XMD3 Sirius Tuner Not Receiving Channel 184

jason78

Active Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Sep 3, 2008
3,662
Fort Mill, SC / Lake Wylie
Boat Info
1997 20 Outrage
Engines
200 Merc Offshore
I am having some issues with my Clarion XMD3 Sirius Tuner reception. I want to get this activated but have been told you should be able to hear advertising on Channel 184 even if there is no subscription. When I go to Ch 184, the Display on the Radio just Scrolls- “INVALID CHANNEL”- “LINKING”- “CALL 1888539SIRI” but no audio. I am assuming since I am seeing information displayed the tuner is OK but maybe something is wrong with the antenna? Kind of a surprise though because when I am somewhere with no signal on my XM Radio, the radio displays “NO SIGNAL” which is not the case here. Any ideas on what the problem might be before I start replacing parts? I saw some other posts on Sirius but not with this exact type of issue. Thanks
 
Just looked at their channel guide and 184 isn't a valid channel but it does say to tune to that channel when you have completed the install. May need to call them if you can't manually tune to the channel.

http://www.sirius.com/install
 
I will try to get to it and do a reboot. I talked to Sirius and they said I should be able to hear advertisements on 184. Other than that they were useless for troubleshooting help. I have never used the Sirius until now. Thanks Jason
 
I had the same issue on my previous boat. Like was stated, unplug the tuner from the radio and plug back in. This happens each time I removed the battery for storage.
 
You will occassionally get the linking message with these units even after you have had normal service for awhile. It's usually just a hickup. Always reboot prior to calling. Saves you the hassle of the phone tree and then speaking with someone who "speaks English" at the call center.
 
No luck with the reset guys. I read a post on another site claiming the SIR-CL1 tuner were notorious for going bad and causing these exact problems. Any other suggestions? Otherwise I will be looking for another.
 
No luck with the reset guys. I read a post on another site claiming the SIR-CL1 tuner were notorious for going bad and causing these exact problems. Any other suggestions? Otherwise I will be looking for another.


Sorry to hear that. Yep I had to replace mine after a couple years started doing the same thing and would not show info on the face plate.
 
You did pull the boat out of the covered slip to test this didn't you? Sirius does not pick up the signals under the covered docks for smaller cruisers like ours.
 
I did not see it mentioned that you tried to activate the radio even though you were unable to tune channel 184 (perhaps you were trying to resolve this first). Did you have Sirius ping the receiver? You don't have to bother getting though to someone on the phone as you can do it yourself online as long as you have the subscription set up with an account. Click on your radio's ESN number on the 'My Account' page and it will offer you the option to re-send an activation signal. It says the Preview channel must be available for listening but I have activated receivers in the past even though 184 wasn't tuned in.
 
You did pull the boat out of the covered slip to test this didn't you? Sirius does not pick up the signals under the covered docks for smaller cruisers like ours.


Initially I had tried it out on the water and then again in the slip- both times with no results. Do you have the Sirius active Dave? If not, can you hear channel 184? I figured it would work under the cover though. I rarely loose my XM signal in my truck even when pulling under gas station canopys. Even then if I loose signal it says "No Signl" on the screen. Maybe Sirius is different? I guess I need to take it back out and try again?

I have not signed up yet because they told me I have to hear 184 before they can activate.

Jason
 
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I figured it would work under the cover though. I rarely loose my XM signal in my truck even when pulling under gas station canopys. Even then if I loose signal it says "No Signl" on the screen. Maybe Sirius is different? I guess I need to take it back out and try again?

I have not signed up yet because they told me I have to hear 184 before they can activate.
Do not expect it to work if the antenna can not directly "see" the sky.

They can establish your account as long as you have the ESN number of the radio. You do not have to activate the radio at the same time. They will always tell you that you have to hear the Preview channel but, as I mentioned, I have activated radios before when I could not hear it (I have ten accounts and a lot of experience with Sirius).

If after trying to ping your radio (fully exposed to the sky even if you can't hear 184) it still doesn't work, then you can begin troubleshooting the hardware. I believe there's an option to send an activation signal to the radio from their phone menu of options if you don't have internet access on the boat to do it that way. I find that their customer support people typically just confuse people.
 
I think I've had the same thing happen. You can't just press the reset button and wait for a reboot. You need to actually disconnect the Cenet cable from the head unit, wait a few minutes, power up the head unit and plug the Sirius module in. I called, complained and read on other forums about Sircl-1 and 2 issues and it was bs. Unplug the sirius module, reset the head unit and then plug back in the sirius module then see what happens...
 
After I plug the CNET cable back in, the Radio Displays something like "PRESS PWR" after I do that it displays "CHECKING" then "COMPLETE" after a few seconds. I am assumimg that reset the tuner. How do you reset the head unit?
 
If you flip down the door to access the cd slot, there is a small recessed button you can press with a paper clip to reset the head unit. You will lose any presets, name scrolling etc, that you have stored but that might fix it. I don't know why that would make a difference if you got the system check "complete" message, but it won't hurt anything.
 
Thanks for all the help. I am now activated and receiving Sirius. Just as some others had said, I was NOT able to hear 184 until the radio was activated. Works like a charm.:smt038

Jason
 
Thanks for all the help. I am now activated and receiving Sirius. Just as some others had said, I was NOT able to hear 184 until the radio was activated. Works like a charm
Glad to hear it Jason! To be clear, was it as simple as activating your account and radio?
 
Glad to hear it Jason! To be clear, was it as simple as activating your account and radio?


:smt043
Funny you ask. I am not at all impressed with Sirius' customer service. After about 10 minutes of repeating myself several times I finally got it squared away. There is definitely a communication barrier but once they finally said it was complete the radio started playing immediately. I have so-so coverage under the dock. It cuts in and out a little. That was a little dissapointing. I can get a good XM signal on my truck under most gas station canopys which are much thicker than my marina roof.
 

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