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GM-SIR1 Sirius adapter install review, 06 Sierra

cmccarthy

New Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2006
Messages
6
First let me start by saying that the victim was a 2006 GMC Sierra CC, but installation would be identical on a 2003-2006 Avalanche, and possibly earlier years too. This is just a general review, not a how-to. A how-to isn't required because of the ease of installation.  The installation is extremely basic, requiring only a 7MM nut-driver or socket and a #2 phillips screwdriver. Everything comes apart exactly like it looks like it should, and goes back together easily. It took me about 2 hours to do.

I bought a GM-SIR1 Sirius adapter for my Sierra today, to replace my crappy X-Act FM modulated reciever. I'd never been particularly happy with that reciever, and Circuit City had the GM-SIR1 on sale for $79.99 so I picked one up.

The unit was extremely easy to install in my truck. It's a base truck with no Bose or XM, and a single disc in-dash CD. The data bus plug on the back of the factory radio had nothing plugged into it, so I just plugged the correct end of the SIR1's "Y" harness into the radio, leaving the end that would normally be plugged into the dash harness open. I suspect that if you have either the Bose rig or factory XM, you would have a harness plugged into this port on your radio, and thus you would install the "Y" harness inline.

I mounted the Sirius receiver behind the cubby that's over the cigarette lighter. In a standard cab or x-cab this would be where the pass airbag key switch is. This might have been the hardest part, because space behind the dash is at a premium and the harness is quite short. I used Scosche "vampire clips" to tap power from the cigarette lighter to run the reciever. It only draws 1 amp, so this should be fine.

For the antenna, I mounted it at the rear of the roof and ran it in thru the 3rd brake light opening. I cut a very small notch in both the body and the lens to accomodate the antenna wire, and sealed it with black RTV.  Inside, I ran the wire over the headliner and down the A-pillar.

Once all this was hooked up, the radio cranked up and performed flawlessly. The controls all operate as they should, and if you have steering wheel controls or rear seat controls they will still work and control the Sirius tuner.

I do have a couple of gripes I'm afraid. The major one is that the GM-SIR1 doesn't support text scrolling, so you only get about the first 10 letters of title or artist. The second is that there are no provisions for a signal meter, so I have no way of telling if my antenna mounting is optimized.

Overall, I would say this is an excellent product that's easy to install and works as advertised. I'd give it a 9 out of 10.
 
I'll add my review here....just put one in my 04 Sierra with retrofitted TNR nav+6CD.  My truck already had XM.  Install was extremely easy, but for getting the XM unit out.....the screws are pointing the wrong direction so you have to pull them out from behind in a very tight space. 

Unit works as advertised.  Everything works exactly as it does with XM for the most part.  PROG button on steering wheel controls works just fine.  Sound quality is excellent.

There are two quirks I've discovered so far:

1.) Pressing the BAND button when in NAV mode has a very undesired effect.  It will change the station to the preset that was selected the last time you used the BAND button to navigate AWAY from the current band.  So for example, if you were listening to "Octane", and then pressed SRC^ followed by SRCv on the steering controls...changed the channel to "Alt Natn"...pressed NAV and then presed BAND....you would wind up listening to "Octane" again.  If you then select the "Alt Natn" preset again, press NAV and then BAND again, the annoyance will occur again.  This will be somewhat annoying when you have the nav map up and want to know what song is playing.  If this is the only real quirk, I'll tolerate it.  Non-nav trucks won't likely have a similar problem, as the BAND key on normal radios doesn't have two functions like it does on NAV trucks.

2.) The artist/title text takes a moment to appear, where it appeared instantly on XM.

thenewxm.jpg
 
I can see from that shot that even on the TNR the full title/artist won't display. That's my single biggest gripe about this box.
 
cmccarthy said:
I can see from that shot that even on the TNR the full title/artist won't display. That's my single biggest gripe about this box.

On a TNR, the full title doesn't display with XM either though.
 
