RawAMGpower

Yeah, my dealer told me that they changed the internal wiring mid-production year for the cars, so that they could accommodate the new antenna. My car luckly fell into that catagory so the installation was rather quick.

lccalvert_1999

Wierd... I ordered my car in February. I got the Xenons, and it was a custom order. It came off the production line in March?

wingless

This company has all the couplers and connectors that are required for any antenna application. I have used them and they ship promptly too.

ctC230K

lol oh man, $20 says they are going to try to charge you $300-$400 for this botched install

RawAMGpower

That's a fast turn around. I ordered my C55 in November and it wasn't built until early March and didn't arrive at the dealership until last week.

lccalvert_1999

C55 vs. C230K... big difference.

Lee

mbbodytech

Apparently they are idiots!

There are two signals that the antennas use, one terrestrial, and one satellite. So, the problem stems from the fact that the original antenna has two lines. The new antenna has only one line. The new antenna transmits both signals over the one line to the now necessary splitter, which splits the signals and routes them each to a separate connection on the control unit.

So the process goes like this:

Connect the antenna to one existing lead in the trunk. (only one will plug to the antenna)

Locate the control unit, and unplug both leads.

Plug the existing blue lead into the splitter. (only one will fit)

Plug both leads from the splitter to the control unit.

Secure the splitter to the side of the control unit, and secure the now unused lead to prevent any noise from it moving around.

To make it easier for them, just tell them to print out the revised SAT install instructions for the CLS (posted yesterday on NETSTAR) and it will take them through the whole process.

By the way, the SIRIUS components are exactly the same for every vehicle - only the locations change by model.

If this doesn't get it done, just take the parts and your car and I'll walk you through the whole procedure. Trust me, it's no big deal. I'm embarrased that this dealer is so incompotent.

lccalvert_1999

Thanks again... they figured it out eventually. I will never have anything to do with this dealership again!

I appreciate everyone's help in getting this solved. The new antenna looks so much nicer

Thanks again!

RawAMGpower

Post some pics of it.

lccalvert_1999

Will do... look for them this weekend.

Moviela

Does the new single output antenna work as well as the dual feed antennas? I used aftermarket Terk antennas with a splitter, and found reception around the foothills to be poor. The antenna supplied with the kit worked better. It is installed on the roof of the wagons, with a hole cut in the headliner. I can't see it when I am driving, so I don't care what it looks like.

I heard that Martha Stewart is comming to Sirius, and same as the look of the antenna, I just don't care!

mbbodytech

From my experience, there is no difference in the performance of any of the antennas. The thing that will have an effect is the placement. Think of a satellite dish. The antenna has a large metal area to reflect the signal off of. The SIRIUS antenna needs something similar, that's why they put it on the decklid or roof.

If I were you, I'd retrofit the new antenna to your car. It improves things so much! I'll post the pics of my C class when I get a chance to resize them.

Moviela

Hi Body Tech,

Sirius is different from other satellite entertainment services. XM, Directv, and Dish all use geostationary "birds" that remain fixed in the sky. (yes they move a little, and fuel on board repositions them if necessary.) These systems use parabolic antennas to focus the signal on the antenna.

Sirius has three low orbit birds that move constantly. Because the transmitters are much closer to the ground, a few hunderd miles versus 22,500 for geostationary birds, no parabolic reflector is needed. The Sirius antenna is mounted on the top of the car to get as much exposure to the sky as possible.

Sirius also has transmitters on the ground to fill in spots that cannot be seen from the air. I have found two. One is the tunnel under LAX, and the parking garage at South Coast Plaza.

I might change to the new one if it can work in the same 20mm hole as the one I have.

I took a new 2006 ML out for a putt yesterday, and it had factory (on the window sticker) Sirius for $ 500. and, there is no visible external antenna. I am curious how they did that. I also discovered for you ML buffs that the fuel filler door moved from the drivers side to the passenger side.