if you dont use the 12v socket under the dash, just hook it up there.
the flat cord is long enough to go under the steering column up the
a-pillar and ceiling to the mirror area. you don't need to remove any
of the panels, just tuck it under as mentioned above.

i recommend you use a plastic hard squeegee (sp?) when you tuck
the cord. screw drivers are a little too stiff and could potentially
cut the insulation.

 

Anybody happen to have any pics of one of these installed? Showing the lighted arrows?

 

They only light up when they get a read - so pics are a little tuff.

 

dohoo. I guess that would be right. Do you have any pics of it just installed? Did you put yours up by the mirror? Or down on the dash?

 

There are some crappy photos of my install (by the mirror) on my blog post.

I now have the headunit wrapped in black felt - no lights or ***** visible - doesn't look like a detector. And I have the remote display on the steering column right in front of me, and the remote volume/power control right in front of my right knee in the parcel tray. I can use the button on either of the remotes to mute and change modes. The remote display is velcro'd on and attached via the curly cord - so I can pull it off and toss it on the parcel shelf in about 2 seconds.

Note that I have a cabrio - and the panel around the mirror is different - it fits up there better with a coupe I think.

 

Thanks for the info, but I have questions on the following quoted by you:

"One factor that I do think matters a lot is WHERE you’re putting in the miles and using your detector. If 90% of your driving is in the city - or in populated areas with lots of door openers on every corner, and your driving habits in this setting lead you to feel you need your detector on all the time, then I can definitely see how the V1 could drive you batty. :impatient"

Are you saying the V1 might not be a "good" detector if someone drives mostly intown? I would say I drive 90% intown, what do you think? Thanks.

 

Welllllll..... it depends.

Some things about the V1:
In "All bogeys" mode - it will report EVERY radar source it picks up. In town, this can include MANY sources that aren't police radar (probably 95% will NOT be police radar). An experienced user will learn to interpret the strength, band, location and number of signals to discern what is police radar and what is a door opener, etc.

In "Logic" or "Advanced Logic" modes, the V1 can be set to ignore "weak" signals, but will then alert you when these signals get strong enough that they MIGHT be a threat IF they are really police radar. In practice, this can filter out a lot of the "noise" in urban environments, but there are SO MANY door openers, etc out there that the thing will pretty much constantly be telling you about SOMETHING... unless you tell it to ignore X and K bands (which you can) and only alert to Ka - in some areas this is a good strategy, because in some areas, the police ONLY use Ka (and maybe laser). In other areas (like mine) lots of Barney Fife types still run K and even X band (which is also what the door openers run) so this would not be a good approach for me.

Soooo.... If you live in an area where the LEOs only use Ka band, tell the V1 to ignore X and K in the Logic mode, and then you'll have a nice, quiet, effective detector in urban areas. If the LEOs use X and K, you're kinda stuck having to listen to a lot of alerts (I do NOT call these "falses" - because the detector is REALLY picking up REAL radar - it just happens to not be police radar - but there's no way for ANY detector to really tell the difference between a nearby door and a far away LEO on the same band...)

Some other detectors "default" to turning sensitivity WAY down in "city" mode, and/or ignoring X & K. That's a good way to make your detector quieter. It's also a good way to get a ticket...

In general - I don't speed (much) in "urban" areas - it's the open road that I'm worried about. In urban areas, I drive with traffic. In congested areas, it's hazardous to your health and insurance premiums to do anything else, really. Too many places a LEO with lidar can hide... IMHO.

 

Well, I still didn't find a good switched point to tap into. I thought I found one in my Bentley Manual before my road trip this last weekend, but it didn't work when I tapped into it I went into the driver's side of the dash and found the red/black/yellow wire which the manual said went to the cig lighter ... didn't work and I didn't have time to try again before I had to leave.

Has anyone found a good switched wire in that bundle?

 

Very nice explaination thank you . I will ask around and find out what our LEO's, what does that mean? , use.

 

You would think the cig. lighter would always be hot? Blown fuse?

 

Law Enforcement Officers

 

I didn't go directly to the cig lighter, but tried to pick off the wire in the harness located under the panel on the side of the dash on the driver's side. The lighter works fine. The wire I tapped into doesn't ... lol. I'd like to find a good switched wire in that location because there is plenty of room for the V1 power adapter and there is a good accessible ground too.

 

got it.

I'm sorry, missundestood you. I would imagine there are a few wires there.

 

Me too, but I don't want to keep tapping into them until I find one

 

That's why I just use an add-a-circuit. No tapping, no splicing, no fixing the wire that you just tapped that wasn't the right one. A bit of trial and error on which fuse, maybe, but that's a simple plug/unplug. And each fuse tells you exactly what it's connected to. Wires just won't do that.

 

Add a fused mine into the hardwire kit the up the A-pillar with it

 

What's an add-a-circuit?

 

They look like this:




And here it is in the MINI fuse box:


Note that the one on the bottom is positioned incorrectly, they need to be upside down (like the one above and to the right) for the line to be fused.

They're great for adding power without cutting/splicing, etc. Find a fuse that has the power characteristics you're looking for (switched acc, switched on or always hot)
You can find them at Pep Boys and most auto parts stores.

 

It's a fuse box expander. Basically, you remove a fuse from your fuse box and replace it with the add-a-circuit. The add-a-circuit has two fuse sockets in it - one is for the factory fuse you pulled to install the add-a-circuit, and the other is for a fuse to protect whatever electric/electronic device you're installing.

This lets you tap off of the fuse box for switched or constant power, without having to cut/splice any of the factory wiring.

 

Cool, thanks

 

I stumbled upon this thread and thought I'd offer the install that I did a little while back.. Take a look and see if it helps..

V1 Install

 

Actually you need to follow the directions included. Facing up or down doesn't mean it's installed correctly.

 

And if you follow the directions the way the R53 is wired down is the right way, and we're saving the OP the trial and error of it.

 

But is "down" the correct orientation for all three vertical banks of fuses? I seem to remember another discussion (although it could have been for a different car) where the "supply side" and "load side" weren't the same for all of the columns of fuses in the box.

 

I'd rather take 30 seconds to test it (which requires no tools or testers), then have the chance of it melting wiring cause there is no fuse on something, but that's just me.