GM XM to Sirius Conversion

[MudPumper]

There were a few people interested in this and asked me to post my install, so here it is.
I have 2006 Chevy that came with the factory XM radio. I've had XM for a few years now and have been happy with it but I am a Howard Stern fan so I had to switch. Sirius makes a Tuner and wire harnes that plugs right into the GM factory radio and converts it to Sirius. It's Sirius part # SIR-GM1 and cost me $99 at Circuit City. Circuit City wanted $100 to install it.
Step 1: Unpack items, Satellite Radio Tuner, Wire Harness Adapter and Antenna. The Factory XM antanna is not compatible with the Sirius tuner so the Sirius Antenna must be used.
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Step 2: Open glove box and remove 7 screws and pop the right side out to expose the factory XM box located behind the glove compartment.
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Step 3: This is the hardest part of the install. Unplug the factory wire harness from the XM box. The blue tab must first be pulled out before the harness will release from the box. If you don't know this, like I didn't, it's a pain in the ass to figure out how it comes out because the blue tap is on the back of the plug toward the firewall and you cannot see it to figure out how it works. Also. the space is very tight and I could barely get 1 hand in there to try to unplug it. After it's unplugged, plug it into the adapter harness supplied by Sirius.
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Step 4: Rout the Sirius antenna. The manual says to mount it on the roof but I found the antenna to work perfectly in the forward right corner of the dash (inside the vehicle) when I had XM in my last truck. So, I chose to put the Sirius antenna in the same place, it makes routing the wire very simple and it's hidden by my dash cover for a clean install. I then routed the wire down the side of the dash and through the panel located in the right side to access the area behind the glove box.
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There is 21 feet of antenna wire supplied with the kit. With the antenna on the dash you only need about 4 feet. The rest just gets zip tied up behind the glove box out of the way.
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Step 5: Directions say to mount the Reciever on a flat surface away from extreme heat sources. The Factory XM box is secured in a special mount behind the glove box and will not accept the Sirius box. I chose to leave the XM box where it was and find a new place for the Sirius box. The only problem is the connecting harness is only about 10 inches long which does not give you many options on where to mount the box. You need a flat surface to screw the box down and there are none. I chose to locate it in the glove box and secured it to the back side with some heavy duty double sided foam tape. Works for me and saves from having to drill holes in stuff.
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Final step, log onto www.sirius.com and activate your subscription. All the factory stereo buttons including the steering wheel controls work with the Sirius reciever. The display reads SR1 and SR2 instead of XM1 and XM2 and all the display info works as well. Rock on.

[doesitfloat?]

Great post. It's amazing how many people are switching from XM to Serius...and not just Howard fans.
One question: "Who dis?" :rollside:

[jus a baker]

Hi Sal!

[doesitfloat?]

Hi Sal!
That is so damn funny and for those who haven't heard crazy Alice, they'll just think you're saying hi. :rollside:
Damn, the show is better than ever...