Jump to content

Xm->sirius Conversion.

gadgetguy1288

Recommended Posts

gadgetguy1288 Enthusiast

gadgetguy1288

Posted
Posted

I tried searching but nothing recent came up so I thought Id ask. I want to switch to Sirius in my 2010 ext cab Silvy, and before anyone asks why, here ya go..

 

I have a sirius plug-in unit that I purchased about 2 years ago while stationed in Juneau, AK(Radio there sux) and when i activated it I bought the lifetime subscription for the ability to transfer it to a new vehicle. Well, after several long and quite heated conversations with supervisors on both sides of the company, no-one can give me a solid, no BS reason why they cant just carry over my subscription. And where Im at Xm reception is horrible, but while I had the Sirius in my other car, it was awesome. And I have no problem putting the other antennae on my truck, but I refuse to just put the external unit in cuz it just looks tacky IMO.

 

So, is there anyway to convert the XM receiver to a Sirius receiver, and still maintain the steeringwheel controls?

 

tylerjenkins92@aol.com Senior Enthusiast

[email protected]

Posted
Posted

This conversion would be virtually pointless nowadays since they have merged and have the exact same channels, disregard a small number of proprietary channels for each. But with xm and the best of sirius, you get those to.

gadgetguy1288 Enthusiast

gadgetguy1288

Posted
  • Author
Posted
This conversion would be virtually pointless nowadays since they have merged and have the exact same channels, disregard a small number of proprietary channels for each. But with xm and the best of sirius, you get those to.

 

This isnt really the case, they may have the same channels but the two are still run differently and have different transmission methods. I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius that I cannot transfer to XM. And although they are both "Satellite radio", IIRC XM also uses ground towers to transmit signal in addition to satellite in poor reception areas and my area is apparently one of those because XM has dead spots every half a mile around here, while Sirius still works perfectly.

ZmanZ71 Enthusiast

ZmanZ71

Posted
Posted

id like to know this as well. I've had sirius in all my dodge trucks and now my chevy has xm. I thought they were the same now but I was wrong. The reception is not nearly as good and the different channel line up has thrown me for a loop. I'd love to go back to sirius and still have all the factory functions and controls as well as the factory look without the ugly box hanging from the windshield. When my 3 month trial is up and they call me to renew i'm going to tell them it sucks haha.

00_Extended Enthusiast

00_Extended

Posted
Posted
This conversion would be virtually pointless nowadays since they have merged and have the exact same channels, disregard a small number of proprietary channels for each. But with xm and the best of sirius, you get those to.

 

This isnt really the case, they may have the same channels but the two are still run differently and have different transmission methods. I have a lifetime subscription to Sirius that I cannot transfer to XM. And although they are both "Satellite radio", IIRC XM also uses ground towers to transmit signal in addition to satellite in poor reception areas and my area is apparently one of those because XM has dead spots every half a mile around here, while Sirius still works perfectly.

 

 

All that and if you have eighter one say XM you can't add a Sierius radio for the $6.00 a month fee or vise versa with Serius, which I have in the house and in the wifes Mustang, they will not allow me to add the truck for $6.00 per month.....they want full price for the XM....I told them they could take the XM and keep it. They have said for alm ost 2 years they would combine and allow the radios to be added like this and still has not happened.

 

Serius also has better customer service....I have no idea why but they do!!

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
Rockweiler Enthusiast

Rockweiler

Posted
Posted

I'm happy to help here because when I bought my truck back in August I searched all over the place to figure out how to do this. The guys at TSS radio were EXTREMELY helpful and gave me all the info I needed.

 

As you've already discovered the kit above does NOT work on 2010+ GMT-900s. The kit you need is this one:

 

TSS Radio - Sirius Integration

 

It's pricey but it works flawlessly. The artist/song info is displayed on the HU, you can browse by category, works with steering wheel controls etc.. essentially the same functionality as the OEM XM radio.

 

Couple of points:

1) "XM" is still displayed on the HU.. not that it matters.

2) You cannot use the factory satellite antenna, you need to use a magnet one similar to one you might have had with a previous plug and play radio (in fact, I used the one that I had already routed through the headliner and out the third brake light before I got this kit).

3) Do some research on the iSimple unit.. I'm not very technically inclined, but it allows you to add a second type of connection in addition to Sirius. I didn't add anything else, but I think you might be able to use it to add a USB port.

4) It works in Canada or the US

5) For this kit to work, your HU needs to be "XM Ready". You don't need to have an XM subscription (I didn't get the 3 free months when I bought my truck), but it needs to be the model that can accept an XM subscription. I can't remember what the RPO code for that HU is, but you might want to double check that before you shell out $250.

