My Sirius dying a slow death?

I have an original Starmate that I got for Christmas in '05.It was originally installed in my Avalanche and I had it re-installed in my '07 Tacoma.It's hard power wired and I guess this makes it about 3 and a half years old.About 6 months ago the display began flashing bright to dim and I noticed that the reception was getting spottier.Lately,it shows "acquiring signal" on startup for sometimes ten minutes......I have a feeling that she's going South and it's time for a new one.That in itself is no biggie because the units are pretty cheap.The pain in the rear comes from the install......Are the newer models compatible with my power cord and antennae,that is,can I just plug in the new one and activate it,or will I need a new install?

Another thought is that possibly the antennae is not working properly.....Anyone know how long these things typically last-either the units or antennae?

Thanks

 

I have has two sirius antennas go bad on me...doing the same thing yours did "aquiring signal"

If the antenna is OK, you should be good to go to re use that. As far as the power cord, I have seen a couple different models, but if it is hard wired, you should be able to adapt the new cord to your hard wire very easily...the hard part is already done.

 

Thanks hendooman,I wondered the same thing about the power....My thought was that the end plug just may need to be changed.Any suggestions as to how I find out where the problem lay?

 

"aquiring signal" = bad antenna. I had mine replaced about 3 months ago for around $45.00. The shop said they only have about a 3 or 4 year lifespan.

 

Thanks OTG!

 

You can buy just an antenna, but if that is not the problem then you are stuck with the antenna. With the lights dimming and what not, I would go ahead and replace the whole thing. You will have to sooner than later anyway. This way if the antenna is good you won't have to change that part at least! They are super cheap now as you said, ebay has tons of them for good deals.

 

power requirements vary from model to model. Most are either 5v or 6v. So you just have to check to see what you got now and what the new one needs. If it's the same, you should be able to reuse the power cord. But, why do that if you are getting a whole new set up? Just install all the new stuff and be done with it.

 

Go hear and do some research. See if it's a common problem:

http://www.digitalradiocentral.com/sirius-backstage/

I had a Sirius Replay that was acting up and was out of warranty, but because it was a well documented manufacturing problem they took care of it and sent me a refurb radio at no charge.

 

I replace 6-7 Siruis antenna's a week it seems for customers. Those things suck horribly bad and are half the reason I havn't gotten satellite radio myself yet.

But if you change out to a new unit, you will have to re-run your power as well as the new ones run on 5 volts and the older ones were 12 volt.

 

But if you change out to a new unit, you will have to re-run your power as well as the new ones run on 5 volts and the older ones were 12 volt


what he said.........Its your antenna though for the aquiring signal problem

 

ive changed cradles and antennas like 100 times on my sportser reply unit.i gave up and canceled it.