98redformula

I recently added a 2008 Impala SS to my garage and have a couple of questions related to the radio. The car has a factory XM radio. I would like to use the factory XM antenna to install a Sirius satellite radio for which I am a lifetime subscriber. I removed the radio to investigate if the XM radio was built into the headunit and found that the antenna connector looked similar to the old FM antenna connectors I have seen in the past, but I could not remove it as easily (and didn't forcefully remove it for fear of breaking it). Based on some internet and forum searching, I get the impression that the factory XM radios are usually separate modules that are controlled by the headunit. So I now hoping that somebody can confirm/help me with a few basic questions:

1. Is the XM radio a separate unit?
2. If so, where in the car is it located?
3. Is there a special procedure to remove the antenna connector from the headunit?

WhiteBird00

iTrader: (4)

The XM tuner in late model GM vehicles is a separate box connected to the head unit by a multi-wire harness. The XM antenna plugs into that separate tuner box and the tuner communicates with the head unit through the harness. You can't use this setup to connect any of the standard Sirius plug-and-play radios to your head unit. There are replacement tuner boxes called the SIRGM1 and SIRGM2L which will plug in as a replacement for the factory XM tuner but have their own ESN (serial number) so you would need to get a new subscription or transfer your existing lifetime subscription ($75 fee) to the new tuner.

I am not familiar with the Impala specifically but I have converted other recent model GM XM systems. The XM tuner might be mounted in numerous different places but is commonly located under the dash below the glovebox on the passenger side.

You will find that the XM antenna plugged into the tuner is the old style with the plastic locking ring like they used several years ago. If you cut off the plastic locking ring, you can plug the antenna into the Sirius tuner but there is very little slack in the cable so it wouldn't be much good for use with a normal plug-and-play Sirius radio. The two services use very slightly different frequencies so Sirius reception through an XM antenna won't be perfect but it is generally pretty good.

98redformula

WhiteBird00,
Thanks for the confirmation on the second box. Now I just have to locate it! I have already looked behind the glovebox in the dash and didn't see anything that had a connector that resembled an antenna connector. I will try under the dash and see if that gets me anywhere. I greatly appreciate the help.

Barnett92

iTrader: (1)

I just did a quick google search on this, for I recently upgraded my cd player and would like to also use the car's satellite antenna instead of mounting a new one and did not know where the plug was. Anybody have any ideas??