I installed one of these on my 2005 Avalanche over the weekend... here's the writeup.

gallery_1_0_1719.jpg


Over the weekend I installed a SIR-GM1 Sirius Radio Tuner into my truck. It connects to all factory radios from all 2003-2006 Avalanches. It DOES NOT work with 2007 models. If you have the factory XM tuner it's just a simple one cable attachment, but if not, it includes the harness to attach into the factory radio.

From what I read online, you can use the factory XM antenna but the general response seemed to be that reception wasn't as good as the included Sirius antenna. I chose to install the Sirius antenna.

gallery_1_0_27851.jpg


Here's the kit, pretty straight forward. The Sirius tuner is on the right. Below it is the only cable you'll need if you have the factory XM tuner installed. Below that is the Sirius antenna. Bottom-left is the power cable you'll need to power it if you don't have the factory XM tuner. Left side is the manual and some screws and antenna wire cover. On top is the main harness you'll need to connect the tuner if you don't have the factory XM tuner.

gallery_1_0_59834.jpg


First step, empty out your glove box and then drop it down. If you have the factory XM tuner you'll see it right behind the glove box.

gallery_1_0_73394.jpg


Here's the factory XM tuner. Ignore that black wire running across the front... that's for neons. You have two cables to unplug; the XM antenna and then the cable going to the head unit. Of course, the way it's mounted you can't see what's going on back here. Everything useful is facing the wrong way and there's no way to get to it.

gallery_1_0_62928.jpg


Here are the cables unplugged and the tuner turned around. Here's how you detach these guys.

The yellow antenna cable has a small yellow clip that clips over a little knob on the xm tuner. If you feel around to the back you'll feel the yellow clip, just lift up the end by the tuner and it should pull right off easily. If you have to use any amount of force then it's still locked on. I ended up breaking the clip off but if you're careful you should be able to remove it without breakage.

The other cable is easier once you know the trick. There's a blue piece of plastic that keeps it from unclipping. You have to slide the blue piece out and then you can unclip it.

gallery_1_0_35639.jpg


Here's that blue clip. Once you slide it down you can just unclip the black piece and the cable pulls right out.

gallery_1_0_44230.jpg


You'll see two black clips on top holding the XM tuner in place. Just reach in and lift them up and the XM tuner should slide out. It may take a little effort to get the XM tuner out as there's not much room to work in there. I got a little overly agressive with mine and just bent the whole bracket around and ripped the XM tuner out. With a little paitence you should be able to avoid that step.

Pictured above is the Sirius tuner in place of the XM tuner. The black clips on top actually worked pretty good for holding the Sirius tuner in place. The one in front is around one of the screw brackets and the one in back is just holding down the other end of the tuner. The Sirius tuner is about half the size of the XM tuner so you should have no problem getting it in there. I would recommend installing it with the antenna connection facing towards you since you'll probably install the antenna after you install the tuner like I did.

gallery_1_0_117400.jpg


Installing the antenna is fairly easy. Just remove your Sportwing, if you have one, and then remove your upper sail panel cladding. This is what it should look like with everything removed.

gallery_1_0_99814.jpg


Here's what the antenna looks like installed. I'd actually recommend moving it forward a little more. I plan on going back and moving mine out more. You can leave about a foot of slack in the antenna wire so that you have plenty to move it around without having to redo everything.

gallery_1_0_96694.jpg


I punched a new hole in the grommet with a screwdriver and ran the antenna wire through into the cab.

gallery_1_0_15420.jpg


It enters into the cab right here. I pulled all of the interior plastic off and ran it across and down the passenger side up into the area behind the glove box.

gallery_1_0_5521.jpg


Here's the antenna attached. Pretty easy job overall.

After having it for a few days I'm happy to say that it works pretty well. Works just like the factory XM unit. All of the normal steering wheel controls, programmable favorites, channel, category, etc. works the same.

