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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > AUDIO/VIDEO + BLUETOOTH + Electronics/Alarm/Software > Replacing Sharkfin Antenna



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      10-28-2009, 01:42 PM   #1
Dracon
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Replacing Sharkfin Antenna

Has anyone had to replace their sharkfin antenna? How hard is it?

I'm pretty sure that my antenna, at least the Sirius satellite antenna is dead and not picking up anything, GPS and FM Radio work fine but Sirius only works in areas where I'm sure there's a ground repeater but outside of cities it doesn't work at all (tell me it's not getting satellite signal, only ground repeater signal).
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      11-02-2009, 12:52 PM   #2
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bump

Has anyone ever had to replace the sharkfin?
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      11-04-2009, 05:14 PM   #3
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The fin you see is just a cover for whats inside. Heres a pic of the guts. Hope that helps.
(Sorry its huge. Too lazy to re-size it)
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      11-04-2009, 07:48 PM   #4
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Yeah, I checked out the RealOEM page so I know what to expect when I get the cover off. I'm trying to find out what the best way is to get the cover off the sharkfin without damaging the paint on the car and what I need to use to re-glue the cover back unto the car.
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      11-04-2009, 08:17 PM   #5
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Search for "remove shark fin"
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      11-04-2009, 09:40 PM   #6
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Cool, so I just need some fishing line to cut the adhesive around the base of the fin, did you use the heat gun at all to loosen the adhesive? Was it held in place with a glue adhesive or something like a 3M tape? What did you use to "re-glue" the fin back to the car?
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      11-06-2009, 05:35 PM   #7
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Well, I now know that the sharkfin is the problem with my satellite radio, I hooked up another external antenna and everything is working perfectly now.

Now I just need to figure out which part number I need for a replacement fin and do the swapout.
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      06-03-2010, 09:28 PM   #8
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looks like i am the second person to have this problem....and probably not the last.

frickin dealer wants $400+ the fix the issue so i will be going the Tischer route and DIY the damn thing.
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      06-04-2010, 07:36 AM   #9
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I have a question concerning this:

On e90s that were built prior to 03/06 (mine is 02/06), there are two different antennae under the shark fin: one for ground repeater and one for line-of-sight satellite reception

Because of this, there are also two antennae wires to connect to the Sirius receiver but my receiver only has one connection, so I'm only connected to the satellite cable right now (it's how BMW does the retrofit since the part with two connections has been on back order for almost 2 years).

I'm wondering if I can purchase the 03/06 "guts" and replace mine with that. If I do that, I can just connect the antenna to one of the cables (the one I'm using now) since both the repeater and the line-of-sight are together in one piece.

Do you guys think this would work?
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      06-07-2010, 02:40 PM   #10
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k330i,

I've still yet to take that damn sharkfin off and figure out exactly how it's done. So let me know if you try that and how it goes.

I'm just using an external antenna for the time being and it's working just fine so there was never a big rush for me to replace the antenna under the sharkfin.
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      06-08-2010, 03:48 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dracon View Post
k330i,

I've still yet to take that damn sharkfin off and figure out exactly how it's done. So let me know if you try that and how it goes.

I'm just using an external antenna for the time being and it's working just fine so there was never a big rush for me to replace the antenna under the sharkfin.
will do...... i was offered an external to use (buddy at work) but i figured might as bite the bullet and get it done now.

i ordered the parts from Evan/Jason @ Tischer with my vin so it should be correct.

we'll see.....
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      06-23-2010, 07:29 AM   #12
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got it installed last night without any issues

little bit of fishing line to start it and some plastic trim removal tools to finish the job.

betalink kit to reinstall and i am good to go

free from commercial radio again....
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      06-25-2010, 02:05 PM   #13
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Not to point you in another direction, but did you check for continuity between the unit and the antenna? I'd hate for you to replace the antenna only to find that it was a wiring issue.
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      06-28-2010, 11:08 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DeFKnoL View Post
Not to point you in another direction, but did you check for continuity between the unit and the antenna? I'd hate for you to replace the antenna only to find that it was a wiring issue.
mine was the antenna..... had the dealer tell me that much.

then they quoted me the price to fix it.

i said, "nah... that's o.k. i'll do it myself"
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      06-28-2010, 03:16 PM   #15
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I haven't tried to run a continuity test, mainly due to lack of a multimeter, secondly due to lack of knowledge on going about testing continuity on cable.

I probably should try that before buying a new sharkfin, although I am kind of holding off to see if I'd need a new sharkfin for doing a MY2010+ CIC retrofit since it seems the Sat signal is diplexed on the same wire as the GPS going to the CIC.
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      06-28-2010, 09:02 PM   #16
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bad reception

My car gets horrible radio reception.
I don't know where to begin to fix it.
Could be the shark fin antenna.
I also have my windows tinted.
I hear the tint could cause interference.
The dealer told me nothing is wrong.
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      08-30-2012, 12:45 PM   #17
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External antenna

Where did you get the external antenna to use until you fixed yours? I may do the same.
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      08-30-2012, 12:45 PM   #18
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Also where exactly did you order yours from?
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      08-30-2012, 08:17 PM   #19
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I have a sharkfin from an E90 M3 which was converted to a race car. The fin was on the car for 11K miles.
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      11-04-2012, 02:23 PM   #20
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Problem with Starmate 8 and Sharkfin on 2009 328i Convertible

I'm new to this forum but have been following this thread to do something similar in my 2009 e93. I purchased the recommended antenna cable from cdint.com--RG174 50 ohm coaxial cable with SMB male and female ends. I found the sirius pink connector on the left side of the rear of the trunk, connected, and got an antenna connection error "check antenna connection" on the Starmate 8. Am i missing something? Fuse? Or does it sound like there is a problem with the pre-wiring? Or the antenna itself? Any other ideas? Any support you can provide is appreciated.
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