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Car Forum / Ford / Ford Trucks / December 2007Installing satellite radio on Mazda B400 (Ranger)
Anyone here install a Sirius satellite radio as an aftermarket add-on to a Ranger of Mazda B-series? I recently purchased a Mini Cooper and got the Sirius radio built in and I'd like to install Sirius in my 97 Mazda B4000. The installation kit comes with an antenna that must mount on top of the roof and the small-diameter coaxial cable lead from the antenna must snake around the windshield molding, etc., etc., into the cab. It seems to me that I could mount the antenna toward the back of the cab roof, drill a small hole in the plastic lens for the third brake light (the one on the top rear of the cab), run the coax through the hole in the lens, seal the hole with silicon sealant, then run the coax through the same hole as the wires for the brake light, snake it through the space between the headliner and the cab roof, then down inside the pillar between the windshield and the door, bring it out under the dash, and connect it to the Sirius receiver, which will be mounted on a goose-neck mount bolted to the floor using one of the bolts that holds the seat track in place. Anyone else try this? Or, tell me how you mounted your Sirius satellite radio antenna and how did you get the cable inside the truck. Thanks. The directions _say_ the antenna must be on the roof, but as a practical matter the antenna works just fine at the base of the windsield on the inside of your truck. I had XM in my car, and later in a truck that was stolen with the XM in it, and the antenna was placed on the dashboard at the base of the windshield where it worked just fine. If you put the antenna inside the car at the base of the windshield, you remove one of the attractions that thieves look for, and you get the bonus of avoiding new holes that you don't want to make in the first place. If your antenna wants to slide around on the dashboard, you can get double-stick tape or velcro to hold it in place. > Anyone here install a Sirius satellite radio as an aftermarket add-on > to a Ranger of Mazda B-series? [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Thanks. > The directions _say_ the antenna must be on the roof, but as a practical > matter the antenna works just fine at the base of the windsield on the [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > - Show quoted text - Thanks, Jeff. I have wondered about that. I have a handheld GPS unit that works just fine lying on the dash and I've often thought that the satellite radio should do the same -- after all, both the GPS and the sat radio are receiving tiny signals from satellites and the windshield does not bother the GPS at all. I installed an XM antenna on my Excursion, on the roof just above the windshield. I tucked the wire underneath the windshield weatherstripping and ran it across and down the passenger side of the windshield, and continued under the cowl to the engine compartment, where I was able to find an existing wiring pass-through leading under the dashboard. I didn't trust the magnet mount of the antenna so I got some super-strong double-sided tape to mount the antenna. Been through many car washes since and it's still there. > Anyone here install a Sirius satellite radio as an aftermarket add-on > to a Ranger of Mazda B-series? [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > Thanks. >I installed an XM antenna on my Excursion, on the roof just above the >windshield. I tucked the wire underneath the windshield weatherstripping [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > double-sided tape to mount the antenna. Been through many car washes since > and it's still there. You can mount the antenna inside, and never worry that it will be ripped off by the car wash or attract the attention of the criminal element that thinks that whatever you own is free for the taking ... Radio waves work good through glass. >>I installed an XM antenna on my Excursion, on the roof just above the >>windshield. I tucked the wire underneath the windshield weatherstripping [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Radio waves work good through glass. Satellite signals don't work all that well through steel, though. I tried mounting the antenna on the dash for a while, the roof of the Excursion is so long that if I was heading north I would lose the satellite. I live near the 45th North Parallel. >>>I installed an XM antenna on my Excursion, on the roof just above the >>>windshield. I tucked the wire underneath the windshield weatherstripping [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > so long that if I was heading north I would lose the satellite. I live > near the 45th North Parallel. 45N is roughly the Canadian border (just south of ... ). I suppose if you were headed in a northerly direction, the Excusion could block the signal. I had not thought of northern latitudes. I never had that problem in my BMW living on a line around 33N. We froze our collective a.ses off today - the temp was about 65 ... I shutter (shiver, actually) at the thought of what you got ... > 45N is roughly the Canadian border (just south of ... ). I suppose if you > were headed in a northerly direction, the Excusion could block the signal. > I had not thought of northern latitudes. I never had that problem in my > BMW living on a line around 33N. Well, depending on what state you're in. I actually live north of the Canadian border (Windsor), and 45degN is about a two hour drive north of me. > We froze our collective a.ses off today - the temp was about 65 ... You will receive no sympathy from me. :-) > I shutter (shiver, actually) at the thought of what you got ... We haven't had a day above freezing for a couple weeks now, but we weren't slammed with bad weather like they were south of here. Coldest it's gotten here this winter was about 8F in the morning a couple weeks ago. We'll see -10 by February. Your nose hairs freeze on the first outside inhalation and the roof trusses shrink enough to sound like someone's walking on your roof all night. Thank God I have a block heater or that diesel would take 20 minutes to warm up on those days. >>>I installed an XM antenna on my Excursion, on the roof just above the >>>windshield. I tucked the wire underneath the windshield weatherstripping [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >so long that if I was heading north I would lose the satellite. I live near >the 45th North Parallel. huh, that's interesting. It's been known that they'll have to allow for a stored/delayed system like 8 seconds to try to take care of some to this type of issue. whitefordtruck@gmail.com |
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