The Sirius music sounds slightly different than XM. It's a higher quality broadcast than XM gives and it shows. Besides being higher quality it still sounds different. I'm not sure how to explain it. I'll have some of you listen to it at a GTG and see if anyone else thinks the same thing. Not a bad different, just different.

Overall I'd highly recommend it!

David
 
Thanks for the write up David.  I bought mine from Circuit City Thursday and installed it Friday with these directions.  I do not know how you got the factory XM module out of the dash without removing the bracket.  I moved the module up into the dash and used a socket wrench through the holes in the bracket to remove the screws.  Then with the bracket out I was able to remove the module.

I then bend the tabs on the Sirius tuner to allow it to fit in the bracket flush(ish).  Then used zip-ties to hold it in place.  Then I flipped the clips that the screws go into so that I could get to the screws from the front side.  Now I just need a 7mm wrench to tighten them down.  Can't get the socket wrench on them from the front side.

I just removed the cover and clip from the factory XM antenna and plugged it into the Sirius tuner.  It works OK but the reception is worse than my XM was in my carport and in low lying areas.  Next time I can get back to it, I am going to cover the exposed part of the connection with some electrical tape so there is no interference from inside the dash noise.

I have the Bose system and it now shows SR1 and SR2 instead of XM1 and XM2, which is pretty cool.

Overall I am pleased with the new tuner.  Listened to Stern on the way to work this morning.  Not very impressed with his show.

I will post pictures as soon as I can get the camera away from my wife.
 
Here are the pictures:

Sirius_tuner_1.JPG


You can see where I flipped bent the tabs on the tuner module to allow it to fit in the old XM bracket.  I ran the adapter cable over the top of the module allwoing it to tuck in between the bracket and the Sirius module.  I used a zip tie in the middle to avoid it from moving.  You can also see where I flipped the screws to be accessible from the front.  I used some shrink wrap on the antenna connector to cover it after removing the old XM clip.  It will stand to be heard if there is any less interference.  Mind you the interference was only a couple of occasions and signal loss was only slightly more than before.

Here is the photo of the new Band call letters:

RDS_radio_SR1.JPG


I enjoy the new tuner more each day, from The Who Channel to Jam_ON to Radio Margaritaville to NFL Radio.
 
thanks for the great info.  i have a few questions.  i have a 2005 avalanche with the am/fm single  slot cd player, no bose or nav.  i guess i would need to connect a harness to the back of the radio since there is no xm tuner to hook into.  when i unplug the connector on the back of the radio, will the theft lock become a factor.  i do not want to be locked out of my radio and have to go back to the dealer.  the gm-sir1 set up looks like the best set up so far.  thanks for any info you can give me.
eddie
 
Great stuff guys!! Really appreciate the write - ups!
Do I have to do any thing with my current subscription with Sirius, or does it just plug and play?

Nick
 
Here is a link for the install manual,http://www.tss-radio.com/images/SIR-GM1-Install-Manual.pdf.  It does not seem to mention anything about the theft lock.  I would not think it would cause any issue since you radio will still read the same info from your truck as it did before (I think that is the gist of how the theft lock stops you, by receiving a different VIN from the vehicle it was originally installed).

As far as changes to your current subscription, just give them your new radio ID to add to your account (they will charge you for a second receiver) or to replace your current reciever.
 
I would like to add a thank you to the guys that posted pics in this thread. I was able to change my Sirius out last night in about 1 hour. The clips are a pain in the rear. I too ended up breaking the yellow one. I also reused the XM antenna and have not yet noticed any real problem, reception wise.

You guys that are using the magnetic Sirius antenna BEWARE. It will stain your paint. I have had a JVC plug and play for 2 years now. The antenna has started to rust and the rust stained my paint.

Also for others that may try this MOD. I took off the panel on the side of the dash board/ glove compart and removed the plug housing and was able to get my hands in there for some of the additional work. Also I did have to bend the bracket slightly to get the assembly out. I did also put the 2 screws back in backwards so I could get to them if I needed.
 
