XM Antenna Relocation - my DIY results

[kmntc4]

So, after getting the Gobi Rack installed in Colorado, I started noticing some issues with the radio. Randomly audio would just drop out but come right back. The radio 98% of the time would sound like it was "buffering" with some audio skip and the other 2% of the time it would actually say signal lost and let me switch to internet mode.

I kind of figured it was the roof rack causing the issue and Ford did install the XM in somewhat the only place that seemed to make sense to the designers and engineers, but let's face it adding a metal roof rack is just going to cause issues if it goes across the area the XM antenna is hiding under the removable roof.

Researching around everywhere I finally found enough information to give a relocation a try and the roof rack gives me tons of mounting places. In the end I went with an approved Sirius XM antenna designed for Trucks/Semi and RV from the company that seems to manufacture a lot of SiriusXM stuff.

The antenna is from Pixel Technologies. I got is a 14" tall with a mirror mount style clamp so I mounted it to the Gobi Rack on the driver side (SiriusXM Radio 14 Inch Truck Antenna) and has a 16-foot cable and the connector is push on style SMB female. I mounted it on the driver side and routed the cable down the roof rack leg and then entered the back of the bronco right between where the back cap and body meet at the back rear window and door. It works perfect and maybe later I'll route it down and come up from underneath the vehicle when I work on the trailer tow stuff.

The factory XM antenna is on top of the back roll bar and you can access the connection by popping the lower plastic off. The vehicle side connector is a FAKRA female style connector and everything I checked it is the FAKRA female F Key 8011 connector (Nut Brown Color). The factory XM antenna is the FAKRA male connector and it should be the F Keyed 8011 connector (Nut Brown Color). So to get the aftermarket SiriusXM antenna connected I needed a conversion cable to go from SMB female to FAKRA female. I googled around and found a place to get a custom cable made and ordered it. Now, with FAKRA there are 13 different keyed style connectors and 1 universal. I opted to go with the universal to ensure no issue which is the FAKRA Z No-Key 5021 (Water Blue Color). I purchased the conversion cable from VCableMart and got the FAKRA Z Male 5021 to SMB Male bulkhead connector using RG316 coax 3-foot long. (http://www.vcablemart.com/fakra-smb-z-male-smb-bulkhead-male-rf-cable)

I did not remove the factory XM antenna from the roll bar, but it is unplugged inside the rollbar and I plugged in my conversion cable to the vehicle side connector. I went with the bulkhead connector so I can drill a small hole and mount the SMB connector outside of the rollbar and keep things looking clean. For the time being I just have the cable coming out of the rollbar next to the driver rear speaker. I got it all connected and tested and XM seems to start playing much faster now as well. Just for sake of argument I disconnected the cable just to ensure it was fully working and the radio displays antenna malfunction when it was unplugged. Moment it was all connected to the new antenna came right back and audio was immediate, whereas with the factory antenna I had noticed it took longer for XM audio to start playing.

The Pixel Technologies people have other antennas as well, but I went with one that I could just clamp onto Gobi rack without having to drill anything and this will somewhat complement the look of the weBoost overland 5G antenna when I get it and installed. I will move the antenna cable around and get the SMB bulkhead connector drilled and mounted later, but the goal for the time being was get it installed and connected so I could make adjustments or improvements before anything final.

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[Billy Goat]

Ahh! Explains my conundrum. I'll be watching!

 

[UtahBrandon]

So, after getting the Gobi Rack installed in Colorado, I started noticing some issues with the radio. Randomly audio would just drop out but come right back. The radio 98% of the time would sound like it was "buffering" with some audio skip and the other 2% of the time it would actually say signal lost and let me switch to internet mode.

I kind of figured it was the roof rack causing the issue and Ford did install the XM in somewhat the only place that seemed to make sense to the designers and engineers, but let's face it adding a metal roof rack is just going to cause issues if it goes across the area the XM antenna is hiding under the removable roof.

Researching around everywhere I finally found enough information to give a relocation a try and the roof rack gives me tons of mounting places. In the end I went with an approved Sirius XM antenna designed for Trucks/Semi and RV from the company that seems to manufacture a lot of SiriusXM stuff.

The antenna is from Pixel Technologies. I got is a 14" tall with a mirror mount style clamp so I mounted it to the Gobi Rack on the driver side (SiriusXM Radio 14 Inch Truck Antenna) and has a 16-foot cable and the connector is push on style SMB female. I mounted it on the driver side and routed the cable down the roof rack leg and then entered the back of the bronco right between where the back cap and body meet at the back rear window and door. It works perfect and maybe later I'll route it down and come up from underneath the vehicle when I work on the trailer tow stuff.

