ride rite W217602407 airbags with Daystar cradles in the rear.) Toytec diff-drop kit. East coast gear supply driver's side clamshell bushing In the future: 1/2 in flat leaf spring shim Light racing upper control arms Cooper discoverer S/T Maxx 265/75/16 (32in)
    I am interested in moving my sat antenna too. I'm picking up a flipac shell tomorrow and I'm certain I'll have to remove the antenna just to install the shell. I'm expext it will involve drilling holes so I can move it forward a few inches. Have you moved yours yet?

    Here's my truck with the fin antenna barley visible
    image.jpg

    Here's the flipac on the sellers truck that doesn't have a fin antenna

    image.jpg
     
  3. Apr 29, 2016 at 5:49 AM
    #3
    COskimtb

    COskimtb Well-Known Member

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    Also curious if a roof cargo box interferes with both FM and XM radio reception.
     
  4. Apr 29, 2016 at 7:01 AM
    #4
    ozy129

    ozy129 Member

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    image.jpg I just had a cargo box above mine for about a month and didn't notice any differences with reception. It was hanging over it by almost a foot.
     
  5. Apr 29, 2016 at 8:19 AM
    #5
    NYNURSE

    NYNURSE Well-Known Member

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    If the Taco antenna is the same as my '15 4Runner you might have about 4 - 6 inches of extra cable to work with. You won't know until you drop the headliner.
    You might be able to just move the antenna forward. If astetics aren't a concern, move the antenna to the side and you will gain a few more inches.
    The fin contains the AM radio, satellite and navigation antennas.
     
  6. Apr 29, 2016 at 2:29 PM
    #6
    UtahTaco2016

    UtahTaco2016 [OP] Member

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    Nope, I gave up on moving mine until I can find an adapter that will fit the 2016 head unit (radio) connection from Sirius out to a Sirius external antenna in. (Bypassing the shark fin entirely.)
     
  7. May 10, 2016 at 8:00 PM
    #7
    ozy129

    ozy129 Member

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    So I picked up the Flippac and had to immediately removed the antenna from the roof. About a week later I decided to go for it and cut the holes to reposition it. I dropped the rear half of the headliner and got measurements. The main hole is a 1/2 in by 7/8 in rectangle, and there is a pilot hole that is about 1/4 in. I started by separating the antenna wire to see how much I had to work with. NYNURSE is right, I was able to pull the wires diagonally and reach the new antenna location 6 in forward on the roof. I then marked carefully, making sure the Flippac would clear it when opened as well as closed, and drilled two, 1/2 in holes side by side. I then had to spend an hour and a half with a metal file turning the figure 8 into a rectangle. This did not create very pleasant sounds. Once I could see the antenna would fit I was able to see where to drill the pilot hole. The day after I moved the antenna we had a huge rainstorm, the antenna didn't leak at all. I'm planning to open it back up and put nail polish on the new openings to prevent rust. I still have duct tape covering the previous antenna location, if anyone has any good ideas on how to seal this more permanently it would be appreciated.

    Picture 1: New location with antenna resting
    Picture 2: new location completed with Flippac open

    image.jpg image.jpg
     
    Inferno_Taco likes this.
  8. Jan 26, 2019 at 3:31 PM
    #8
    denverj

    denverj New Member

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    I have a pop up camper for my 2017 and get zero satellite reception when the camper is on. Local auto a/v shops and dealer were no help in finding a solution for relocating or providing an alternative antenna. After much internet searching I found a review on Amazon for an adapter part that does the trick:

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0083TX86S/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02__o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    Use this with any satellite antenna such as this: https://www.amazon.com/XM-Interoper...43881&sr=1-9&keywords=satellite+radio+antenna

    Removing the radio to trade out the satellite antenna is super easy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp-i9p6T6Go

    Once the you have the radio removed, unplug the factory connection, put on the adapter, fish the antenna wire through the opening behind the radio, under the the dash and out to the hood. Connect the new satellite antenna and re-install the radio. Might have to use a little tape to keep the wire snugged into the weatherstripping around the door opening frame.


    Here's the stock antenna connection:
    Stock Antenna Connection.jpg

    Here's the adaptor installed in the back of the radio:
    adaptor.jpg

    And here's the antenna attached to the adaptor:
    Installed.jpg

    Antenna on the hood:
    antenna.jpg

    Works perfectly and no issues with AM/FM, GPS, etc.
     

