KenLenard

Guys: I picked up a 2011 Mustang Convertible V6 premium over the weekend... used with 12k miles on it. I've been driving a minivan for 14 years so I'm pumped up. I had a 1984 Mustang convertible that was traded in long ago. Glad to be back.

This car came with the Shaker audio system and it appears to have Sirius and a small, black, plastic satellite radio antenna in the middle of the trunk. Sirius cannot activate this unit and I have tried multiple times. I have heard that the people at Sirius have had issues activating units and I have also heard that some cars come "satellite ready" but not "satellite". I think this thing is ready to go but it either has a hardware issue (wiring, antenna) or the unit needs to be reset or something. Has anyone had this issue? Does anyone know how to reset the radio or have any other advice on this? I couls take it to my local Ford dealer (I bought the car from a Toyota place) but I'd love to resolve it myself if possible. Thanks.

KenLenard

Quick followup: I contacted the dealer I bought the car from and the unique thing is that one of the execs at the dealer personally knows the previous owner of this car. I just emailed them to ask if they knew the Sirius was working properly when they traded in the car and the answer was YES. So is this just a Sirius tech support issue? If the radio is in good working order, it must need some sort of reset. Thanks for the help guys.

07 Stang

The previous owner probably let his subscription run out. You can purchase it and then they will help you get connected. Sometimes they run specials like 5 months for $20.00.

Here's a link for you;

http://www.siriusxm.com/subscriptions

JimC

since you have the antenna on your trunk your car has (or had) Sirius. What happens when you try to access Sirius? Do you get anything on the display on your radio? It should read something.

The other thing to check - on the passenger side in the trunk, behind the "carpet" panel on the side, pull back and see if your receiver is (1) still there in case someone liberated it and (2) is connected to both the antenna and the radio.

KenLenard

Ah, thank you for that. I have a brand new subscription that I just set up yesterday so that part is good. I also tried to do the "send signal to your unit" thing online but there was an issue so I ended up talking to a human, then another human and finally a third. The radio shows Sirius and defaults to channel 184 (the preview channel) but it shows NO SIGNAL. There is no audio. I have 2 XM subscriptions that allow you to still hear preview info if everything is working properly but your subscription runs out. On the Mustang, no sound at all and no signal. I called my local Ford dealer today and all the guy could say was "you have to bring it in". But I will check the trunk to see if anything looks loose or disconnected. Otherwise, has anyone heard of a "hard reset" or "soft reset", etc? Thanks guys.

Twstones

If it appears all your wiring is okay, do this before you call back Sirius. While the radio is set to Sirius, and car outside, run through the radio menu. About 3 or 4 steps into it shows what the serial number of you radio is, about a dozen numbers. (Don't know if I remember this correct, but I put my ragtop in storage a couple of days ago for the winter) Make sure you have it when you talk to Sirius the next time you call. I think if you're showing channel 184, you're getting a signal. Might be a mix-up in the serial number.

Oh, my car was also used, and about a year old. When I called Sirius to activate, I told them I was the new owner, and understood they have 6 months of free service. They said that was right, and gave me my first 6 months free. Then as someone else stated, then next time I reactivated (cancel it in the winter time) they gave me the 5 months for $20's deal. Guess it worked, I bought a unit for the other 2 cars this summer. Can't stand the garbage that's over the air all the time..... Good luck.....
PS. see you're from Illinois, I'm from around Champaign area....ILL.....INI

KenLenard

I have gone over the ESN or serial number with Sirius a few times and I definitely have the right number. I figured that this was not a "car" problem, but a Sirius problem so 90% of my troubleshooting has been with them. I think I've exhausted that avenue unless they are truly incompetent. This is something else and my gut tells me that I'll be taking it to the dealer so they can futz with it.

JimC

Since your display says "no signal" and it displays the 184 channel, then the receiver is in your trunk. There must be a problem with your antenna though - so either it has become disconnected from the receiver, or you have a break in the wire and it is grounding out; I had that happen to my antenna and had the same message.

KenLenard

Yesterday I went out and looked around in the trunk and found a black box that I concluded was the mechanics for the convertible top. I didn't have a lot of time and it was dark so I stopped looking. But today I'll go out and look to see if I can find the Sirius receiver and ensure everything is solid. Can anyone give me a clearer picture of where it's located? Also, some wiring goes up from the trunk, behind a cloth liner and disappears. Some of it could be wiring for the rear brake light, the rear defroster and some of it may be the antenna line for the Sirius. It's wrapped up and tought to see but the point is that I can't actually see a line running to the Sirius antenna because this liner is in the way. Thanks again guys.

JimC

That wiring that goes behind the cloth liner is going to your receiver. The black box you referenced is probably the convertible top hydraulics.

The Sirius receiver is a flat aluminum piece about 5 x 8 behind the carpeted panel on the passenger side. You have to pull the panel back and you will see it.