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Installing Satellite Radio 06 S500

11K views 19 replies 4 participants last post by  sdoherty 
#1 ·
I plugged in my Sirius Unit I got off of ebay into my existing wiring in my trunk but my radio still says - no Satellite Radio Installed. I checked everywhere and not sure if I have to have the unit 'programmed' into my 'command' Unit.

It is a Delphi Delco Part # 12212939 DMSD Sirius SDAR
 
#3 ·
Tnks Sky - It never had Sat radio so I will look into getting it coded. As far as the correct unit I checked the listing and it shows the receiver part number to be B6 783 0060 - there are 3 stickers on my unit and none are even close - plenty of numbers but none similar. The unit does fit and connect with the built in connectors though.

I have a Sirius sticker, a Delphi Sticker, and another Delhpi sticker with what looks like a MB part number A 220 820 17 97
 
#4 ·
Took it to the dealer to code.. The said I need a cable from the head unit to the new sat unit in the trunk.. Now I am not sure but I think I connected it correct in the trunk as there were no other connectors on the unit but WTH?

I thought the system had one fiber from the head unit to the trunk but now they say I need another one for the sat radio unit? Are they on crack?
 
#5 ·
What they MAY be talking about is a short jumper to splice into the existing MOST fiber loop. Operative word being "loop". The fiber connections are daisy chained together from Command output to input side of first unit. Output side of the first unit to the input side of the second. The output of the second goes to the input of the third. And so on to the last unit, whose output is returned to input side of COMAND. See attached Pic of a typical MOST ring.



If you are adding a unit, you need to extend that loop to include the added unit.

Something similar to this...
See attached pic of a typical fiber patch cable
 

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#6 ·
Thank you Fed..

Exactly what I was looking for! Very good information! I just talked to the dealer and they said the cable I need is NLA.. and they can't help me. Now I swear I have connected the built in cables to every available port on the new unit so no idea WTH he is talking about. I have one in and one out.. At least it is no cost. When I get the car back I will check it out myself and may snap some pics. It would also seem that if I say didn't want the disc changer I could swap it out for the Satellite Radio.. but the plugs are probably not the same.. Regular Radio Sux
 
#7 ·
2 ways to go,
1. Remove CD changer and use the CD changer fiber plug into Sat rcvr. Would still need to have dealer redo fiber ring and tell your COMAND that CD changer is gone and Sat rcvr has taken its place.

2. That picture of the small orange wire has a plug with 2 holes. You would need to disassemble the plug from the last unit in your fiber chain. Lets say the CDC is the last unit in this example. You remove the output wire from CDC plug, put the blank end of the jumper wire into the CDC plug and reassemble it, plug it into the CDC. The output wire that used to go to the CDC is now assembled into the jumper wire connector. That connector goes to Sat rcvr. You have just added a unit to your fiber loop. Obviously you must pay strict attention to input and output locations to match the flow properly.

Again, you will need Dealer ( or indie ) STAR to tell COMAND you now have a sat rcvr and ensure the order in the fiber loop is correct.

There are several threads on this board with the hows and how to's to doing the fiber connections. There are even ( somewhere ) a vendor source for that small fiber cable.
 
#8 ·
Tnks again Fed Ex,,

Took everything out last night and now I have a better idea of what the connections are.. There are indeed only two plugs for the satellite radio unit and I had both plugged in but on one of the plugs the middle is open and this is where the fiber goes. So took out the CD changer (it is no longer the 90's) and took the CD changer fiber plug apart to make it able to fit into the plug on the Satellite radio unit - plugged it in..

Then I hooked up my external cheapo sat antenna off of my nav unit to the sat radio on the blue connector and then went into the car and turned on the radio/ then press sat and now it no longer says - no sat radio installed but 'searching for signal'.

Since the sat radio unit has two plugs - white and blue will it work with only the blue connected?

The built in cable wired in the trunk has two wires/connectors (blue and white) and goes under the trunk lid somewhere and I assume it does not go anywhere.

So can I use an external cheapo antenna like my nav unit for sat radio?
 
#9 ·
The blue and white connectors do indeed end up in the trunk lid. The factory used a "wart" mounted in the middle of the trunk lid for Sat antenna. It actually had 2 outputs, one for sat and the other for terrestrial repeaters ( mainly in large urban markets ). I forget which color does what.

Using the GPS antenna will not work, totally different freq. There are antennas similar to the "El Cheapo" GPS antenna for Sirius though. Walmart, Amazon, Frye's and the like will have some.

The factory retrofit instructions are too large to attach here, however, if you would like them, PM me your email address. A lot of the info is outdated and parts listed are generally no longer available from the dealer but will provide useful info anyway.
 
#10 ·
Ok tnks Ex-Fed

So I am off to Ebay then to find a Sirius cheapo antenna. I need to make sure the connector end is the same as my radio unit though. I think the white one is for the terrestrial signals - Blue for the satellite.

I did see the install instructions you wrote in the 'start here' section. It would seem that they have you drill a hole in your trunk to mount the antenna. I would guess the cable is under the trunk lid not terminated to anything. I am not ready to drill a hole just yet.

Thank you!
 
#11 ·
Right, holes in trunk lids suck. You don't need a OEM MB antenna off ebay.

If possible, take the sat rcvr with you to Walmart, look at this...

Tram 7726 Satellite Radio Magnet Antenna - Walmart.com

and see if they have an adaptor like this ...

SMB To Universal FAKRA Connector - Antenna Extensions, Cables, etc - Antennas - Satellite Radio Accessories

Test fit the adaptor ( that's why you took the rcvr with you ) and if it hooks up securely ti the rcvr and the antenna, you are good to go.

