1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
Congratulations on the gift. Satellite radio is a wonderful way to enjoy music while in the car. I have XM and love it, just wish XM would bring back the Music Lab. I've had Sirus a few times in rental cars and enjoyed it.
When I pull my stereo I have to push the windshield wiper stalk up into the intermittent mode to allow room for the stereo to come out. If you don't then you hit the stalk at ~2 inches. There is plenty of cable behind the dash so I wouldn't worry to much about needing a little force to pull enough wire out. Antenna connection is the one on the far right. All other connections are on the left.
My XM came with enough cable to put the antenna above the 3rd break light (no shark fin on my 99). I ran the cable along the inside of the hatch into the interior near the passengers rear speaker. This is the only place where the cable is exposed as it hangs about 6" between the hatch and the carpeting in the hatch. I then just stuffed the cable under the carpet, under the rear seats to the door well. The cable also stuffs easily between the carpet and plastic panel under the door & B-pillar. I took the glove compartment out (5 torx screws, one 10 mm bolt, & the glove compartment light) and the passenger kick panel (one torx screw) to run the cable behind so it wasn't exposed. Have a similar setup in the wife's Camry, but I ran the cable under the passenger seat to the center console.
My XM is mounted next to the AC unit. I found a mounting bracket for the XM (it's just a piece of sheet metal) a few years ago that I was able to stuff between the AC and console. I had it down lower (where the Altoids are in the picture) but I found it was too far out of the sight line while driving. The XM mounts on the AC vent in the wifes car. Both are good solutions, but the metal bracket is much more secure.
I use a FM modulator in my car and it has much better sound quality than using the radio "broadcast" function when used in the wifes car. If we drive long distances in the wifes car I often have to switch stations due to broadcast interference. The FM Direct looks to be a much simpler setup than my modulator as it required connection to a 12V source. Since I had the kick panel off I zip tied the modulator to one of the supports behind the kick panel. The cables come though the dash where the heated seat switch would be located.
Most likely you will need two antenna adapters to connect the FM Direct to the Saab head unit as not every manufacturer uses the same connector for the antenna. You will need to buy the Volkswagen adapters which requires two (one from head unit to FM Direct, one from FM direct to car antenna).
1999 9-3
139k miles
XM SkiFi2
posted by 68.79.25...
, Tue, 9 Oct 2007 21:38:52
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