so i went 600mi away and bought a loaded '06 MCS/JCW/Checkmate. on the test drive i found out that it had no radio reception. not poor reception, i mean NONE whatsoever. the dealer popped in a Dire Straits CD to prove that the radio actually worked, but no idea why no reception. otherwise the car was immaculate, well maintained, and 100% stock, so i bought it anyway.

on the drive home i called Sirius to sign up hoping that would work, but alas, no dice. i listened to Dire Straits Greatest Hits or complete silence for like 9 hours lol

i did find out that the previous owner still had an account with sirius on the oem receiver, so i know it worked at some point, just not at the moment.

is there anything i can check without pulling out the radio, sirius module, and headliner? someone please tell me this is a common issue and that there's a secret easily accessible fuse i need to replace lol

 

Radio could still be dead.....
You know the CD player works....
The receiver is likely dead...has happened to a couple of folks....
You could buy a used OEM radio....they pop up as folks go aftermarket...
Just a guess....but most folks would cancels or transfer their sirrirus/xm account when the car is sold.....but you should still get a test/preview station....

 

thanks for the reply!!

on the Sirius mode it just says call 1-877-sirius or something. the woman on the phone kept telling me to turn it to channel 184 or something and i told her i couldn't change the channel all i could do is give her the ESN, change to AM/FM/CD, or turn the radio off.

anyway, back to this dead AM/FM receiver thing here. has this been documented? perhaps you could point me to a thread where someone else has a similar problem?

 

still havent resolved the problem, but recently found out that the FM radio DOES work when im within a few miles of the broadcast tower.

someone tell me there's an easy fix?

 

Check all the fuses....
The FM has a booster in the system....so it is powered...
The 2005+ "facelift " or refresh cars have both the rooftop antenna (about a foot long rubber ducky type)and a glass mount one in the driver's side passenger window....
Wounder if a aftermarket anteana is killing your reception....or the signal amp is dead...or just a radio issue...
Look at realoem.com.....has parts, skematics, etc for our cars....might be useful for ya...
Put in your Vin or date of production....and it will pull up each system...

 

I found this while poking around in the trunk. Perhaps these wires are supposed to go somewhere?

 

The connectors are not typical for OEM wiring. Try to slide off the cover and look for labels and markings. Is that the driver or passenger side of the car?

 

It's on the passenger side trunk in the little compartment that houses the Sirius receiver.

 

Looks like it is part of the Sirius antenna:

http://motoringfile.com/howto/sirius...er_install.pdf
http://motoringfile.com/howto/sirius...na_install.pdf