If that's not workable, give the folks a call at the place that I linked for the adaptor. They should be able to hook you up....literally.
 
#12 ·
Success story!

Got my antenna from ebay and of course the fakra connector would not fit so I tried the adapter and it would not fit either. I looked at the slots on the connector and the matching slots on the radio and saw they did not match so I shaved the one off on the radio - perfect fit!

Connected it up in the car and instantly got satellite radio!!! Looks like a full subscription at that as I have all the channels. Now all that is left is to put the mounting bracket back in. One remaining issue is now I have two of the stupid antennas on my trunk lid - one for the nav and one for the sat.

So the sat radio is a perfect swap out for the CD changer and I did not have to go to the dealer for the mythical 'coding'.

Tnks Ex-Fed for your support!
 
#13 ·
Very good ! Guessing you probably got away with no coding by swapping instead of adding. COMAND looks at that slot in the loop as an "audio source" possibly. Hence your results. Button it up and don't be tempted to tinker with it :)
 
#14 · (Edited)
I just did mine this past weekend. I HAD an aftermarket NAV-TV Satellite module installed about 3 years ago, and it worked OK except for some occasional "No Satellite Radio" messages on startup. Well recently that module failed, and during some warranty work at the dealership in New Orleans, they removed it and closed the MOST Ring. They offered to install Sirius for only 700.00 lol, and I said no thanks! :)

I bought an OEM receiver off Ebay for 40.00, and did a little research. I installed it by replacing the CDC, but I did noticed that the MOST connectors were different. My OEM receiver took the MOST cable along with a 4 pronged set of power cords. After scratching my head for a few, I noticed a foam covered MOST connector fastened to the sidewall of the trunk behind all the electronics. It was a MOST connector WITH the 4 power leads already in it! Eureka! I simply disconnected the fiber from the CDC, plugged it into the new connection I found, and plugged it into the Satellite receiver. It provided both power and fiber to the receiver, and worked like a charm once I switched my subscription over. The receiver also had a single FAKRA antenna connection. I simply filed off the excess plastic to where the blue plastic sheath was about flush with the center post, and used a regular magnetic Sirius antenna. If you twist the antenna plug back and forth, it will fit inside the FAKRA connector nice and snug. No need to buy an OEM antenna, drill holes, or use any adapters. Now I'm confident enough to re-connect my CDC just for the sake of functionality.

I'll unplug the SAT OUT fiber and connect it to the OUT side of the CDC, then run a new SAT OUT fiber to the CDC IN to close the ring. I SHOULD be able to get my CDC functions back, and I can show it as "loaded" by going into Engineering Mode on the COMAND.
 
#15 ·
Beautiful! It took me about 15-20 minutes to loop the CDC back into the MOST Ring. It was almost plug and play. When I went into Engineering Mode on the COMAND to check the MOST components, it already showed the CDC as "loaded", and all functions worked perfectly! And the stealership wanted to charge over 700.00 for that? Unreal! Forty bucks and a little bit of time is all it took.

-Semper
 
#17 ·
OK folks to continue this subject my Satellite radio just stopped working. Now I never bought a subscription from Sirius so the one that came with the Sirius Receiver off ebay was still in effect.

So thinking that the subscription expired I called Sirius and they said no subscription exists for my ESN.

So this is where I am now..

I was wondering that even without a subscription I should hear some sound? - a Sirius advertisement?

I went online and had them send an activation signal for a trial subscription to my ESN but still NG.

I replaced the antenna and still NG.

Thanks for your consideration..
 
#18 · (Edited)
If it was installed properly, and the ESN is active, you should be hearing the Sirius/XM promo channel, and it's the only thing you can get, but even then you'd have to have an account first to show ownership of the radio. Do you see anything on your COMAND display?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Following up on Semper's question, connecting the radio module and re-connecting the CDC in its original configuration may have had the effect of moving the satellite radio out of its prior position in the fiber optic loop, and the fiber optic controller (the audio gateway, in your car) may not be detecting it. You may have to set up the sequence of equipment on the loop again, even though the system remains coded for the satellite radio.

My best guess - and that's all it is - when your system was set up with the other satellite radio, it was physically inserted into the loop in place of the CDC, and the audio gateway was programmed to look for it there. That's why the new satellite radio installation worked for a while. Because it is now physically connected as it should be, with the CDC back in the loop, the AGW doesn't know where to find it.

The fiber loop must be configured as shown below (the cryptic "CP" is cell phone); unless you have (and are skilled with) DAS, you may need a dealer or indy to configure it for you.

I don't recall the (one) channel number for the free sample stuff Sirius/XM provides - one where you could at least check to see if your radio is active before subscribing - but if the radio isn't configured in the loop, it would likely not turn on, Sirius would not be able to get a signal to it for activation, nor would you be able to hear anything with it.
 

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#20 ·
To close the loop on my issue I installed a trunk unit (factory off ebay) by disconnecting the CDC and it fired right up and I used it for about a year and didn't even have to buy a subscription and got all channels.

One fine day it stopped working altogether - not any sound even the initial station you get with no subscription (assuming this actually exists).

So ordered a new ebay antenna - NG still no sound.

I broke down and ordered ANOTHER trunk unit from ebay ($114) and installed it yesterday and have Sirius back! Hey now!

So I guess the 1st one I got from ebay just died - I even called Sirius and had them send an 'activation' signal and that was NG. If the subscription stays active with the new unit maybe I saved money :)
 
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