Relocating Satellite radio antenna
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Relocating Satellite radio antenna
I have a 2006 Ram 2500 Quad cab, When I load the pickup camper on it, the camper blocks the signal to the Satellite Radio Antenna. I installed a new magnetic mount antenna on the passenger side of the hood and routed the cable through the firewall by poking a hole in the gromet around the hood release cable.
Now here is where the problem came in, the shop manual says the satellite receiver is under the back seat, so i routed the wire under the door sills to the back seat, removed the back seat, and found no receiver. I then followed the wire from the factory antenna up under the dash. I found the receiver bolted to a tube behind the dash. It was assessable after removing the glove compartment. Now problem #2 comes in. The shop manual shows a 2 wire antenna, but in 2006 i guess they went to a single wire type. Not a huge deal, but i bought a splitter to make my one wire a 2 wire. I guess if you have a 2005 or earlier, you would need this. ( and also have to route the wire under the back seat.)
Anyway, the Antenna i purchased had a right angle plug on it. The factory antenna has a straight plug with a square plastic housing around it. The right angle plug really did not fit directly into the factory receiver. The Square plug is called a Fakra plug. I found an Fakra adapter at TSS radio. I think it was 10 bucks. everything works great. If you did not want the antenna exposed it could be mounted under the plastic cover at (inside) the base of the windshield. This is where the GPS antenna is mounted. You could also put it under the plastic piece directly in front of the windshield. So if you want to remove the wart on your roof or did not have a sat antenna from the factory, this may be a good solution.
I think I am going to remove the Factory Sat antenna and install a permanent mount cell antenna. Since the cell signal goes more out then up i don't think the camper will limit the performance much.
Peter Lechtanski
Now here is where the problem came in, the shop manual says the satellite receiver is under the back seat, so i routed the wire under the door sills to the back seat, removed the back seat, and found no receiver. I then followed the wire from the factory antenna up under the dash. I found the receiver bolted to a tube behind the dash. It was assessable after removing the glove compartment. Now problem #2 comes in. The shop manual shows a 2 wire antenna, but in 2006 i guess they went to a single wire type. Not a huge deal, but i bought a splitter to make my one wire a 2 wire. I guess if you have a 2005 or earlier, you would need this. ( and also have to route the wire under the back seat.)
Anyway, the Antenna i purchased had a right angle plug on it. The factory antenna has a straight plug with a square plastic housing around it. The right angle plug really did not fit directly into the factory receiver. The Square plug is called a Fakra plug. I found an Fakra adapter at TSS radio. I think it was 10 bucks. everything works great. If you did not want the antenna exposed it could be mounted under the plastic cover at (inside) the base of the windshield. This is where the GPS antenna is mounted. You could also put it under the plastic piece directly in front of the windshield. So if you want to remove the wart on your roof or did not have a sat antenna from the factory, this may be a good solution.
I think I am going to remove the Factory Sat antenna and install a permanent mount cell antenna. Since the cell signal goes more out then up i don't think the camper will limit the performance much.
Peter Lechtanski
