Sirius Satellite Radio Installation Tip

SoCalBluetooth · 07-31-2004, 02:20 PM

I just installed the Sirius radio kit w/ mini roof mount antenna. Purchased from Grubbs Infinity. http://www.infinitiwholesaleparts.com/en_US/ Total cost for radio & antenna was about $350 but well worth it IMO.

My Titan has the mid-level system w/6 cd changer. Not the RF system. The kit came with some universal mounting hardware. I downloaded the installation instructions from Courtesy Nissan. They are for a XM radio but it works great for the Sirius as well. http://www.courtesyparts.com/satelli...04%20Titan.pdf

Since the mid-level system does not have a amplifier and associated bracket to mount the Sirius radio to as called out for in the instructions, I looked for a alternate mounting location and came up with a perfect location. I mounted the Sirius radio to the back side of the LH lower knee protector. This is the metal brace / shield that is bolted directly below the steering column, behind the LH lower driver instrument panel cover.

I drilled two holes in the knee protector and bolted the Sirius radio to it using the supplied hardware from the Sirius radio kit. (No extra mounting parts to buy.) It fits like a glove and eliminates the need to mess with the BCM (Body Control Module) and the Accelerator control system.

I ran the roof antenna thru the 3rd brake light assembly. This was the hardest part of the installation but still easy to do. You just pop off the two interior trim caps in the headliner. This exposes holes that give you access to the mounting bolts for the brake light assembly. Take these out and you can lift the brake light out and run the antenna cable into the interior of the truck. I then followed the XM guide for routing the antenna on the interior of the truck.

If your thinking about a DIY installation I encourage you to go for it. Total time took about 2.5 hours and I was taking my time to make sure every aspect of the installation was perfect. I saved $350 by doing this myself. My local Nissan dealer wanted $700

SoCalBluetooth

lvtitan · 07-31-2004, 04:40 PM

which type of radio did you have(from the owner book).

SoCalBluetooth · 07-31-2004, 07:31 PM

I have a type C according to the manual.

SoCalBluetooth · 08-01-2004, 09:26 AM

lvtitan,
did I answer your question? If anyone needs more info just ask.

**CaliforniaTitan** · 08-01-2004, 10:09 AM

Socal,

Is this a kit with a FM modulator? In other words, do you tune your radio to a 88.1 freq or the like and does it work directly with our radio display/functionality? I have the same radio as you.

Chris

bestatchess · 08-01-2004, 06:42 PM

From the manual, it looks like the midline radio has a jack for the NBUS connector. Look at page AV-11. Also look under the driver's side dash for the NBUS cable. If no NBUS, cable, you can buy the cable. I would not go with an RF modulator if you can use NBUS.

SoCalBluetooth · 08-01-2004, 07:33 PM

bestatchess is correct. Do not go with a radio that uses a FM Modulator. They are very prone to interference from local radio stations. My wife has one in her car and it sucks.

The sat radio I purchased from Grubbs Infinity is the official nissan Sirius radio add-on. The same one you would get as an option on a new Titan. Click on the link to Grubbs at the top of this thread. Once at the Grubbs site on the left side of the screen click on sat. Then scroll down to the sat radio kit area where you enter your make of car. You'll notice that there is none listed for the Titan but there is one for the Armada. This receiver is used on the Titan as well. I simply called them up and ordered the Armada kit and the Terk SIR-MINI roof mount antenna.

SoCalBluetooth · 08-01-2004, 08:20 PM

CaliforniaTitan,

As far as functionality it integrates with the factory radio just fine. All steering wheel controls are retained. The radio accesses and displays in the following manner.

After pushing the sat button on the radio you can select the various categories of music (Pop, Rock, Country, Etc...) by pressing the Seek Track button on the radio. Each time you press it the radio will display the next category. This allows you to scroll through all 12 categories.

Each music category has several stations to select from. You do this by pressing the Tune/RW-FF button. The radio will display the station selected. (01, 02, 03, Etc...) Unfortunately it does not display the station name.

You can however make the radio momentarily display the artist and the song title. This is done by pressing the round Tune/Channel knob. First press and song title is displayed. Second press and Artist is displayed. Third press and you get the regular radio controls for base, treble, etc.. After each press the display will revert to the basic display after about 10 seconds. The basic display when in sat mode looks like this. SR CH-008
Alas no scrolling display but I'm very happy with it anyway. These are all the functions I know about so far. There may be more but I haven't really played with it that much yet. I just installed a few days ago. If I find out more I'll post the info. Hope this helps.

