[mtlblaue36]

Hi all, looking for some guidance on what might be causing my Sirius to be stuck on acquiring.

Car is an 08 M3, came prewired for sat radio but no external tuner in the trunk. Retrofitted a CIC swap from the CCC from the factory. CIC was from a 2013 X3, so has the built in tuner.

FSC has been bought and coded, so I have an ESN for the sat radio. However, I'm not getting any audio for the preview channel, and when attempting to active the subscription by sending a signal to the car, nothing happens. I do have the full list of channels, under the unsubscribed channels category.

The radio is stuck on acquiring and doesn't seem to be getting signal so I'm guessing it's antenna related but not sure.

Since I know the CIC is a common retrofit, I'm hoping someone has also gone through the route of activating Sirius too and maybe encountered this issue along the way.

Any help is appreciated!

[smass]

Probably a stupid question but did you extend the pink fakra antenna connection from the trunk to behind the CIC?

[mtlblaue36]

Originally Posted by smass

Probably a stupid question but did you extend the pink fakra antenna connection from the trunk to behind the CIC?

Maybe a stupid question if I was experienced at this, but I am not! I didn't do the swap myself, the previous owner did. I will double check this. My instinct is that he did but you never know, till you know, right.

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by mtlblaue36

Maybe a stupid question if I was experienced at this, but I am not! I didn't do the swap myself, the previous owner did. I will double check this. My instinct is that he did but you never know, till you know, right.

A 13 X3 is a F series car and that CIC will not work with the E90. Do you mean a 13 X1?

[schwing]

Originally Posted by smass

Probably a stupid question but did you extend the pink fakra antenna connection from the trunk to behind the CIC?

This. Check under the trunk floor panel near the rear seats. External SAT module is normally installed on driver's side opposite TULF/MULF/Combox module on passenger side. Search for a black cable with pink fakra connector on the driver's side for SAT antenna. Hopefully, it's connected to extension cable that runs to CIC headunit. Otherwise, SAT antenna is not connected if pink connector is empty.

[smass]

Originally Posted by mtlblaue36

Maybe a stupid question if I was experienced at this, but I am not! I didn't do the swap myself, the previous owner did. I will double check this. My instinct is that he did but you never know, till you know, right.

Pull the CIC and see if anything is hooked to the pink connector. If not, look under the floor of the trunk for the Sirius pre-wiring. That will have a pink connector antenna wire. It may be wrapped in foam. That wire needs to be extended to the front.

Something like this will work. https://www.ebay.com/itm/GPS-Antenna...cAAOSwofdbV-sd

[mtlblaue36]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

A 13 X3 is a F series car and that CIC will not work with the E90. Do you mean a 13 X1?

Oh ya? Well I guess it's from an X1...I'll follow up with the PO and ask, for curiosity. He said it's a 2010+ that has the built in tuner. When I bought the FSC and coded for sirius I also changed the vin on the cic to match the car now, so shouldn't matter anymore anyways. Whatever it is, it works

Originally Posted by schwing

This. Check under the trunk floor panel near the rear seats. External SAT module is normally installed on driver's side opposite TULF/MULF/Combox module on passenger side. Search for a black cable with pink fakra connector on the driver's side for SAT antenna. Hopefully, it's connected to extension cable that runs to CIC headunit. Otherwise, SAT antenna is not connected if pink connector is empty.

Car didn't come with the external SAT module so the space on the driver side is empty.

Originally Posted by smass

Pull the CIC and see if anything is hooked to the pink connector. If not, look under the floor of the trunk for the Sirius pre-wiring. That will have a pink connector antenna wire. It may be wrapped in foam. That wire needs to be extended to the front.

Something like this will work. https://www.ebay.com/itm/GPS-Antenna...cAAOSwofdbV-sd

Haven't pulled the CIC yet, but checked under the trunk. Pic below. The one wrapped in the foam is the one that needs to be extended?

I talked to the previous owner, and he confirmed that when he did the swap he didn't run the FAKRA cable, because he intended to use the external module. Problem solved now to fix it!

Thank you all for the replies and advice!

[smass]

This is the pink connector you will want to extend. This is not my car. I saw it at the junk yard today and figured it would be a good visual aid for you.

[mtlblaue36]

Originally Posted by smass

This is the pink connector you will want to extend. This is not my car. I saw it at the junk yard today and figured it would be a good visual aid for you.

Just wanted to follow up on this. Bought this cable off Amazon:

Eightwood Fakra H Pink Male to Female Satellite Radio Extension Cable 5 meters/16 feet Compatible with Sirius XM Radio SKYFi SKYFi2 XMD1000 https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0827JGWDP/...UTF8&psc=1

Worked like a charm! One part of the CIC retrofit that the previous owner didn't bother doing. Very happy to have Sirius sat radio again, just as an option to use

Thanks for all the help folks!!

[The Doctor]

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm having the same issue you did but my car had sirius XM from factory. I wonder if I have to unplug it and do the same as you did

[mtlblaue36]

Originally Posted by The Doctor

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm having the same issue you did but my car had sirius XM from factory. I wonder if I have to unplug it and do the same as you did

You had CCC with Sirius, then swapped CIC in and it doesn't work? Might need some coding. I'm not sure since I didn't do the CIC swap in my car.

[smass]

Originally Posted by The Doctor

Sorry to revive this thread, but I'm having the same issue you did but my car had sirius XM from factory. I wonder if I have to unplug it and do the same as you did

you would need to unplug the pink connector from the external tuner in the rear and extend the wire to the CIC in the front.