I am having a very wierd problem with my Escort 8500 radar detector. Every time I use my horn or sometimes when the car is at full throttle the laser detector will go off. I have no idea what could cause this. Any help would be much apprieciated.

 

How do you have it plugged in/ran? I don't really know anything about radar decectrors to be honest...but I have been using my friends 8500 for a week now and I don't have any of that. It's just plugged into the cig. adaptor on my 03' MCS.

-Cody

 

Its plugged into the ciggerate lighter, The connection is nice and snug, no play otherwise I would have blamed it on the anoying start up sequence

 

I've occaisionally had the same with my V1 in my Miata, but never yet in the MINI. Explanation I heard was noise in the electrical system which sets off the false alarm. Never heard of a solution for it...

 

Maybe it's where it's mounted? I have mine mounted right below the rearview mirror, in the middle of the windshield.

...?
-Cody

 

Its mounted right between the rearview mirror and the dash so maybe too low down? Very wierd.

 

interesting. see this thread... https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=72183

 

bump.. surely we are not alone...

 

I have an older Escort plugged into the cigarette lighter and mounted low on the left by the A pillar on my car and up high to the left of the mirror on my wife's '05. It turns out that the velcro will grip the roof liner material and it stays up there pretty well. On neither car does it go off on a full throttle and I've never noticed it going off the few times I've used the horn.

 

No you are NOT alone. We have two 8500s and they both do/did this.

The only fix is to send it back to Escort for a tune-up that costs $50! If your still under warranty then your golden but if not it is a $50 fix. It has nothing to do with its mount location or what power supply you use. Your car's item (horn, pumps, exct) it sending out stray waves of power or magnetic fields and the LAZAR is picking it up. At least that is what they told me on the phone and they did fix the problem.

Ours would have LAZAR with the rear window washer pump on the Focus and Horn on our GMC 2500HD. :impatient

I used my horn in the GMC becasue I almost killed someone who just stopped in front of me and when I got on the horn the LAZAR went off....I about had a heart attack!.

I hope this helps. What I do know....it sucks!!

 

Hmm, this is interesting. I have never had a problem in my MCS.
Prior to last weekend I had never had a problem in my wife's
wagon either. However, I pulled the Escort X50 out of my car
and put it in her car for a trip. For the first hour after we hit the
road the laser alert would come on intermittently. It did the
same thing on the way home. I have used that detector in that
car with the same power adapter any number of times over the
last 2 years and never had a problem.

After we returned home, I put it back in my MCS and it has
worked flawlessly, with no false signals.

 

IMHO, LAZAR is really not worth it and this is just one more reason but they really do not give us choice.

First, if your LAZAR goes off it is too late.

Second, I got pulled over with LAZAR and my detector never went off. This was because I was in my GMC 2500HD they shot me low on my bumper. I call Escort about this and they pretty much told me it is a 50/50 chance my detector will go off. It is all about the beam width and distance.

Third, now false signals....almost eveyone I know that has the 8500s has/had this problem. And it is additional $50 to fix it......and if you want to trade-in your unit...they will only give you $50. If it happens again....I am trading it in.

 

this has happened to me too. False signals, being bagged and not having the thing even go off. I don't think there is a defense against LIDAR . the detecter might as well have a warning signal that says" yer BUSTED"
and by the way , sending it back to escort for service is now $72.00!!!

there is even a lone bicyclist who has some kind of halogen headlight that trips my laser signal!

 

LIDAR, that is it....I thought it was LAZAR.

It goes off and your speeding.....you are correct yer busted......just start heading for the shoulder.

crAAp $72 now!!!!!!!! Glad I got ours fixed this past winter. Did they up their trade-in value?

 

I have had my Passport 8500 X50 in my MCS for over six months, mounted low just off center on the windshield. I did not have a problem with false laser detections (just every once in a while) until my X50 performed a self calibration. After that it would frequently get false laser detections. I called ESCORT to see if there was a way I could reset or force a recalibration but I got the same story as others that I would need to send it in for repairs. Since laser detection is not very useful, I just turned laser detection off. I now only run with Ka turned on to eliminate false alarms. I live in California and it seems like all the law enforcement agencies are now using Ka or Laser.

 

Haven't gotten there yet. I bought this unit on ebay for $125, so I can't really complain.It has saved me 20 times it's purchase price in tickets and surcharges.My first and only LIDAR experience 3 years ago cost me $305 then, and surcharges for 7 years. Since then my mantra is :no more than 5 mph over ANYWHERE! The only exception to that is if traffic in general is going faster than 5 over , then I just tuck myself in and go with the flow.Oh yeah.................and on ramps! yeeehaaa

 

You can always get a CB it helps even more than the Escort. But then again you have to put up all the ignorant BS the other 90% of the time.

When ever I am taking a trip in my truck the CB is always on.