Has anyone else that has done this mod noticed engine noise from your RSE after this installation?

Did not notice it until the holidays when the children wanted to watch movies.  I would imagine there is some kind of grounding issue with the SIR-GM1 and wanted to know if anyone else has corrected this issue.
 
rgbaxter said:
Has anyone else that has done this mod noticed engine noise from your RSE after this installation?

Did not notice it until the holidays when the children wanted to watch movies.? I would imagine there is some kind of grounding issue with the SIR-GM1 and wanted to know if anyone else has corrected this issue.

I've noticed a little bit during dead air just going through the factory speakers. I thought it was due to having the antenna wire running near a power source.

Maybe the way to get rid of it will be to hack the cable harness and give it a new direct ground?

David
 
rgbaxter said:
Has anyone else that has done this mod noticed engine noise from your RSE after this installation?

Did not notice it until the holidays when the children wanted to watch movies.? I would imagine there is some kind of grounding issue with the SIR-GM1 and wanted to know if anyone else has corrected this issue.

I did not notice any feedback or engine noise. I used the factory XM antenna
 
I have been complaining about XM for years now, however did not do anything about it due to having to lose the use of the steering wheel controls.

You all have made my week with this thread.  Bought the SIR-GM1 last night, have it installed, and am very happy.

Thanks all for the great installation information.

JD
 
Did you know that You could use your factory XM antenna for your Sirius Tuner ?
all you do is remove plastic around factory antenna plug. (if you look closely at the plug, then you see white little pin you remove)
put a little piece of shrink tubing on it, and will go right into your sirius tuner antenna plug
 
I've had this mod installed for about 4 months now. Everything went off well, and I've been very pleased with my decision to do it.

Only negative issue i have really had has been of late. Seems each time i start the truck the internal setting on the BOSE head goes from where i left it on "CUSTOM" back to "TALK". this only happens on vehicle start up, and it has only just started to do this. Not sure if its a GM-SIR1 issue or my OEM head unit is on its way out. Living with the annoyance for now.
 
tbski said:
I've had this mod installed for about 4 months now. Everything went off well, and I've been very pleased with my decision to do it.

Only negative issue i have really had has been of late. Seems each time i start the truck the internal setting on the BOSE head goes from where i left it on "CUSTOM" back to "TALK". this only happens on vehicle start up, and it has only just started to do this. Not sure if its a GM-SIR1 issue or my OEM head unit is on its way out. Living with the annoyance for now.

Mine does not do that...I wonder if you have a head unit problem, like you said?
 
Anyone have any pictures of the install who didn't already have the XM unit?  I bought a 2004 Avalanche and would like to add this unit.  I can see where everything goes based on your pictures.  I just don't see where the adapter harness would plug into if I don't already have the blue cable there plugged into the XM unit.
 
tbski said:
I've had this mod installed for about 4 months now. Everything went off well, and I've been very pleased with my decision to do it.

Only negative issue i have really had has been of late. Seems each time i start the truck the internal setting on the BOSE head goes from where i left it on "CUSTOM" back to "TALK". this only happens on vehicle start up, and it has only just started to do this. Not sure if its a GM-SIR1 issue or my OEM head unit is on its way out. Living with the annoyance for now.

Save that mode as if it were a preset you wanted to save. Did you try that?
 
My local CC assured me this would also work on the 2007, I learned the hard way that they were wrong. Here's hoping they come out with the version for the newer models SOON!!
 
Great article and thread. 
I have a Pioneer INNO I take everywhere.  Need to save a few $'s so was wondering if it's possible to take the audio out of my INNO and connect it straight into the audio input for the factory MX system.  Wouldn't be able to control the INNO, but would like a hard wired connection instead of the RF modulator, which gets some interference.