    Attached Files:

  9. Apr 15, 2019 at 11:01 PM
    #9
    AustinNative

    AustinNative Swollen Member

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    Maxtrac spindles OME 885s Bilstein 5100s all around (adjustable front/extended length rears) Maxtrac rear blocks Headstrong Taco lean spacer OME CBD SS brake lines InsaneFab CMC 18x12 Fuel Hostage 35x12.50 Maxxis AT 1.25" Spidertrax spacers in the rear Llumar Ceramic Tint (5% Rears & Back / 18% Fronts / 50% Windshield) Toyota Tri-Fold bed cover and OEM bed mat Triple Black Clazzio seat covers WeatherTech laser fit or whatever the fuck they call em Probably other stuff...
    You sir, are the real MVP. I'm trying to get to 37s but not lose the ability to stuff this thing in the garage because my ex-wife is a key happy psychopath. I've been patiently waiting and searching for someone to figure this out because clearly I couldn't. FFS man I even had to go digging on Prius forums for clues...it's shameful.

    In the words of Winston Churchill...if you're going through hell, keep going.
     
  10. Aug 21, 2019 at 12:49 PM
    #10
    RyanDCLB

    RyanDCLB Well-Known Member

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    This is for a 2019 OR-DC-LB Premium with JBL. The solution below may or may not not work with other models (non JBL).

    So, I ended up removing my 2019 shark fin altogether and replaced it with an older stubby shark fin. More on why here (cab-over camper). The above how-to worked great for the XM, but since I'd removed my shark fin, I no longer had FM/AM radio. My solution, after seeing the diagram , I was able to plug the shark fin directly into the back of the stereo unit FM connector, but first, in order to do that I had to switch cables in the white plug. The coaxial cable with the extra ground wire is the FM one. Switch the two cables in the plug in order to line up the FM side into the G41/G52 slot (the FM connector is the bottom one). I switched the cables, pushed the white plug in, and the FM worked fine. So, where did I put the old shark fin FM antenna? Funny enough, there's actually a triangle slot below the dash directly above the stereo. I hid the old shark fin in there and put the dash back together. I now have XM from my new remote hood antenna and FM/AM reception from my old shark fin located above the stereo under the dash. I'm sure the FM reception may not be as good quality as stock, but it works!

    313587d1538357520-entune-retrofit-basic-_746b65df1a2057b19d6de7df7f460ef9b3923edb.jpg

     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2019
    TartanEagle likes this.
  11. Sep 9, 2020 at 6:44 AM
    #11
    excav8tor

    excav8tor Well-Known Member

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    Sweet, I'm in the same boat and was looking for this very adapter, thank you!20200606_193552.jpg
     
  12. Mar 11, 2023 at 11:20 AM
    #12
    Twitch81

    Twitch81 Well-Known Member

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    I have a 2019 tacoma. Non jbl. I have found over the years that SXM reception sucks, with the factory toyota antenna. I have acquired an extra SXM antenna and would like to use it. Is it as simple as buying the adapter listed above from Amazon and hook my SXM antenna to it or do I need to do the swapping of wires on the fm side? I want to keep fm reception. I'm not looking to relocate the shark fin. Just want better reception on xm and the SXM antennas are much better than the factory toyota ones. I lose service in the tacoma on my ride home and in my other vehicle with the SXM antenna it works fine the whole ride. My 2nd gen tacoma was the same way with low profile shark fin would cutout in the same location.
     
    RyanDCLB likes this.
  13. Mar 12, 2023 at 7:27 AM
    #13
    Twitch81

    Twitch81 Well-Known Member

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    Ok, think I answered my own questions. It is like the other post above. I just pulled my head unit and unhooked the factory xm antenna. FM still works. So I'll buy the adapter and hook up the sxm antenna I have, to replace the toyota xm antenna.
     
    RyanDCLB likes this.
  14. Mar 14, 2023 at 7:37 PM
    #14
    actionjack

    actionjack Member

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    I just pulled my shark fin off my 2018 Tacoma today, was a slight pain in the ass. I replaced it with the MVT delete kit. Tomorrow I hope to add the new XM antenna I purchased on Amazon.
     
  15. Mar 15, 2023 at 1:41 AM
    #15
    Twitch81

    Twitch81 Well-Known Member

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    Are you retaining fm, somehow, or just xm?
     
    RyanDCLB likes this.
  16. Mar 16, 2023 at 12:54 PM
    #16
    H3llRid3r

    H3llRid3r Well-Known Member

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    Not much stock left.
    Is there any other antennas in the shark fin other than SXM and AM/FM? Is GPS for the head unit in their as well? If so, how did anyone deal with it?
     
  17. Mar 16, 2023 at 1:48 PM
    #17
    Twitch81

    Twitch81 Well-Known Member

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    I think later models have the GPS or something else in there. To the best of my knowledge early models are just AM/FM and XM. I haven't taken mine apart yet. Putting sirius antenna on the dash and ride around for a while and see how service is before going that route
     

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