Easy, DIY Radar Detector Wiring

[Landscape]

In an effort to clean up the interior, and remove the clutter of plugging in power cords to the lighter I have the following suggestion (pictures to follow later).

Needed:
Radar detector of choice
Wire cutter / stripper
15 minutes

Remove the plug end from the radar detector cord, cut away 1" of the outer cord insulating plastic and strip off about 1/4" of the insulation to expose the copper wiring. (usually a red and white wire).

Remove the rear view mirror by grasping and firmly pulling down on the stalk.

Remove the dome light / sunroof switch by pulling down on the front edge to release the spring clips.

Inside you will see a couple of plugs, the one we are going to use is the six wire plug in the center of the dome light housing.

Remove the cover and test to find the correct wire for power (this should be in the center prong of the drivers side, but may vary by vehicle) the brown is ground. You want a wire that is only under power when the key is in the "on" position.

Insert the bare copper wire into the hole and have it "share" the connection, This is the trickiest part as you will need to hold it in place as you reinstall the remaning prongs and the cover that holds them together.

Plug the wiring back as it was when you opened the housing and test with your key and the radar detector.

Reinstall the housing and rear view mirror, mount the detector, via the suction cup holder to the windshield, and enjoy.

Enjoy, and remember to follow all posted traffic control devices :cool:

[vixen_w202]

In an effort to clean up the interior, and remove the clutter of plugging in power cords to the lighter I have the following suggestion (pictures to follow later).

Needed:
Radar detector of choice
Wire cutter / stripper
15 minutes

Remove the plug end from the radar detector cord, cut away 1" of the outer cord insulating plastic and strip off about 1/4" of the insulation to expose the copper wiring. (usually a red and white wire).

Remove the rear view mirror by grasping and firmly pulling down on the stalk.

Remove the dome light / sunroof switch by pulling down on the front edge to release the spring clips.

Inside you will see a couple of plugs, the one we are going to use is the six wire plug in the center of the dome light housing.

Remove the cover and test to find the correct wire for power (this should be in the center prong of the drivers side, but may vary by vehicle) the brown is ground. You want a wire that is only under power when the key is in the "on" position.

Insert the bare copper wire into the hole and have it "share" the connection, This is the trickiest part as you will need to hold it in place as you reinstall the remaning prongs and the cover that holds them together.

Plug the wiring back as it was when you opened the housing and test with your key and the radar detector.

Reinstall the housing and rear view mirror, mount the detector, via the suction cup holder to the windshield, and enjoy.

Enjoy, and remember to follow all posted traffic control devices :cool:

If you could add a way to conceal the radar detector from a visible point outside of the windshield and it can still read signals, I'd definitely be interested in doing this. In Cali it's illegal to have one visible anywhere.

[Landscape]

If you could add a way to conceal the radar detector from a visible point outside of the windshield and it can still read signals, I'd definitely be interested in doing this. In Cali it's illegal to have one visible anywhere.

I have a buddy that did this in his Saturn Sky using a Valentine One radar detector: http://www.skyroadster.com/forums/f5/now-something-truely-amazing-15250/ while the components will be different the principals are the same. I haven't gone this route because I don't mind having the unit visible.

Enjoy

Landscape

[jc1kz]

If you could add a way to conceal the radar detector from a visible point outside of the windshield and it can still read signals, I'd definitely be interested in doing this. In Cali it's illegal to have one visible anywhere.

If you put a 5-6 inch strip of limo/tint across the top of the windshield the radar won't be visible from the out side, I have done this in my 4Runner, and will be doing this in the Benz as well (I hard wired mine a little differently but the concept is the same, I wired mine from the cig lighter, up behind the A pillar and across under the headliner, to mount the radar directly beside the mirror stalk)