SoCalBluetooth · 08-01-2004, 08:27 PM

Oh yes and memory presets work on the sat stations as well. Also what I plan on doing is laminating the Sirius channel line-up to use as a quick reference when looking for some different music. Lastly, If your a football fan, Sirius will be the exclusive broadcaster of every NFL game this year. You won't find any games on XM.

BigDaddy · 08-04-2004, 10:58 AM

Hey guys --

This is my first posting on here - so be gentle with me.......

Got my Titan about 3 weeks ago - a silver 4x4 XE. Stickered for $27,400 - got it for $23,900 with 1.9% financing, so after my '97 Pathfinder and a little cash, got payments under $300 a month.

Anyway, I was looking at my sticker, and it said "XM Satellite Radio - $400" - but my stereo was not equipped. So I called the dealer, and he says "let me check the invoice." He comes back and says that the invoice doesn't have that on there (and that the invoice price is $400 less than the sticker price), so he calls Nissan. Apparently, they were gonna put the XM receiver in there, but for some reason they didn't. But to keep a good customer happy, I go in next week to get my FREE XM radio installed.

So my question is this: does Nissan offer both XM and Sirius as satellite radio options? I believe I have the same factory stereo as you, so I'm guessing it will work much the same way. Just wondering which one to expect. Also, how big is your Sirius antenna? My truck barely clears the garage door as it is, and a large antenna may be a problem.

Getting a Rhino spray-in bedliner on Friday, and have an Extang tonneau cover on order. I'd like to get a set of side steps, too - now that would make a swell Christmas gift, huh?

SoCalBluetooth · 08-04-2004, 10:52 PM

BigD,
Welcome to TitanTalk.

You'll love it here. Full of good info and good people.

I don't think Nissan is offering Sirius as a option at this time, so you'll most likely get the XM unit. The XM unit comes with a thru-the-glass antenna. I don't think it extends above the roof.

The Sirius unit can be purchased from Nissan but they do not have a thru-the-glass antenna and so a roof mount antenna must be used. I heard the reason Nissan does not install the Sirius unit at this time is because the roof antenna lead must be routed thru the 3rd brake light and they are afraid of water leaks using this method.

If you really want the Sirius unit and they will not install it, then have them give you the unit and purchase the Sirius low profile mini roof antenna. (The antenna is onlt about 3/4" thick) Do the install yourself. It's easy.

Lastly, If you want side steps, look around this forum. Guy's are putting thiers up for sale fairly often. Also, a great source for side steps is Ebay.

SmokenTitan · 08-30-2004, 10:49 PM

SoCalBluTooth,

Question for you, I hope you can answer...

I'll be taking delivery of my Nissan Titan tomorrow with the mid-level stereo system...

I've got a Kenwood Siruis brain KTC-SR902 that has never been used, I purchased it and never installed it in my `89 Civic, anyway, I was wondering if it would be possible to use the kenwood brain and antenna and just get some kind of adapter to make it all work?

I cant seem to get the infiniti wholsale website to work now, it did this afternoon...

Marcus

bestatchess · 08-31-2004, 02:40 AM

Nissan uses what they call an NBUS connector to connect the satellite receiver to the head unit. When I was looking into this, I was unable to find any adapters to connect other receivers to Nissan's NBUS.

SoCalBluetooth · 09-01-2004, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mininsx

SoCalBluTooth,

Question for you, I hope you can answer...

I'll be taking delivery of my Nissan Titan tomorrow with the mid-level stereo system...

I've got a Kenwood Siruis brain KTC-SR902 that has never been used, I purchased it and never installed it in my `89 Civic, anyway, I was wondering if it would be possible to use the kenwood brain and antenna and just get some kind of adapter to make it all work?

I cant seem to get the infiniti wholsale website to work now, it did this afternoon...

Marcus

I think your SOL. The only way to integrate is thru N-Bus connector.

SmokenTitan · 09-02-2004, 06:17 AM

Thanks for the help, after I posted that I went to look at the installation instructions from Nissan and saw the nbus plug, and sure enough, no such thing on the kenwood brain, no trace of an adapter on the net that I could find...

Ohwell, we'll prob. put that brain in the new civic, and I'll just have to get the whole kit...

Thanks for the help,

Marcus