The factory XM antenna is on top of the back roll bar and you can access the connection by popping the lower plastic off. The vehicle side connector is a FAKRA female style connector and everything I checked it is the FAKRA female F Key 8011 connector (Nut Brown Color). The factory XM antenna is the FAKRA male connector and it should be the F Keyed 8011 connector (Nut Brown Color). So to get the aftermarket SiriusXM antenna connected I needed a conversion cable to go from SMB female to FAKRA female. I googled around and found a place to get a custom cable made and ordered it. Now, with FAKRA there are 13 different keyed style connectors and 1 universal. I opted to go with the universal to ensure no issue which is the FAKRA Z No-Key 5021 (Water Blue Color). I purchased the conversion cable from VCableMart and got the FAKRA Z Male 5021 to SMB Male bulkhead connector using RG316 coax 3-foot long. (http://www.vcablemart.com/fakra-smb-z-male-smb-bulkhead-male-rf-cable)

I did not remove the factory XM antenna from the roll bar, but it is unplugged inside the rollbar and I plugged in my conversion cable to the vehicle side connector. I went with the bulkhead connector so I can drill a small hole and mount the SMB connector outside of the rollbar and keep things looking clean. For the time being I just have the cable coming out of the rollbar next to the driver rear speaker. I got it all connected and tested and XM seems to start playing much faster now as well. Just for sake of argument I disconnected the cable just to ensure it was fully working and the radio displays antenna malfunction when it was unplugged. Moment it was all connected to the new antenna came right back and audio was immediate, whereas with the factory antenna I had noticed it took longer for XM audio to start playing.

The Pixel Technologies people have other antennas as well, but I went with one that I could just clamp onto Gobi rack without having to drill anything and this will somewhat complement the look of the weBoost overland 5G antenna when I get it and installed. I will move the antenna cable around and get the SMB bulkhead connector drilled and mounted later, but the goal for the time being was get it installed and connected so I could make adjustments or improvements before anything final.

Thank you so much for that post. Did you lose native Bronco navigation when you did this? Based on another thread, I was thinking that the stock antenna also performs Navigation duty?

 

[sportcoupe]

Thank you so much for that post. Did you lose native Bronco navigation when you did this? Based on another thread, I was thinking that the stock antenna also performs Navigation duty?

I don't know about Nav but I believe the factory XM antenna is also the GPS antenna. I'm not sure if aftermarket XM antennas also have GPS built-in.

Navigation can be GPS based or cellular based.

 

[kmntc4]

I never really used the built in Nav on the bronco. Once car play connected I just used Nav off my iPhone. I can confirm though it does seem like I partially lost factory NAV since the factory antenna did both GPS and SiriusXM. I say partially because mine is still tracking me and the map is moving like it knows where I still am. Not sure how its doing that since the SiriusXM antenna I am using does not seem to do GPS, but I researched a little more and there seems to be a combiner adapter where they are taking the 1 antenna signal and then breaking it apart into two connections for the radio. Wondering if I can possibly add a GPS antenna in but I am still digging on that. It does seem some aftermarket SiriusXM antennas have GPS in them, but most seem to have separate connections whereas the ford antenna is 1 connection.

I will say that I have had ZERO SiriusXM issues since switching to the new antenna I mounted. I almost think it sounds far better than when it was connected to the factory antenna but that probably has something to do with where the factory antenna is mounted.

There are no error codes showing up and the only way I know the radio is unhappy with no GPS antenna currently is the GPS word with the red circle and slash thru it when I go into Nav mode but the map still updates, moves around as I am driving and shows my correct position so not sure how thats working.

I am sure I can move or get another factory antenna and mount it outside, but its connectors would be exposed and would have to weather protect somehow.

 

[RagnarKon]

I never really used the built in Nav on the bronco. Once car play connected I just used Nav off my iPhone. I can confirm though it does seem like I partially lost factory NAV since the factory antenna did both GPS and SiriusXM. I say partially because mine is still tracking me and the map is moving like it knows where I still am. Not sure how its doing that since the SiriusXM antenna I am using does not seem to do GPS, but I researched a little more and there seems to be a combiner adapter where they are taking the 1 antenna signal and then breaking it apart into two connections for the radio. Wondering if I can possibly add a GPS antenna in but I am still digging on that. It does seem some aftermarket SiriusXM antennas have GPS in them, but most seem to have separate connections whereas the ford antenna is 1 connection.

I will say that I have had ZERO SiriusXM issues since switching to the new antenna I mounted. I almost think it sounds far better than when it was connected to the factory antenna but that probably has something to do with where the factory antenna is mounted.

There are no error codes showing up and the only way I know the radio is unhappy with no GPS antenna currently is the GPS word with the red circle and slash thru it when I go into Nav mode but the map still updates, moves around as I am driving and shows my correct position so not sure how thats working.

