Due to popular demand. If there are other devices that require a 12v power source and you want to run the power cable out of the headliner this is the way to go about it.

First this is my set up (with a Valentine V1 don't know about other radar detectors, but a hardwiring harness for other detectors shouldn't be that much off of what this is.)

As you can see mine is mounted above the rearview mirror, this makes it almost impossible to see from the rear of the car, very difficult from the sides and you really have to be looking for it from the front of the vehicle.



First take a flat head screw driver and loosen/remove the covering of the top console like so:









With that removed you'll take a star bit and remove the two screws located where the arrows are pointing.



Once that is done you'll have something that looks like this minus the red and black wires that are comming outta nowhere:



take your wiring harness and find the 12v line. It's the fattest LIGHT PURPLE WITH A BLUE STRIPE wire that's comming out of the left side wiring harness. This is your 12v line and attach your hardwire harness somewhere on that line...it should look something like this when you do it.



Attach any sort of power connections to the inside of the black plastic housing where you'll have some room to place it like so:



Now, if you look in the back of your rearview mirror, you'll see a notch already cut in the headliner (if you have auto dimming mirror, you should see the wire comming out of the headliner for that.) Run your power cable out of that hole, It's very easy to route it through where the headliner meets the windshield, it's pretty loose already and very easy to put the cable through there.





Now that you have that done, button everything up, tuck away your power cables and Happy Trails....



if you have any questions or would like to see full res pictures, feel free to ask and I can email them to you (about 2.5mb each pic)

Remember your radar unit will still have power for ~15-30 minutes because for some reason, the car isn't really off just because you removed the key. I've left mine on and in the car when I went out of town for 2 weeks, no battery drain or anything of the sort.

Oh yeah, as for the ground, you should be able to find a small hole on the windshield frame just forward (as in twords the bonnet) of the nice hole that bringing everything down leaves. (I've heard it's even present on the clubman!!!) Just scratch it up a tad to make for a good ground connection, grab one of those small machine screws you have layin around the garage and wrap the ground around the screw and put it in the hole!!!! (I know I know that's what she said!!!)

 

nicely done!

 

crucial fiction,
Thanks! You've made me, and I suspect many others, very happy.

 

you da man, thanks for the awesome pics and info. i installed my v1 on my m5 like this before, and wanted to install in the mini. now with your help i am all set. thanks

 

Thanks for the pics and writeup. I'm going to be hardwiring my V1 the same way here soon. I hope that the wiring colour codes for the cabrio are the same, because if the switched wire remains powered for a while even after the key is removed, it will make it difficult to figure out the correct wire using a meter.

 

I'm not sure about the Cabrios, however, basicly in that console the line you're tapping into is the control line. It really doesn't do anything but supply 12v to the rest of the switch panel (to my knowledge, I haven't seen the wiring diagram for the car). I do suggest you use a multimeter to test the connections.

Yeah the 12v staying on is kinda wierd because NOTHING works when the key is out, but the 12v stays constant for a while then dies out. I was scratching my head for a while until I sat in the car ticked off for about a half hour and the voltage was gone from that line

and to everyone else that has found this useful thanks for the kudos

 

hey, so how does the v1 work when its that high on the windshield? i remember reading that its best to put the v1 as low as possible because cops 'shoot' at the front license plate to get the laser to bounce back. i was wondering if the v1 has ever not picked up the laser? are you guys mounting it in front of the rear view mirror because it is illegal in your state? I was reading in this article in import tuner once where the guy bought some parts for the v1 where he was able to put a sensor for lasers in his grill right below the license plate and another sensor behind his car. then he was able to connect it to the main unit and then put the display right into the rear view mirrow. thats a clean setup, anyone know anything about this, i was thinking of doing it since its so clean and no one would know about it. Even though laser detectors are not illegal in CA yet, i heard cops hating when poeple have rader dectectors and picking on people with them

 

That's incorrect. Mounting the detector as high as possible increases the detection distance, giving you more time to respond.

 

Let me preface some of my answers to your questions with a little on my background. I'm in the US Navy and I am in a nutshell a RADAR Technician and have been so for the past 10 years.

LEOs use a radar that has a narrow beam. However, that beam sends off RF (radio frequency) energy out in all directions from the source. Think of it as that narrow beam is "bleeding energy" from it. That's how radar detectors work. The reciever inside the detector is tuned to match those frequencies that are used by LEOs to give you an alarm when it senses that energy being bounced around or right at you. RF goes clean through windows and as you're driving, believe it or not you're being constantly bombarded with this type of energy. Your radar detector just tells you when it's the cops (or an automatic door, or security alarm or even crappy radar detectors).

That being said, in the radar world HIGHER = better. Increasing the height, also increases the recievers range. That's why if you ever look on a ship the radar system antennas are mounted way up high on the masts or the highest points on said ship.

