Sirius Interfering With Fm & Nav?

[srebo70]

I had a Sirius radio installed at Circuit City about two years ago. They did a nice job placing the control unit in the compartment for change (right by the CD Changer cover) and the antenna in the back window next to the third brake light.

Since it was installed, I cannot receive any FM or Am radio stations and my Navigation system keeps going out. I upgraded the DVD to the 2005 edition and all seemed well. The Nav DVD Player has also been replaced at the dealer.

Could the way Circuit City hooked up the Sirius (big unit is in the trunk because they told me that's where the FM modulator is) be messing up my FM & AM reception (which worked before the install) and the Nav system. The Nav system will periodically just cut out where all the buttons on the screen are blanked (like when the car is in motion). The Nav system is the biggest issue to me, but I am tired of driving my 2001 LS430 around and not being able to have use of every option in it.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. The guy at the Service Dept. at the Lexus dealer I go to mentioned something about the Sirius causing these issues.

Thanks,

Scott

[srebo70]

Well, Saturday I had a local Sound guy look at the car and he found the problem (with the radio anyway). The "gentleman" at Circuit City who I complimented on hiding the wiring and putting the small Sirius unit where I can put it away when not in use and not changing the interior appearance of my car, RIPPED the stock antenna wire out, spliced one of the two other wires together, plugged it into the FM modulator. Doing this completely ruined the antenna wire (why I get no FM or AM) left the bare wire sitting there and rendered it useless. Oh yeah, he said the wire for the Sirius is "shoved" in the unit in the trunk, not even fit in with a plug which explains heavy static on Sirius when I hit a large bump.

In order to fix it now, the sound guy has to get:

A new FM Modulator

2 Antenna Adapters

A new Antenna (possibly just the wire)

He stated that this SHOULD not directly affect the Navigation system, but as I understand it, the Nav and the Radio both use the same antenns (back roof-mounted). Here's my suggestion, based on this experience:

If you love your Lexus and have the sound system modified, take it somewhere that makes their living on doing such work. OUr cars are just way too nice to risk the kind of work I received!

[scottmcc]

The NAV and Radio's do not use the same antenna. Your XM or Sirus antenna may be a black box on the trunk lid or rear of your car but your GPS Antenna is located up front..

Do you not have SAT as an option for your audio selections? If you do, they should have put your SIRIUS inputs there instead of FM modulating it.

[srebo70]

The NAV and Radio's do not use the same antenna. Your XM or Sirus antenna may be a black box on the trunk lid or rear of your car but your GPS Antenna is located up front..

Do you not have SAT as an option for your audio selections? If you do, they should have put your SIRIUS inputs there instead of FM modulating it.

I do not believe the Sat ready radios appeared from Lexus until 2004 so it was installed in the trunk and only the control unit was put in the front of the cabin and wired to the trunk. The antenna wire for the stock radio is what was cut and left in the compartment, right next to the Nav DVD Player. It doesn't sound too much like this is causing the problem with the Nav. I will try cleaning the DVD again.

Here is what the sound guy came back with for costs:

FM Modulator - $30

Two Antenna Adapters - $30 ($25 each)

Antenna wire (is every one sitting down?) - $400 (he tried a couple different dealers)

2 - 3 hours of labor at $70 per hour.

I have tried to contact Circuit City about the "work" their tech did on my car. No response yet.