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XM Radio Retro-fit???

ericj

Full Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2002
Messages
26
Hello All,

I am new to the club, and was wondering whether or not you could add XM Radio to an 03 with the 6-Disc in dash and On-Star, that didn't come stock with it? Is the GM unit XM ready? Is it as easy as adding an antenna and buying the service? Please advise, thanks!
 
ericj said:
Hello All,

I am new to the club, and was wondering whether or not you could add XM Radio to an 03 with the 6-Disc in dash and On-Star, that didn't come stock with it? Is the GM unit XM ready? ?Is it as easy as adding an antenna and buying the service? Please advise, thanks!

You will probably need to go the FM Modulator route if you plan on keeping everything stock.

:cool:
 
The modulator units work great, I have the Pioneer 903XM. Take a look at stores like Circuit City or Best Buy. Small head unit and 18 pre-sets. I tune my regular FM to 89.1 to work the XM unit.
 
I wonder if the connectors made for 02 will work or not...they give you RCA aux inputs...

If not I bet these companies are making them...

Contact JASON PENDULUM as he sells a few of these connector thingys...

HTH
 
ericj,

I am in exactly the same situation that you are and have the same question.

I contacted Chevrolet customer service and my local Chevrolet dealer and neither had any suggestions other than using an FM Modulator.

I contacted Crutchfield and their suggestions were

1. Use an FM Modulator or
2. Attempt to use a GM to Pioneer CD changer converter and then a Pioneer CD changer to RCA plugs converter in conjunction that would supposedly allow you to use the CD/Aux button on you head unit. You will still have to have an aftermarket XM unit mounted on the dash, but you can bypass the FM this way.

The custumor service rep from Crutchfield did not gaurantee that this will work, but he said this is the only thing he could think of.

My question is: Are there any external inputs on the back of the stock head unit that can be used? The reply from ygmm said something about 02 connectors but I did not understand.

Hope this helps

Hook-em Horns
 
JASON PENDULUM sells two devices that work on 2002 and older trucks..

The PIE GM9-AUX and the PAC something or other....

Both connect to back of radio at 9 pin harness and then the 9 pin wire harness connects to it....now this device is a black box....that has some RCA input plugs dangling....these allow you to hook something up that will go into stock radio under the AUX button.......

The question is will these devices work with 03 radios.....that is why I said ask Jason.....or heck call PIE and/or PAC and tell them what you wanna do and see if they have a device...if they do tell Jason so he can sell them for ya...

HTH
 
The question is will these devices work with 03 radios.....that is why I said ask Jason.....or heck call PIE and/or PAC and tell them what you wanna do and see if they have a device.

I can save you some time...I emailed PIE/PAC and they stated that their currently is no interface cable available for the '03. After searching the internet and checking with some hi-end stereo mod shops, they all concluded that an FM Modulator is currently the only way. Given the fact that GM uses this radio on numerous models, they all said it was a matter of waiting for the interface cable.

IMHO I had an fm modulator on my last vehicle and I would suggest you wait. The quality (IMO) sucked. I'm not alone...read some of the recent stereo mod threads and everyone I read came to the same conclusion (in a comparison sense).
 
i may have to agree with mnr602 on that one. i had the modulator (Pioneer) on my AV for awhile. what was so bad about it was when you are switching XM on or off you get this loud staticky (is that a word) sound. and depending on how loud you listen to your music there will be some background noise present.
enter the Pioneer DEH-P640 receiver. it sounds great and has loads of features i can't even begin to tell you about. one feature i will share is the on screen graphics it has. you can toggle through about six or seven options i think. i did not want to change the OEM HU initially, but i made a purchase, did not want it, and was only given in-store credit. :8: all-in-all i am happy i have it. XM plays tons better now. all i had to do was purchase an IB Bus cable to get the tuner to plug into the radio. it was about $95. and worth every penny.
if you are worried about staying as factory as possible i suggest changing the HU anyway. just use the "Smart Plugs" that Circuit City sells to save from cutting your factory harness. or, splice the radio harness to the truck aftermarket harness, and just plug it up to the truck harness. then you are ready to go.
did i mention how the sound quality has improved through the speakers overall?
 
? i forgot to mention that JP Customs has all the stuff you need to do the install if you have onstar. ?just let him know what you want to do, and he will guide you along in the right direction.
? i had a question for him about adding an aftermarket radio and amp. ?he got right back to me with very good info. ?it actually helped me get my install complete, and working GREAT! ? :B:
 
I just want to add my 2 cents here.
I started my XM experience off with the Pioneer GEX 903FM. The modulated unit. I thought it was great and loved the sound from it. Then the aftermarket HU bug bit pretty hard. After much going back and forth I decided on the Pioneer 8400 HU. It has the built in XM controls and also plays wma and mp3 files. I got the IP bus connector and plugged every thing in. I didn`t think the XM could sound better but it just got better. More clear and seems more alive??? You can go with the FM modulated at first like me, but when the aftermarket HU bug gets to you, you can keep the FM modulated unit and it will work just as good.
 