The rearview mirror in my set up doesn't block anything. Like I said earlier, the RF being transmitted by the time I'm comming around the corner/over the hill, through the bend etc...I've already picked him up due to bounces in that energy.

Laser guns work on the same general principle as the radar guns. That laser beam is not just one solid beam throughout it's travel to your car and back. It also bleeds off energy and depending on a number of different factors, you'll either detect it and make your proper adjustments or you're tagged. There is no iffy inbetween area when it comes to lasers in general.

No, radar detectors aren't illegal here in Florida, however, I tend to forget to take mine out of the car every night, so if it's not easily seen in the car, it's outta someones mind (knock on wood)

Hope that helped...

 

oh interesting. i never knew that. do you guys still think that the v1 is still the best out there?

 

I think so, I've had mine for over 4 years now and it has effectively saved me a couple of bucks. That and when new technology is introduced it's yours for a very reasonable price

 

Cruicial,
First GREAT job..

2nd, the power stays on that purple wire because you can close or open the sunroof and/or windows for 15 minutes after shutting down the car.

Does anyone sell a pieced radar detector? By that I mean, I'd like to install the sensor on the front grill, the brains under the hood, and the lights/siren (on a small plate since the rest of device is separate) into the dash somewhere, nice and clean looking.

 

Thanks Bird appreciate it...

I'm not sure about that about the power, if the key is removed, there is still power but nothing will respond. I may have to double check but it's weird like that.

as far as the pieced radar detectors like you're speaking, I really don't think there are. The only thing that comes close is the Radar jammers/laser jammers and the like but I really don't believe the hype when it comes to those. Best bet is to run something like I am with the detector of your choice.

With tinted windows and a sunstripe on the windshield the detector is almost invisible AND EXTREMELY astheticly pleasing IMHO

 

If the cop is lasing your license plate... game over. You're trying to catch reflected laser or the scatter through the windshield of the car in front of you.

And it is standard on new BMW's to have power stay on for a few seconds after the key is pulled to close all the windows, but not for 15 minutes.

And NICE write up on the install. Thanks.

 

Your assuming the guy has good aim, aren't you?

 

yeah the v1 saved me a ticket once when i went on the 101.me and this boxster was going about 90 when the v1 rang like crazy so i stopped but the other car didnt so he got a ticket, too bad i had to return the v1 to my friend. but isnt it still like 400 or 500? i think its good but it sure does cost a whole lotta money, thats like a weeks worth of work haha.

 

Problem I have putting it up there, is that is where my Light'NSight is, which I LOVE and wouldn't move for 5 billion dollars (well, ok, maybe ...but..). Soe where else could I mount a detector, stealthy?

 

Mine is just to the right of my rear view mirror. My lightinsight is to the left. Look in my gallery.

 

Absolutely. I've had my V1 for 3 years now. I just upgraded it last week. It was one software version from the latest but it was also in the old style thicker case. I overnighted it on Monday night, by Thursday it was back in my hands.

$400 is a lot of money, but not when you compare it to the costs of a ticket (and traffic school if you can take it). It does require a bit of a learning curve to use it--not much, but it's far from a "police locator" if you've never used one before.

Yep, that's where mine is too. I've actually wrapped my V1 with velcro and it sticks to my roof liner. It's light enough that it doesn't cause the liner to sag or fluff.

 

That's an interesting idea, OG. But, on my R56, I think it would point down too much if I Velcro'd it to the headliner and/or may be blocked by the roof edge. Not sure, though. I'll have to take a look.

 

That may be. I was able to mount it this way in both my '03 MC and '05 MCS--though very little changed between them. I mounted mine to the right of the mirror so that way if I do get stopped the cop won't see it right away from the driver side window. Which is also why I liked the roof location because I could inset it--away from the glass where the suction cups would melt due to the sun, and be hidden from view.

Here's some pix I just took of what it looks like. As bright as the velcro is, people still get in my car, sit down, and ask what's beeping, and several minutes into the drive they admit not even seeing the detector there.

Nearly invisible from the front (and yes I cleaned the glass in front of the V1 before I took this pic!)

 

Yeah, looking in from the outside, yours sits just about where mine does. But I think the headliner shape is quite different in the R56. I don't think there is a space like on the lowered portion of your headliner. I will definitely have to check this out and report back. I would love to take mine off the suctions.

 

Excuse me, but what is a Light'n'Sight?

 

A plastic lens that sticks to the windshield and makes it easier to see overhead traffic lights.

 

You are the man!!!!!!! I had been looking for a write up like this since I bought my MCS. I found a write-up like this for my E39 540i but was just about to try and tap a fuse for the V1 on the MCS. Thank you a ton!!!