Thanks,

AVnAZ
 
avdavidw said:
I installed one of these on my 2005 Avalanche over the weekend... here's the writeup.



Over the weekend I installed a SIR-GM1 Sirius Radio Tuner into my truck. It connects to all factory radios from all 2003-2006 Avalanches. It DOES NOT work with 2007 models. If you have the factory XM tuner it's just a simple one cable attachment, but if not, it includes the harness to attach into the factory radio.

From what I read online, you can use the factory XM antenna but the general response seemed to be that reception wasn't as good as the included Sirius antenna. I chose to install the Sirius antenna.


Here's the kit, pretty straight forward. The Sirius tuner is on the right. Below it is the only cable you'll need if you have the factory XM tuner installed. Below that is the Sirius antenna. Bottom-left is the power cable you'll need to power it if you don't have the factory XM tuner. Left side is the manual and some screws and antenna wire cover. On top is the main harness you'll need to connect the tuner if you don't have the factory XM tuner.


First step, empty out your glove box and then drop it down. If you have the factory XM tuner you'll see it right behind the glove box.


Here's the factory XM tuner. Ignore that black wire running across the front... that's for neons. You have two cables to unplug; the XM antenna and then the cable going to the head unit. Of course, the way it's mounted you can't see what's going on back here. Everything useful is facing the wrong way and there's no way to get to it.


Here are the cables unplugged and the tuner turned around. Here's how you detach these guys.

The yellow antenna cable has a small yellow clip that clips over a little knob on the xm tuner. If you feel around to the back you'll feel the yellow clip, just lift up the end by the tuner and it should pull right off easily. If you have to use any amount of force then it's still locked on. I ended up breaking the clip off but if you're careful you should be able to remove it without breakage.

The other cable is easier once you know the trick. There's a blue piece of plastic that keeps it from unclipping. You have to slide the blue piece out and then you can unclip it.


Here's that blue clip. Once you slide it down you can just unclip the black piece and the cable pulls right out.

You'll see two black clips on top holding the XM tuner in place. Just reach in and lift them up and the XM tuner should slide out. It may take a little effort to get the XM tuner out as there's not much room to work in there. I got a little overly agressive with mine and just bent the whole bracket around and ripped the XM tuner out. With a little paitence you should be able to avoid that step.

Pictured above is the Sirius tuner in place of the XM tuner. The black clips on top actually worked pretty good for holding the Sirius tuner in place. The one in front is around one of the screw brackets and the one in back is just holding down the other end of the tuner. The Sirius tuner is about half the size of the XM tuner so you should have no problem getting it in there. I would recommend installing it with the antenna connection facing towards you since you'll probably install the antenna after you install the tuner like I did.

Installing the antenna is fairly easy. Just remove your Sportwing, if you have one, and then remove your upper sail panel cladding. This is what it should look like with everything removed.


Here's what the antenna looks like installed. I'd actually recommend moving it forward a little more. I plan on going back and moving mine out more. You can leave about a foot of slack in the antenna wire so that you have plenty to move it around without having to redo everything.



I punched a new hole in the grommet with a screwdriver and ran the antenna wire through into the cab.



It enters into the cab right here. I pulled all of the interior plastic off and ran it across and down the passenger side up into the area behind the glove box.



Here's the antenna attached. Pretty easy job overall.

After having it for a few days I'm happy to say that it works pretty well. Works just like the factory XM unit. All of the normal steering wheel controls, programmable favorites, channel, category, etc. works the same.

The Sirius music sounds slightly different than XM. It's a higher quality broadcast than XM gives and it shows. Besides being higher quality it still sounds different. I'm not sure how to explain it. I'll have some of you listen to it at a GTG and see if anyone else thinks the same thing. Not a bad different, just different.

Overall I'd highly recommend it!

David



awesome pics David....THANKS!
 
Just completed this mod last weekend. It was a piece of cake thanks to David's instructions - took me less than half an hour.
 
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