XM Radio - interference, grounding issues (longish)?

[dsel]

OK, I'll try to make this long story short, but I have an XM Delphi SkyFi that is wired into my stereo (Blaupunkt - got rid of the stock CD changer) and plugged into my cigarette lighter.

Problem is, I get a tremendous amount of interference. I basically hear acceleration through the stereo, almost like having a second really whiny turbo. which would be sweet and whatnot, but it's not a turbo. It's supposed to be the radio.
Anyway, I called Crutchfield about the problem and they told me that the best way to go about it is to rewire the grounding in the cigarette lighter, because it's picking up too much interference from the rest of the car.

I trust him, cause he's not trying to make any money.

A bunch of questions. First is this good advice? If so, how to I access the wiring behind the cig. lighter. I've taken apart the dashboard before for the stereo installation, but not this. And lastly, has anyone ever done this before or had similar struggles making XM work correctly in their car?

[JRod]

You have it directly wired to your head unit via AV inputs and still get interference? That's strange. I've heard of noise coming through using a FM modulator. IMO, its probably not the ground in the cigarette lighter. I would think Subaru would ground that pretty good. But, you could ground it yourself to knock that off the list of possiblities. It could be something with your connection to the head unit. It may be intstalled incorrectly.

I'm only basing my opinion on my XM setup. I have the tape adapter going to the OEM unit with a direct line to the antenna. I have crystal clear sound and have never heard any interference.

You're not using a through-glass antenna are you?

[dsel]

Originally posted by JRod
You have it directly wired to your head unit via AV inputs and still get interference? That's strange. I've heard of noise coming through using a FM modulator. IMO, its probably not the ground in the cigarette lighter. I would think Subaru would ground that pretty good. But, you could ground it yourself to knock that off the list of possiblities. It could be something with your connection to the head unit. It may be intstalled incorrectly.

I'm only basing my opinion on my XM setup. I have the tape adapter going to the OEM unit with a direct line to the antenna. I have crystal clear sound and have never heard any interference.

You're not using a through-glass antenna are you?

No, it's the stock antenna. A friend of mine with the XM Roadie and a 1998 Impreza had the same problem. It's not that it's ground badly, but it's ground to something much more in touch with the engine than, say the HU. Do you know how I go about getting in there to ground it?

[JRod]

Originally posted by dsel
Do you know how I go about getting in there to ground it?

Nope, I dont. It may be easier just to hard wire it. It will look much cleaner too. If you pull of the clock housing there is a open terminal labeled accessory, then you just have to find a solid ground. Or, you could just wire it to the fuse box.

[dsel]

Maybe I'll try the fuse box then. ANy more ideas out there? And has anyone purchased the Alpine XM-ready with the XM controller unit? This is another approach I'm thinking of taking if I can get about $500 together.

[iv30]

I had one of the original Sony add on units and when puged into the Cig liter and through the RCA it made noise too. When I hard wired the power from the sony piece to the Radio power the noise went away. But I eventually went to the Alpine HU with an XM tunner and was much better sound quality.

[Trainrex]

What you are hearing is alternater noise. Normally when you hear that in audio equipment it is a ground problem. I'd have to say his advise was pretty "sound"...

[Lightning]

Originally posted by dsel
Maybe I'll try the fuse box then. ANy more ideas out there? And has anyone purchased the Alpine XM-ready with the XM controller unit? This is another approach I'm thinking of taking if I can get about $500 together.

if you're talking about a new head unit from alpine and using their XM tuner, then yes i think this is something you should seriously consider. it's cleaner, easier to use, and sounds better. if you're interested in that setup, i might be able to help you out on the price, as well. PM me for more info.
and before anyone with FM modulated units starts crying about what i said about sound quality, don't bother. they're very good for what they are, and they're acceptable sounding - but they will never replace (in terms of ease of use, hookup, and sound quality) a direct-wired setup.