DIY; hard wire radar detector on dash
 

hard wired my radar detector on the dash. never been a big fan of mounting them high due to the laser. pull off the driver side panel on the side of the dash. this is where you will be feeding the wire to. i had a extra flat wire (vs. coiled) picked it up at radio shack. i used a piece of a coat hanger to stick between the driver side pillar and dash all the way in the corner as far as you can get it. fold the tip over so you don't scratch up the dash. if you don't see you coat hanger at first wiggle it, its hiding behind the padding. you will see it pretty quick.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...076585AC82.jpghttp://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0EB7E9DD94.jpghttp://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0EC0127B44.jpg
tape the wire to the coat hanger now you get to go fishing. push it through as much as you can and grab it with a pair of needle nose pliers. helps if you put a little bit of a arch in the coat hanger.

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...078899A83E.jpg

pull any extra wire though so you only have enough on the dash to get to the radar detector. the ground connect i used the screw directly above the fuse panel on the side of the dash. the hot lead i used the f-17 fuse for the cigarette lighter. make sure you connect it to the lead closest to the floor so you have the protection of the fuse.(it is on the ignition circuit) they do make piggy back tabs for fuses but i couldnt find one for the minis so i wrapped the wire around the contact of the fuse and put a small piece of heat shrink on it.
http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0E8E5AA16B.jpg



http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0E99DCC442.jpg

now get your coat hanger back out and gently push the wire along the bottom of the windshield behind the dash. there is foam back there and it will keep the wire in place.

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0EAF1B2EEA.jpg

http://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...0EA59626E8.jpghttp://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...07A5267C5E.jpghttp://i795.photobucket.com/albums/y...079F1056E8.jpg

sorry it its a little disorganized but hopefully the pictures will get you through any thing i have missed. and there is little to no :mad0259:

any visibility issue(s)?

Nope, had it in the same spot on all may cars and have never had an issue

If thats a 360* detector you might have issues catching signals from the rear of the car. I went with a blend mount. No issues with me or it seeing everything.

http://s5.postimage.org/n1zw3ha3b/20120912_170013.jpg

its a 360, no issues picking up signal. logic that left it on the dash was the signal needs something reflective to bounce off of (license plates, headlights......) so you would want it as close to the source as it can be. and most of the time the speed traps the have set up around here are with someone on a overpass with the gun scanning on coming traffic.

where did you wire this into? The overhead console or down to the fuse box. If console how did you accomplish that.

where can i get that for my v1? and how did you route the power??????

See the above picture of the driver's side fuse box. He tapped into Fuse F18 and then grounded it using the bolt next to the fuse box.

So in that picture they did not wire to the overhead console, but across the headliner, down the a-pillar and then into the fuse box?

Is that correct?

That guy did his own separate write up. Mine is sitting on the dash wired into the fuse panel

Yes

Awesome write up. Just finished mine no wires seen. Gave me another idea. Gonna use that power fuse to hook up led strips under dash for footwell lighting.

Thanks for the Picts. Just installed my radar detector up by the mirror that way. Went into the headliner down the a pillar and into the box. Pretty easy.

fuse question
 

so i did the add a mini fuse to location f17.(that or the one below it.)


i used a 10 fuse and the original 20 fuse that went in those spots, is that correct? does that matter?

or should i take the 20 and replace it with a 10 also. (not sure if the 10+10 = 20 rule applies).

ran the wire up and around window sill. if i need pics, just yell.

thanks in advance for advice.