How to Install Factory or Aftermarket GPS Antenna

Satellite Radio Upgrade Walkthrough

Hey, guys. My name is Doug with infotainment.com. Today, we’re working in the 2011 to 2018 Jeep Wrangler JK. Today, I’m going to show you guys the two different options you have for adding satellite radio to your Jeep. We have a factory solution, which is always recommended.

This installs on the passenger side of your roll bar. Very easy to install. Comes with the screw and the clip. To hold it in place.

1. You route your wiring down the center post along the floor up to behind the radio cavity.
2. You’ll plug it into the replacement radio in this curry-colored FACRA connector. Now, this happens to be the 130S RES radio. We also carry all the other factory radios for the Jeep, and they’ll all have the same clip. You’ll just plug it right into there. As an alternate, you don’t want to do that, you want to use an aftermarket antenna. We’ve tested dozens of antennas. This one makes the cut. It’s a great antenna by Visteon. We’ve been selling it for years. It’s got a magnetic base on the bottom, so you can put it anywhere on the exterior of the vehicle.
3. Route your wiring into the same connector. You could I’ll put a little bit of double-sided tape. 3m double-sided tape seems to work well if you want to make sure it really stays on the exterior of the vehicle. But also another great option here with the aftermarket one.
4. Let’s go ahead and take apart the dash and show you how to remove the radio. All right, so what we’re going to do is go ahead and remove this base model radio in the Wrangler JK. Very easy to do.
5. Go ahead and pull out your liner up on top. There’s one seven millimeter screw up here.
6. Come over here to your knee bolster and pull down on the panel, just held in with retaining clips. Once you do that, it’s set out of the way.
7. There’s one seven-millimeter screw here and one over here at the top. We’re going to go ahead and pull those two out.
8. Now, what we’re going to do is we’re going to use a pry tool. You can also use a flathead screwdriver. We’re just going to pop this out just a little bit. Now, what you’re really going to want to do at this point is use a screwdriver.
9. You notice if the camera can get in here, there’s a little red clip right here. You got to pull up on that little red clip and then sneak your hand in, push the tab on the side, and this unplugs. I can give you a better look here. So this clip is down, you get to lift up on the clip and press this part of the connector here to remove the window switch.
10. Now that that’s out, there’s one more screw in here, 7 millimeter. At this point, you can just grab a hold of the dash, just four screws that held it in place. Now, you can just pull it out like this, set it aside.
11. Now, at this point, there’s only four screws that hold in your radio. These four are also seven millimeters. Go ahead and slide it out of place, and then just disconnect the two connectors in the back.
12. One is your main radio plug, and one is your AMFM antenna. The vehicles that have factory-installed Bluetooth Uconnect, you’ll see another plug, smaller plug. Then those of you who have factory-installed satellite radio will notice a curry-colored FACRA plug behind your radio.
13. To install the factory satellite radio antenna in the Wrangler JK, you’re going to remove six 10-millimeter bolts. There’s going to be two on each side here, and then one right in here. Same on the other side. So it’ll be two on that side, and then that one right there. So it’s a total of six 10m bolts. Remove those, and then unscrew the top clamps.
14. All right, now that the roll bar has been taken down here, come over here to this side and what you’re going to do is you’re going to pull the fabric away. Hold down on this foam part. And this is where the antenna installs, right here. So it’s super easy. You just come into here and you can see we already put it in.
15. So you put it in from the top here, tighten up your nut or your screw until it’s nice and tight. Then simply just run your wiring. When I mentioned running your wiring, you’re going to have it come down here and you just pull back on here, and you’re literally just going to run it behind the radio. So come down here, tuck it under. Then you’re going to come under here down on the floorboard. You can hide it behind. You can even come in behind the carpet, run it back up through here and sneak it back, come in behind the radio.

Aftermarket Magnetic Antenna

All right, so for the magnetic Sirius antenna, if you decide to install that one, I find it to work pretty well above the passenger side, above the windshield. You can install it right here. It’s got a magnetic base. Sometimes you could use some double-sided tape to really make sure it stays. You can actually sneak the wiring in through here if you want. Just remove your top and then sneak it in behind the weather stripping and then into the cab. The other thing you could do is run it along the windshield and then come in through here. Others have installed it just like right here. I mean, obviously this truck has the light seats, but you can install it here, tuck your wiring behind here. Ultimately, if you decide to go that route, you can come down through here, then go behind this, and then route your wiring underneath here, under the glove box, and then behind the radio cavity. Now, if you decide to do it right through the roof, same thing. Bring your wiring in up here, put it behind this panel, just tuck it behind the A-pillar windshield panel. Same thing, running all the way down into behind the radio cavity.

So a couple of different options. There’s no right or wrong way to install the magnetic mount, as long as it has a clear view of the sky.