I am sure I can move or get another factory antenna and mount it outside, but its connectors would be exposed and would have to weather protect somehow.

Which equipment package do you have??

If you have the Std, Mid, or High package it should try to use the cellular connection in the Bronco to pin-point your location. This obviously means if your Bronco loses cellular (ie. when offroading) it won't be able to track you.

The Lux package with built-in navigation may actually struggle without GPS. I don't actually know what happens if it loses that antenna signal. It may default back to the cellular signal?? Maybe?? That would be smart if it does that, but not 100% sure.

Anyway, I guess you could always disconnect the antenna and see if the map still updates your location or not.

 

[sportcoupe]

The antenna is from Pixel Technologies.......
.........The factory XM antenna is on top of the back roll bar and you can access the connection by popping the lower plastic off.....

I am going to do a variation of what you expertly detailed. I went with a different antenna from Pixel Technologies. Waiting for it now.
My question is how easy or difficult was it to remove the lower plastic to access the factory antenna?

 

[BluebroncoNC]

Huh, my first 2dr had a roof rack and I had xm issues. My second does not, zero xm issues. Ureka!

 

[kmntc4]

I am going to do a variation of what you expertly detailed. I went with a different antenna from Pixel Technologies. Waiting for it now.
My question is how easy or difficult was it to remove the lower plastic to access the factory antenna?

Actually super easy. I did not have to even fully remove the lower plastics or take the speakers down. The plastic flexes enough I was able to get my hands in and swap connectors and cables with no issue.

I found the easiest way is to start at the rear of the bar. In the center of the roll bar on the rear side there is a single plastic push in clip that is visible protruding thru the roll bar. Push this clip down to free the center of the plastic and then gently pull down from the middle. The lower plastic will flex and release the pop in clips hiding on the inside. Once the plastic is loose, move to the rear seats and facing the roll bar, pull the lower plastic down and you should see the FAKRA connector just to the left of where the factory OEM antenna is mounted. From there it's easy to squeeze the clips to release the connector and swap cables. Once your done just push it all back up and everything clips back in place. Makes it far easier and don't even have to remove other panels or the rear speakers Ford says to remove to access the cable connector.

 

[bikesandguitars]

I have the exact same setup and the exact same issues. It’s on my list - and now it’s easier. Great post. Thanks for sharing.

 

[kmntc4]

Im still researching the GPS part of it but so far things are still functioning from everything that I see. I know behind the dash on the radio is a combiner/multiplexer where it breaks the single antenna connection apart into two connections because the radio itself has a GPS antenna connection on the APIM and SiriusXM antenna connection on the let's call it radio head itself (I forget the name it has).

I am wondering if you could use another combiner and reverse it to make the 1 connection back into 2. I found the combiner on ford parts and its cheap, but still thinking this thru.

 

[sportcoupe]

The factory XM antenna only has a single coax connection. Are we sure the GPS is also inside the XM antenna? If so, I do not see how both signals are processed over a single coax.

I found the wire diagram for the GPS antenna. I haven't found the wire diagram for the XM antenna.

 

[kmntc4]

The factory XM antenna only has a single coax connection. Are we sure the GPS is also inside the XM antenna? If so, I do not see how both signals are processed over a single coax.

I found the wire diagram for the GPS antenna. I haven't found the wire diagram for the XM antenna.

Yes I can confirm the factory antenna is GPS and SiriusXM. I was expecting it to be dual element with separate cables but it is a single cable connection. Behind the radio there is a splitter that takes the 1 cable and splits it apart for the GPS connection that goes to the APIM and the XM connection on the ACM. Its an odd design and not sure why they did it like that. The factory antenna has to be something custom to cover the GPS band and the SiriusXM band. SiriusXM is 2320-2345 MHz and GPS is somewhere around 1100 to 1600 MHz I believe.

 

[sportcoupe]

Is the factory XM antenna passive or active? If passive, we could just split coax to both an XM and a separate GPS antenna.

Or relocate factory antenna if it's active.

 

[kmntc4]

I have to think the factory antenna is active because of GPS. Most GPS automotive antennas are active from all my researching for this. I actually question if we can split it at the back by the factory antenna to go back to 2 antennas. They use the splitter behind the radio to share the single antenna and make 2 connections. What's to say we can't use the same splitter to use 2 separate antennas? I found the splitter from Ford and other parts places and it's not expensive.

This is the splitter from Ford the Bronco uses behind the radio to share the single antenna FORD NAVIGATION ANTENNA SPLITTER (https://parts.ford.com/shop/en/us/e...ation-fm-antenna-splitter-p-m2dz10e928a?pdp=y)

I already started using a separate SiriusXM antenna and it's been rock solid. I think having 2 separate antennas is far better than a single antenna, single point of failure kinda thing.

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