 

Can't think of anything else, but if you have any other questions let me know.

 

Hope this helps.

  • 2 weeks later...
Jagster101 Enthusiast

Jagster101

Posted
Posted
I'm happy to help here because when I bought my truck back in August I searched all over the place to figure out how to do this. The guys at TSS radio were EXTREMELY helpful and gave me all the info I needed.

 

As you've already discovered the kit above does NOT work on 2010+ GMT-900s. The kit you need is this one:

 

TSS Radio - Sirius Integration

 

It's pricey but it works flawlessly. The artist/song info is displayed on the HU, you can browse by category, works with steering wheel controls etc.. essentially the same functionality as the OEM XM radio.

 

Couple of points:

1) "XM" is still displayed on the HU.. not that it matters.

2) You cannot use the factory satellite antenna, you need to use a magnet one similar to one you might have had with a previous plug and play radio (in fact, I used the one that I had already routed through the headliner and out the third brake light before I got this kit).

3) Do some research on the iSimple unit.. I'm not very technically inclined, but it allows you to add a second type of connection in addition to Sirius. I didn't add anything else, but I think you might be able to use it to add a USB port.

4) It works in Canada or the US

5) For this kit to work, your HU needs to be "XM Ready". You don't need to have an XM subscription (I didn't get the 3 free months when I bought my truck), but it needs to be the model that can accept an XM subscription. I can't remember what the RPO code for that HU is, but you might want to double check that before you shell out $250.

 

Can't think of anything else, but if you have any other questions let me know.

 

Hope this helps.

 

The above should work. If not I would just install a new head unit. I just Installed a new stereo and mounted my Sirius Sporster 5 in my upper glove compartment and control it with the HU and my steering wheel controls using a SiriusConnect adapter. It looks great the only problem I have is that I can't pause the radio anymore from the stereo. For an example check out my Post here Jagster101 Stereo Install

  • 2 weeks later...
gdnelis Enthusiast

gdnelis

Posted
Posted

 

Just an FYI - I purchased this model, the SIRGM2L for my 2010 back in June of 2010. I'd say it works 95% - the only feature lost was the steering wheel controls in regards to surfing through your presets with the up/down arrows on the wheel.

 

For example, the first 12 or so presets on my radio are SAT channels. If I'm tuned to preset 1 and a try to go to preset 2 via the wheel controls, the radio jumps to the first "non SAT preset" which is the first FM preset I have saved at location 13 or whatever it is. Once its on an FM station, I can surf through the rest of the presets using the wheel controls however once it wraps back to location 1, if hit again it skips ahead to the first "non SAT" preset.

 

It's an annoying little flaw that I've chosen to deal with since it beats having a "XM subscription and paying extra to hear what I want even though they merged" for me since I have two other vehicles with Sirius already installed. I bought this from TSS Radio who at the time was not positive if it would work, they exchanged the first unit to be sure it wasn't defective, and helped troubleshoot the second one to confirm it didn't work before offering to refund my money / give me a deal on the iSimple unit but the $100 price difference wasn't worth the functionality to me.

  • 2 months later...
Sykesville_Silverado Enthusiast

Sykesville_Silverado

Posted
Posted

I too am lookin to swap out my xm for a sirius unit. I have 3 lifetime units as of now and XM does not offer a group discount. They said "even though we are the same company now and we can see your sirius radios we are still seperate." So since I want to have the NASCAR channel and dont feel like paying an extra $200+ dollars for the best of sirius i will be cutting out the cancer that is XM. I Followed the link to TSS about the kit talked about in the previous post. They wrote back with a new one and said it should work for 2010+ years. Here is the link they sent me.

 

http://www.tss-radio.com/products/isimple-...GM-vehicles-GM1

 

I have this kit on order and will update the gang here with the results.

 

I hope this helps anyone like me looking to change out the XM to Sirius Radio brains.

  • 3 months later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Latest Articles

  • Posts

    • FiLo
      5.3 / 6.2 valve covers / oil burning

      By FiLo · Posted

      Any update if the new valve cover help with the oil consumption?  I have a 2014 GMC sierra and my truck is consuming a lot of oil so I’m wondering if replacing the driver side valve cover will stop some of the oil consumption. Thanks 
    • Deadwood
      primary drive belt tensioner

      By Deadwood · Posted

      I bought belts and pulleys for my '20 L5P at Rock Auto a couple years ago. I have used them for many years, and almost always save significant money, especially when I buy maintenance stuff ahead of time.   They carry many OEM parts, which is all I use unless an aftermarket is shown to be same/superior, or if it is an insignificant part or unavailable OEM part anywhere else. RA is usually lower priced, often by a bunch, but parts are sometimes unavailable or out of stock, and I do shop around and sometimes find better prices at other sites.   Be aware that you pay shipping, and if you buy multiple items and they are coming from different warehouses, the shipping can kill the advantage. Planning ahead is best if possible.   If you have a transmission service in the near future, check out their OEM (AC Delco ULV) fluid, usually MUCH less than anywhere else.
    • Deadwood
      10L1000 anyone with High Mileage ? I hate Damocles....

