This modification was done back in 2013.
I knew there could have been issues with satellite radio reception and the Gobi roof rack on my Jeep Wrangler. Sure enough, I had absolutely no reception on my SiriusXM radio. Even the stock head unit had issues when it came to using the built-in GPS navigation unit.
Relocating this stock satellite receiver is pretty easy, but my chosen location does require drilling a hole into your Jeep’s sheet metal. I chose to mount it on the panel where the wipers are mounted through. I figure if I screw up the process too badly, I could always order a replacement at a lower cost than some of the other metal parts. In addition, this will have the receiver mounted in a good location, free of any other modifications that will take place to potentially disrupt future satellite reception.
First thing is to get into where the receiver is mounted. It’s above the passenger side rear speaker bar. You need to do a little bit of disassembly here for access.
If you’re going to get a Gobi rack (or similar), PLAN AHEAD. Remove the factory satellite receiver a head of time. I didn’t do this and it was a real pain in the ass fingers to get it out.
Undo the single bolt that holds the receiver, and follow the cable down to the pillar.
Disconnect as shown above and set aside your collection of parts.
Follow the extension cable down and around the passenger side to the front. There is a lot of cable here, and it easily ends up reaching into the engine compartment and to the new mounting location.
Disconnect the end of the main cable to make it easier to fish through into the engine bay.
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There is a foam filled hole just inside your front passenger side door jamb. You can push through this with the satellite radio cable.
I didn’t take any more photos of the process, but there isn’t much left to do. Once you’ve got the excess cable pulled through the hole above, you can run it across to your new mounting location.
I removed all the screws on this panel (both sides), drilled the hole (with the panel in place), then mounted and connected everything.
The final result is a clean looking re-location that works. I’ve had no problems with satellite radio reception or any GPS navigation problems since.
So it is waterproof? Did you use any calking around the whole?
After the hole was drilled, I used touch up paint and a bit of clear coat to seat it all. The satellite receiver itself is water tight (you’ll see them on the roof of many of the Chrysler and Dodge vehicles).