Thank you all for your comments on this. My PC crashed this last weekend and I just got it back up and running and was able to view your replies.

Does anyone know who I get a hold of JP? Does anyone have any images of the HU swap, and or back of stock unit?

I am still a little confused on what to do here. I really did not want, I should say, my wife did not want me to change the stock HU. I was considering the Delphi unit and the FM modulation, but some here say that the quality is not so good. I'd like to talk with JP to see if he has any solution.

Again, thanks for your input on this!

e
 
Eric, I didn`t mean to turn you off from the fm modulated version. It does sound good. Better than your current fm radio does. So don`t worry about that. If you get the IP bus connector its like putting a CD in the player it is so clear.
 
do not, i repeat, do not get that Delphi unit. it sucks really bad. a co-worker got it a couple of weeks ago. i installed it for her. it was sooo bad. there was so much static in the background. she thought it sounded horrible as well. she listened to mine, and was impressed with the quality. she wound up taking it back. she purchased a $325 Alpine HU and Alpine XM tuner instead. once installed she had a big smile on her face. ;D
if you have to keep the factory HU i would go with a Pioneer or Alpine system. :B:
 
Wow, OK, thanks for the heads-up. I am an audiophile like a lot of you here and am concerned about the quality of the sound. OK, so if I don't get the Delphi unit, which unit should I get? I see some like Alpine, and others Pioneer. Could you please provide model or part numbers for me to look at? Again, I appreciate your time on this topic.

And, how do I get a hold of this JP guy?

Thanks!
 
Guys two things the radio with xm is different the the one with out And a rca adaptor won't help you >how will you control the xm unit? And I have never seen one that uses a rca cable they all use a bus cable. If you want xm you will have to use a rf unit
 
if you are interested in the Alpine the part number is TUA-T020XM. this is the one you have to have an XM HU for.
now if you want the Pioneer the part number for that is GEX-FM903XM. this is the one that had the controller to use with the factory HU. i purchased the IB Bus cable to use it with the Pioneer DEH-P640 HU i bought. this set-up works much better i think.
trust me, the Delphi is not a good system. the modulator for it only costs $39. the one for the Pioneer is about $70 extra in the modulator kit. it comes in the kit with the XM tuner. the Delphi is seperate. and the Pioneer has more stations to choose from as being the source for your music output. it has 12 as opposed to 4. this gives you more options should some have alot of static. hope this helps.
 
rager24 said:
Guys two things the radio with xm is different the the one with out And a rca adaptor won't help you >how will you control the xm unit? And I have never seen one that uses a rca cable they all use a bus cable. If you want xm you will have to use a rf unit

The SOny has a stereo mini out jack. You can find a Stereo mini plug to RCA adapters about everywhere....I did.....then the radio comes with a remote control gizmo....

I have this installed in my truck. RCA cable out and Remote control....the Pioneer systems have to have the black box which do have Fm modulation....
 
Eric,

I responded earlier with the same dilemna and after several weeks of researching it and taking the head unit our and looking at the back of it, here is what I have come up with:

1. At this time, there is no adaptor for the radio to use the Aux button. Blitzsafe is working on it, but they think it is still several months away.

2. There is no external outputs on the back of the unit for anything.

3. I purchased the Delphi unit and installed it with a FM modulator :D: It sounded absolutely horrible.

4. I took this unit back and replaced it with an alpine XMA-T200RF that I mounted flush in the lowest storage compartment on the dash below the power outlets. I used the FM Modulator and it sounds incredible!!!

5. The only differences between the Alpine unit and the Pioneer unit is that the Alpine comes with a wireless remote and has external outputs on the FM modulator that allow you to connect an additional source to this system.

Hope this helps and good luck. If you want to see the pic of the install location of have any questions. Email me at twsjseng@earthlink.net.

Todd (Hookem)
 
About 2 weeks after I purchased My 02 Avalanche I Installed My Alpine 7893, 6 Disc changer, and xm Reciever Via AI Net.

I mounted both The Changer and XM Receiver under the Back seat on the passenger side.

I can crank it up just about as loud as I can stand it and it's crystal clear the whole time.

Just my 2/c.
 
hey Hookem, i told you in one of my previous post that the Delphi sounded really bad. ?sorry you had to experience it for yourself. :B:
 
All this talk of XM Radio, and I have still things on my "To Mod List". I guess XM will be 3rd down on the list, unless you guys can tell me why it should move up the list. Top of the list is the 5 screen Video System. Second on the list is the 4 8" sub cabinet mounted in the hard panel bag. And now XM.......shame shame shame on all of you for making me do another mod.

MOD ON

Wiki
 
It didn't link up the way I thought it would. :mad:

I'll attach the pic instead.
 

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