      By Deadwood · Posted

      New member here, very long time occasional guest. Saw this thread, thought it would be a good time to contribute someting. It is only my experience and not a claim that everyone will have the same.   I bought my '20 3500 L5P new and have put 99.9% (literally) of it's current ~400k miles on it myself, with over 50% of that towing loads between 4k to 15k, and to me this truck has been nothing short of amazing. For the first 235k I had zero issues, and from there until 321k I replaced a NOx sensor, two failing glow plugs, and three of the notorious injector connectors. I believe this truck is in part, a testament to good luck, but also good care and following a decent maintenance schedule (I also keep meticulous records.) As a result, it looks as good as a well cared for 70k rig, up and down, inside and out.   At some point before that 321k mile mark I began to get a little spooked about the 10L1000, especially the valve body. Word of mouth about potential issues prompted me to jump on the net to sift through all the noise and determine what all the fuss was about. I routinely take long trips, coast-to-coast and points in between, so roadside breakdowns can be '...a thousand miles from nowhere' and a bit of a challenge, and though I had no issues, my guard was up and activated.   And then I stumbled across a chance to salvage some parts off a new 2025 that had been wrecked in transport. I grabbed a few wear items (alternator, pulleys, etc.) and on a whim asked what the ten speeder would cost me. It was cheap...really cheap. I knew some changes had been made in the '24+ version 10L and were supposedly not compatible, but I called service/parts at my local Chevy dealer and asked why and they didn't know. A call to a well known aftermarket transmission outfit revealed it was very likely it would be fine, but to them not 100% sure.   Because it was cheap (really cheap) and I was spooked, I took the chance. Had it installed by a local shop and it worked like a champ, shifted just like the original. At it's first service at 37k, I had the shop put in a Next Gen valve body kit, which after some initial hiccups and rough shifts, smoothed out though with somewhat firmer shifting.   All that said, I have a very serious concern about my newer transmission as just two weeks ago it suddenly began to exhibit a strong reluctance to engage forward or reverse. It was a bit past due anyway so I took it in for service. The reason it was sticking was due to 'glitter' in the fluid clogging the filter...not good folks, often indicates a converter giving out. We ended up going ahead with the new filter and fluid, first to see if it would move and shift, and then if so buy me a little time. It did, and I've driven it over a thousand miles and it is shifting smooth, no noises or slipping. Regardless, it looks like a third gearbox is in my future so I can resume taking long trips with some confidence. In the very short term, my curiosity will have me examining the fluid to check how much glitter has reappeared.   An earlier poster had alleged, in the context of 10L100 failures, that it is another example of how we seasoned citizens somehow descend into hysteria, lose control of our senses, and react irrationally after brief encounters with the idiocy of the internet infosphere. Let me say (and I have used and abused said internet since it's infancy) there is no segment of the populace that has a corner on over-reaction to digital garbage. Just as my offering of experience in this arena is purely anecdotal and should not be considered gospel or all-encompassing, I believe it is still worthwhile information to consider, along with other relevant anecdotal experiences about things like complex transmissions, especially when balanced with other sources.   So to answer the original question, yes I got high miles out of my first 10L, trouble free for 321,000. Now I really wonder how much longer it would have went. Did I 'overreact' to the internet ghouls by replacing a 'good' one with a 'bad' one? Maybe. Who knows, the thing might have taken a puke a 100 miles later. So I'll just fix it again, then move on and start thinking about all the other stuff that will eventually wear out. It still has the original brakes (they're at ~60%), original injectors/pump, turbo, water pump, etc....pretty much original everything. Knock on wood.
    • swathdiver
      6 Speed vs 8 Speed

      By swathdiver · Posted

      At peak temperature.  They get to cool down and warm up more, especially those with the external cooler.  I have three GMT900s and one of them has over 225K on its original transmission.  Fluid gets changed about every 36K miles, all of it.     It's not the bean counters, it was the government.  They had to meet CAFE standards and other government requirements.   To get around that, we tune them and modify them to our liking.
    • GMCustomerService
      Will not stay in Reverse

      By GMCustomerService · Posted

      Our customers' safety isn't something we take lightly. To ensure you get the proper assistance for your truck's repairs, please fill out the form at https://s.chevy.com/support-request with all pertinent details including your username.

  • GM-Trucks.com Clubs

  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...