so i got a decent new detector.. and i want to mount it next to the left A pillar.. run it down into the fuse box and hardwire it.. the white wire goes into the fuse for the cigg lighter.. and the black is a ground.. but where do i ground? help?

 

which detector did u get??? I wanna hardwire my Escort Passport 8500 x50 blue, too! Can anyone help?

 

I'll post up some pics for you guys, I'm in the prosses of hardwiring my bell RX65 pro. My dad was an electrician in the navy so he helped me find a power source that was on only when the car was on, its a red spliced wire behind my panel if that helps, and we're just gonna ground it do the metal bracket back there. (it may not be there for everyone, looks like the dealer put it there for the illumination maybe? it has an inline 25amp fuse so we werent worried about blowing anything) My project is a little bit more complex tho b/c the bell had a mute button on the cigarette lighter so I'm trying to put that into the switch array too. so check back here tommorow night I should have something for ya.

 

There are several bolts under the dash that will work fine as a ground.

 

well i figured it out.... i took off the a pillar.. ran the wire down to the fuse box.. there is a whole to do this.. then i took one end and jammed it into the cigg. lighter fuse.. and the other i grounded to a bolt.. really simple.. just took a few tries to get it.. here are pics...

 

Got some pics of my setup:






Yes, the sticker/led's are crooked, but thats the only way the lil circut board would fit in there.






The mute button where i can actually reach it is soooooooooo nice. And just as a side note, this dude: http://www.radarbusters.com/ says to mount your detector as low as possible for best results b/c the police apparently aim for the reflective stuff on your car, i.e. liscence plate & headlights.

 

Ok, here's a few tips:

Rather than installing it in the fuse box like that, you can locate the corrensponding wire (I'm assuming it's the ignition wire), and "t-tap" it, then use a female spade to plug it in. That way you never have to worry about it coming out, and the wires are behind the fusebox rather than on top. This car may be a _____ to get behind that wire though (lower dash doesn't come out without taking entire dash off) so nevermind if thats the case.

Also, rather than wiring it around the dash like that, there should be some seperation where you can push up the dash, to wire it through, here's my antennae I just installed for my Clifford RSX 3.5:


From start to the fuse box:

Antennae, the wire is pushed up into the headliner without having to remove it. Doesn't hurt anything and does the job.


At the corner I, again, push it into the a-pillar. In my case I didn't want to remove the pillar, as I have the side air bags.


Just pointing towards the wire's location in the a-pillar.


Ok, I am not pointing to the wire. The wire was fed through the bottom of the a-pillar into the fuse box in one strait line. Just push on your seals or pull on your dash and you should have room to feed you small gauge wires through.

 

if you take the screws out of the shroud around the steering column you can locate your ignition wires. you will want to tap onto the gray wire with your "white" wire. this is the accessory wire. and just attach the "black" wire to any metal surface. hope this helps make the install look a little cleaner

 

same one I got. right now it's plugged into the ciggy lighter but my dc kit is on the way. I basically got the dc kit so I can position the little alert box directly in my line of sight (the radar detector itself is a bit under the rear view.) once I get it and hook it up, and if I'm clever enough at it, I'll also post pics here.

chris

p.s. just make sure that your detector has a clear view of the back window, the clearer the more effective it will be for radar coming from behind. so says the booklet that came with mine.

 

allright all of those look good but i want to locate mine above my rear view mirror.
would it be easier to just wore it across the windshield(hidden) down the a-pillar and to the fuse box or try and wire it to the the dome light?
any suggestions?

thanx for the help, mainly i dont want it suctioned cupped to the window and i dont want to see the wires

 

Here is a part to use if you don't want to splice or are not sure of where to splice in for power.

LITTELFUSE ADD-A-CIRCUIT FUSEHOLDER

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=071-580

I just ordered some for my install and for a possible cruise control install.

 

ya! i like that idea much more than sticking a wire into the fuse box!
thanx what would you recommend for fuse size for a radar detector?
also if i only have the original cigarette adaptor for the radar should i just cut it and splice new wire to it? because of distance.

 

I think a 5 amp fuse is what is in mine. I have an older Passport.

If the cord is one with 2 separate wires then cutting the end off would be easy. If not you would need to know which part of it is hot and ground.

 

ya 5 amp fuse is what i thought and as far as the wires i have not cut into it yet to see but i figure to find out the hoe i can just cut it and then sseparate the wires singly and use my 12 v tester to see which is hot then mark the hot and continue to remove insulation strip and reattach to color coded wires.
whatt'ya think.
BTW im an electrician just not that familiar w/low voltage!

thanx for the help

 

Yep, sounds like that's the way to do it! Also found that part at a NAPA auto parts store this weekend also.

 

I just bought a Passport 8500 x50 today and the wire looks freakin ugly dangling all the way down to the cig lighter. I wanna hardwire it, but all this **** sound too confusing. i know nothing about hardwiring

 

Ok, i ordered the hard wire kit for my radar detector and it should be arriving sometime today. I've already used the add-a-circuit for mini fuses to wire 4 cold cathodes (2 front 2 back) under the dash and seats and then 4 LEDs in the cupholders. I was planning on using a 5 amp fuse to power the cathodes, LEDs, and a newer model cobra radar detector. Everyone think this will be fine or do i need to pump the fuse up to a 7.5 amp? I'm going to put it up above the rear view mirror also, if you get pulled over, it's easy to hide - and it looks clean.

 

You know...they work a lot better when mounted down low....

Up high on the windshield (like the pics above) and just under the rear view, you'll pretty much never get them to detect laser on your car.

 

Wrong. it is better to have them mounted high for TWO reasons.

1. Better line of site for radar allows it to pick up radar.
2. It picks up laser better when its not next to your reflective hood.

Straight from V1's handbook.

 

I noticed that the radio and the lighter socket are on the same fuse, so I'm wondering if adding my x50 to the mix would cause any problems.