Bought the Vais SiriusXM internal kit; anybody else installed one of these?

[Potatomafia]

@Justin says... This is a fantastic write up!

I just bought the Vais kit a few days ago. After I moved to a rural area with spotty cell coverage, the app wasn't cutting it anymore.

Looking at your pics, I see that it adds the input to the Ford system. Are you able to use Android Auto while listening to SiriusXM? My concern is that it's either Android Auto OR an input on the head unit. The Ford UI is terrible so I haven't used it at all.

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[Justin says...]

@Justin says... This is a fantastic write up!

I just bought the Vais kit a few days ago. After I moved to a rural area with spotty cell coverage, the app wasn't cutting it anymore.

Looking at your pics, I see that it adds the input to the Ford system. Are you able to use Android Auto while listening to SiriusXM? My concern is that it's either Android Auto OR an input on the head unit. The Ford UI is terrible so I haven't used it at all.

Yep I have an Android Auto wireless adapter and I can use AA along with having XM radio in the background. Works just fine.

 

[Potatomafia]

Yep I have an Android Auto wireless adapter and I can use AA along with having XM radio in the background. Works just fine.

Perfect. Thanks for the reply! I also have a wireless AA dongle (Motorola MA-1) so I'll have to figure out the USB situation as well.

 

[Potatomafia]

Finally got the Vais sat radio kit installed today. It was pretty simple and the hardest part was routing the cables to the control module.

I used a tap-a-fuse in the fuse 24 slot on the interior fuse panel for 12v power. I stripped and twisted the pink and yellow wires together then crimped it in the butt connector on the tap-a-fuse. The control module needs constant 12v to retain its presets. I used the fuse panel mounting stud on the bottom of the panel for ground. The green and blue wires were stripped and crimped into an eyelet which was then installed under the nut on the mounting stud.

Next, I routed the sat antenna cable. I attached the antenna to the roof above the passenger side of the windshield. I routed the wire down the side of the windshield to under the rubber trim at the base. Next I routed it down through the cowl to the fender and then down to the door wiring harness. I pulled the rubber boot off of the body side of the harness. Then I used an awl to pierce the boot and pushed the connector and wire through it. Under the rubber boot, there is a white plastic assembly the hold the two individual door harnesses. There was an empty spot in the middle that I ran the antenna cable through. Then it was a matter of fishing the wire down to an opening behind the passenger side kick panel. Then I routed the wire under the dash to under the center console.

Next, I found a spot for the sat tuner and control module. I ended up putting right where @Justin says... put his. I zip tied the two devices together, coiled up the excess sat antenna wire and excess sat receiver wire, connected the USB cable and shoved the whole mess into the center console.

Next I routed the USB cable up to the USB ports. The cable goes up from under the center console to the black plastic "tray" that holds the 12v and USB sockets. I found a USB C to USB A adapter in my pile of computer cables. It's not very pretty but it works lol.

 

[Potatomafia]

I've been using the Vais SiriusXM for a bit over a month now. The kit itself works great however the Ford not-a-real-SYNC is the weak link. Sometimes despite using the SiriusXM input exclusively, the head unit fails to load the input and switches to FM radio. I have to unplug the sat tuner and plug it back in. Then the head unit indexes it, which takes about a minute. I've had to perform a soft reset of the head unit about once per week. It stops responding, stops producing audio or just goes black. I can listen to music while having Android Auto up so I can use navigation but the song info won't display unless I exit AA and go to the home screen. And the Ford UI is horrible, like a Brother printer from 1998.

The second someone releases a kit to install an aftermarket head unit in the Maverick, I'm ripping the factory garbage out and throwing it away.

TLDR: Vais Kit good. Ford bastard SYNC is garbage.

 

[KenT]

I've been using the Vais SiriusXM for a bit over a month now. The kit itself works great however the Ford not-a-real-SYNC is the weak link. Sometimes despite using the SiriusXM input exclusively, the head unit fails to load the input and switches to FM radio. I have to unplug the sat tuner and plug it back in. Then the head unit indexes it, which takes about a minute. I've had to perform a soft reset of the head unit about once per week. It stops responding, stops producing audio or just goes black. I can listen to music while having Android Auto up so I can use navigation but the song info won't display unless I exit AA and go to the home screen. And the Ford UI is horrible, like a Brother printer from 1998.

The second someone releases a kit to install an aftermarket head unit in the Maverick, I'm ripping the factory garbage out and throwing it away.

TLDR: Vais Kit good. Ford bastard SYNC is garbage.

Are you using the Vais kit designed for the specifically for the Maverick without Sync 3, FD-05, or some other Ford kit?

 

[Potatomafia]

Are you using the Vais kit designed for the specifically for the Maverick without Sync 3, FD-05, or some other Ford kit?

I'm using the FD-05 kit:
https://vaistech.com/product/gsr-fd05-w-tuner-kit/#

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