New Caprice - Discussion forums

Hi guys,

I'm looking to put a Sirius radio receiver in my Caprice, but it's got those (FAKRA?) antenna connections and I have to convert them (with adapters) to Motorola-style. The images I've looked at mirror those of a VW, or Subaru set up.

Any ideas?

Thanx

Dennis

I'm not an expert on this, but from having removed the headliner over the weekend, and being able to see what is in the roof, Scott Williams & I did decide that the external antenna is providing the AM radio signal, and the wires embedded in the upper area of the rear window provide the FM radio signal.

Testing was done to check this by selecting AM, removing antenna and searching for AM stations, then re-installing the antenna and noting difference in AM reception. FM station performance was not affected by whether external antenna was removed or installed.

Thanks, Bill.

After re-reading my post, I should have said that I was looking for a way to convert the antenna plug (from the harness to the radio) from the (Fakra??) style which is used on these cars now, to the Motorola style bayonette plug. I need to go both ways - male Fakra, to female Motorola and female Fakra to male Motorola to make my Serius work. I found some on line, but two look close - a VW and a Subaru. I might end up buying both (to see which one, if either, is right). I just thought I's save the aggravation if someone knew which one was right. When I get it worked out, we'll all know!

Dennis

Hey Bill,

Interestingly enough, noticed just the opposite when my antenna was off after the car went through the dealer's carwash: AM reception not affected but FM poor!

Interestingly enough, I think my FM reception is poor, too; hence the switch to satellite.

Dennis

Can anyone take this further? How can we determine which antenna performs which functions(s)?

Looking at a "shark fin" option--anyone have the inside scoop on doing this?:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafe ... in+antenna" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.beatsonicusa.com/shark-fin-a ... r630ae6l44" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just picked a couple of sites and did some looking--no idea what may or may not actually work.

I'm no expert but the sharkfin is a hot topic amongst our Pontiac brethren.

http://www.g8board.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9665" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Navy Lifer wrote:I'm not an expert on this, but from having removed the headliner over the weekend, and being able to see what is in the roof, Scott Williams & I did decide that the external antenna is providing the AM radio signal, and the wires embedded in the upper area of the rear window provide the FM radio signal.

Testing was done to check this by selecting AM, removing antenna and searching for AM stations, then re-installing the antenna and noting difference in AM reception. FM station performance was not affected by whether external antenna was removed or installed.

Update--some of the mystery solved....quoting from tech data which I'll assume is from the PPV FSM (pulled it from online at Chevy dealer), here's the description, as found in Radio/Audio System Description and Operation

(quote)
Antenna System

Multi-Band Antenna

The AM/FM radio antenna is located on the roof of the vehicle. The radio antenna is enabled when the radio is turned on. The radio supplies battery voltage to the antenna via the coax cable. An internal amplifier amplifies the radio signals from the antenna and transmits them to the radio.
(unquote)

So, the theory or explanations previous to this were at least partially erroneous--the RPO referred to is U71 (Antenna, roof, radio). What remains mysterious about this is the embedded antenna in the upper rear window, which has a connection, but the question now is "to what"? Searching the rear glass for PPV & G8 does refer to "with U71"--more research to do.

This opens up the question of whether an alternate to the standard mast, such as a shark-fin style "antenna" can perform adequately. There are some possible OE no-mast antennas that MIGHT work--to install one would require removing the headliner, or at least dropping the rear enough to access the roof antenna and remove the bolt that secures the stock antenna in position. The aftermarket shark-fin covers leave the stock antenna base in place--the stock mast is threaded into the base and is easily removed.