That bolt is a horrible ground.

 

Could you make a more useful post? I.e. if that ground is ineffective what is a better ground in the same area??

 

i tried to hook it up with the orange cable. but it won't power up. i use a volt meter to check and make sure the cable and ground is good. and it reads 12.5 v. and i also check the radar and make sure all the cables and radar are working. but somehow it won't power up. what could cost the problem? anyone know?

 

Good write up ... Did this in a few mins.


Works great.

 

If you tapped the ignition wire why would the detector remain on after you shut the ignition off?

 

Are any of those other wires 5 volts? I want to do something similar with my tom tom but it only needs 5 volts/2amps.

Would any of those other wires work or would I need to tap the 12volt one and then use capacitors or something to reduce it down?

Thanks

 

First of all, you would need resistors to lower the voltage that the Tomtom would see. I don't know personally if any of those wires are 5V. The easiest thing to check is to get a voltmeter/multimeter and test the different wires up there. However, if you need to convert the 12V to 5V, here is a schematic of what you would need to do:



The bottom left equation is a derivation using Ohm's Law to calculate the resistance needed. The bottom right is a calculation showing the power that will be dissipated across this resistor (power is current times voltage). So, since 14W will be left off by this resistor, you should use a resistor that can handle at least that. That'll probably be a 20W 3.5ohm resistor. (Check partsexpress.com if you need to order online)

Here's a question for all you radar users: What's the optimal mounting location? I want it to be fairly discreet, would it be best to be on slightly above the dash on the windshield, or up by the rearview mirror?

 

thx

 

Valentine 1 Good Man

 

Hmm Ill be doing this once I get a radar detector

 

Good read, and in response to some of the things on page one I bought an Escort 9500i and I have never gotten a ticket with it. You have to be an safe driver, it isn't a sure fire thing. I go about 80, if I see it I casually slow to 75. And about the tickets when having one, I'v been pulled over quite a few times and have yet to had a cop frown about me owning one, if you're going 95 when you get pulled over and you have one I'd be it's a different story.

 

yea I have an Escort 8500 for over a year now...never had a ticket and it gives me PLENTY of warning when there is radar around....mine is wired to the sunroof too

 

I just hooked mine up like this DIY should and it worked like a charm and only took me 10 mins. Got my hardwire cord off of amazon for $10 shipped to my door!

 

just installed mine in 10 minutes. most of my time was spent trying to pry the darn lighting off and working on that bolt for the ground. great write up! love my v1 already

 

It seems as if this is dead, but I attempted hardwiring my V1 today, followed the directions, and for some reason it isn't working. Unfortunately, I don't have a volt meter, so that is doesn't help whatsoever, but unfortunately I can't figure this out. The ground is snug and fitting tightly with the bolt, but I am assuming that either the T-Tap isn't sung enough to the wire, or I'm tapping into the wrong wire. Anyone else have a similar problem?

EDIT: The problem was the wire attached to the T-Tap was being pushed into the T-Tap itself, and it would cause it to lose power. After messing around with it, I got that wire stable in its connection, and it works flawlessly. Thanks for the AWESOME guide. V1 is recommended heavily, as well!