So I stored my '08 Vette for the winter. I went over last week to take her out for a spin and the battery is dead as a door nail. I tried jumping it, no good, then tried charging the battery, also no good. I bought a new battery and it fired right up. So everything is good except I am not getting XM. I get the preview channels and radio ID cxhannel, but that's it. I called and they did a signal boost (or whatever) and tried a few things on their end, but still no XM. I had one customer service rep telling me that the preview channel is all preprogrammed into the radio, which is why I was getting that. I told him that it was intersting that I'm getting current stuff on a 5 year old radio. I told him if they had a stock channel like that I'd be highly interested in it!!! Anyway, I figure that it's got to have something to do with the dead battery. They're telling me to take the car (radio) in for service, but like I said, I am getting the preview channel and if I go under something I lose the signal (even though it's "preprogrammed from the facvtory!!!"), so I figure the radio is fine. What do I try next????
Need help with vette xm radio
- Thread starter firemanmike
- Start date
so you did the refresh already? is this what your talking about boosting the signal? the car is supposed to be in an open area not moving for this. Im assuming it wasnt in your garage when you attempted this?
Yes, did the refresh four or five times, outdoors, perfect signal (at least on the preview channel) and got nothing. The preview channel works fine, I just can't get anything else. What could've gone wrong due to a battery dying? AM/FM works fine. Onstar phone, etc....all working.
I would tell them to troubleshoot the account. Maybe they haven't credited the payment or something. If you get the preview channel and even get the (oh so familiar) signal loss under overpasses, i'd say the equipment is probably fine.
Has to stay put outside for at least 30 minutes while doing the refresh. Its a pain. I had several tries before I was successful in my Vette.
.....in addt'n to the above suggestions reference your XM receiver, please consider putting your car on a battery tender when you store it for any length of time. Every single time my Z is parked, even if only over night, it's plugged in to a tender. These C6's are known for chewing up batteries! The electricity usage of the tenders costs pennies (literally) vs. that of a new battery! Good luck with your XM.....!
Like most computers I bet the radio has a replaceable battery soldered into it's circuit board somewhere. The battery's only purpose is to keep it's loaded software and memory active while the car's battery isn't providing power to the radio. Car's battery goes dead for a long time and the battery in the radio lasts for a few months and it goes dead. Now you are screwed. Probably have to yank the radio and have the battery replaced.
Go to a Corvette forum and look in the electronics or sound system section and search for "replace radio backup battery" and see what you get.
Go to a Corvette forum and look in the electronics or sound system section and search for "replace radio backup battery" and see what you get.
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