Sirius Receiver & Antenna Install

My wife and I recently decided that we wanted to have a lifetime subscription to our XM radio. We like the service, but we didn’t want to keep paying the monthly fees. So, we discussed adding the lifetime service to our Tacoma XM radio but quickly realized that it didn’t make sense because we don’t know how long we plan to keep the stock radio.

So, we decided to buy a portable unit and install it as an auxiliary device to the stereo. That way, we could always take it regardless if we replace the stereo or even get another vehicle.

Of the portable units we found, the Sirius units seemed to be fairly nice for the price. The problem being that the Sirius units typically work best with a Sirius antenna. The stock XM antenna in the Tacoma will apparently work if you buy an adapter cable, but will cost you >$50 and will not receive as strong as a signal.

In order to install the Sirius unit, plus the antenna, I set the following “goals” for the job:

(1) Install the Sirius antenna on the roof near the existing XM antenna in order to take advantage of the existing hole in the roof
(2) Install the Sirius receiver in a location that is out of the way, and ideally, hidden, so that:

a. You don’t have a receiver sticking out (like a typical vent mount)
b. It’s not obvious to a potential thief that there’s a unit to steal
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(3) Do a “clean” install.

a. Minimize the exposed wiring.
b. Tap into existing power instead of using cigarette lighter plugs
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Here’s how the install went:

Dropped the headliner and unscrewed the existing XM antenna from the roof in order to gain access to the roof hole.

BTW, I didn’t know how to remove the headliner. Luckily there are youtube videos that show you how to do this:
How to Remove Headliner (Part 1 of 2): Link Click Here
How to Remove Headliner (Part 2 of 2): Link Click Here








Then I took apart the existing XM antenna so that I could make a minor modification to the housing. BTW, this also helped me with moving the antenna around because the existing XM wire is fairly short.



I notched out the body of the antenna housing just above the rubber seal. It’s hard to see in the picture but there’s a new small notch between the housing and the seal. Note: As I was planning what to do, I first thought that it would be best to cut the rubber. However, the housing solution worked really well because the rubber seal remains the same and is less likely to tear. Then I used some black sealant to cover up the tiny gap left between the bottom of the wire and the roof. This is to prevent water leaks.









Continued below...

 

As it turns out, installing the antenna was probably the easiest part of this install. Where I had the biggest problem was connecting into the existing 12V power. My strategy (and you can debate what the “best” way to do that is given fuse ratings and typical current draw), was to connect to the existing 12V power behind the cigarette lighter. My thinking was that it would normally be plugged into that power anyway, so it should be a clean and safe install point.

In addition to the connecting to the power, I wanted to use the existing aux audio input. I could have purchased an additional aux adapter or I could have even tapped into the aux wires at the back of the radio. However, I decided just to run a wire right to the aux input --- and while this goes against one of my goals to have a “clean” install, I can say that it’s reasonably clean but solves two problems (1) I don’t have to pay for another adapter box, and (2) I can easily disconnect the signal coming from the Sirius unit when we want to plug in another device (if it were hardwired in, I’d have to disconnect it at the Sirius unit which is slightly less convenient – more below).

The biggest roadblock that I encountered to make the 12V power and aux cable happen was removing the portions of the dash required to gain access to the wires – this is a pain to learn how to do. I needed help from the Tacoma service manual. I won’t bore you with the details, but I’ve included the PDF that I used so that others can teach themselves.



Once I got the power connected, I notched a small section of the tray to get the wires to run thru the back. Also, while I was installing the 12V power, I decided to run an additional wire to another power adapter for 2 more 12V outlets plus USB power connectors (handy for when we have a bunch of Phones, MP3 players, or Nintendo DSes on our longer trips.
Here’s the picture of the aux cable and 12V/USB outlets (note the right angle audio cable connector to keep the wire from sticking out more than it needs to):








Once the power and aux cables were connected, the final job was to mount the receiver. Again, the main goal was to keep it out of the way and possibly hidden. As I looked at options, this is what I came up with:












As you can see, the unit is in the glasses holder. It’s a pretty nice fit overall and closes out of sight when you want it gone. The main disadvantage of this is that it’s pretty hard to see when you’re driving (or as a passenger for that matter). However, it works for us because we tend to only listen to a few channels so we just set those up as presets. When I use it, I just open the door, press a station preset and then I close the door again.

Is this ideal? Perhaps not but for us it met our main goals and we’re pretty happy. Hopefully this thread will help others that are considering similar installs.