Hey guys! Santa was good to me this year, and I'm finally replacing my 5 year old head unit (Clarion DXZ815MP) with a Pioneer DEH-P9800 with XM, bluetooth, etc.

Any suggestions for locating the separate XM tuner, as well as the XM antenna? I figure the XM tuner could always go under the passenger seat, or under the convertible top shelf next to the existing amplifier. Has anyone tried to squeeze one under the dash? I can't imagine there's much space, but I haven't crawled under there yet to look for this.

For the XM antenna, initially I'll try putting it in the corner of the dash and see how it works out. I'm open to suggestions here as far as what works for everyone else. I'd just like to figure out a good place before I go through the trouble of snaking the wire.

The rest of the system was installed right after I bought the car in 2002. It consists of a PPI PCX-480 amplifier mounted in place of the spare tire, a single JL 10W0 in the trunk tool well, and a set of Boston Acoustics Pro components. The JL sub is one of a pair that has seen duty in my last 3 cars. It's probably 11-12 years old at this point and still solid.

Unfortunately, I'll need to go through the process of building a new dash control adapter. I did my last one using a cannibalized Clarion remote. I'll either do the same with the Pioneer, or if the remote proves useful for other purposes, I'll keep it and order another to take apart to rig up the dash controls.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions,

-Jeff

 

OK, I installed the XM receiver behind the lower panel in the passenger side dash. Made for the easiest routing of wires to the head unit. XM reception doesn't seem to be a problem, regardless of where I place the antenna. I also need to decide the best spot for the bluetooth mic.

 

Can you post some pics of your setup? Where the XM unit was mounted, and where/how you ran the wires? And where the antenna ended up?

Thanks.