DMorgen

I have a 10 day old 2003 TL-S. Having depended upon various radar detectors over the years, getting one for the TL-S became a high priority! I ended up buying an Escort Passport 8500, which now goes along with my old Valentine One. Either my wife gets the V1 & I keep the 8500, or I spend $279 to upgrade the V1, & my wife gets the 8500. But that decision isn't why I'm here ...

I've never hardwired a radar detector myself; I've always had it done for me. Now I'm considering doing it myself. Currently, I've got the 8500 mounted a little above the dashboard, in the center, using suction cups. They're holding great ... but I've always had problems with suction cups, & I've thought higher was better. So I'm wondering if anybody can suggest a better way?

Can anybody suggest an EASY method for hardwiring one of these detectors in this car? By EASY, I mean somebody who has no experience wiring a car can do in a couple of hours or less. Or should I leave it to an expensive pro? (BTW, the wiring must be easy to remove, when I return this leased car.)

In case I choose the 8500 ... do you recommend the Smartcord? What's the alternative?

Of course, once my car is taken care of, I've got my wife's Odyssey to deal with!

Thanks for your help!

Dave

Yaron2

Keep the V1 and order the hidden component ... place it directly on top of your steering column right underneath the gauges ....

snapple

I wanthe V1. I was thinking of mounting it on top of the rear view mirror and wiring the power around the side of the front windshield down the door post.

Yaron2

Snapple: not a good idea b/c the bubble tint on that part of the windshield (rear view mirror area) will hinder the radar from proper or best reception ;o(

NsX Pilot

Actually as long as the tint is not metallic it will not affect peformance but as far as lazer detection it may not be as effetive behind the the bubble tint........i personally prefer it mounted at a height and location which is closer to where my eyes are fixed on the road ...... in either case the audioable signal will alert you unless u have the stereo up.

dj5

Check out this thread. This is how I installed my 8500.

http://www.acura-tl.com/forum/showth...threadid=20360

unbeknownst

Hard wire and ground it to a wire in the fuse box next to the drivers side door. Then run the wire up between the crack between the dash and the frame, and then pop off the pillar and run the cord up between it and the frame it, put the pillar back on and then you run the cord under the mirror and to the radar detector, which you mount on the windshield just to the left of the rear view mirror and just below the tint band. Takes about 20 minutes tops... just be easy on putting the pillar back on.

DMorgen

Thanks for the pointer. Unfortunately, this seems much more difficult & time consuming than anything I want to attempt. But I did print out the thread, and will read it in detail ... maybe I'll change my mind, or at least learn something!

Dave

DMorgen

That SOUNDS easy ... hopefully, it turns out that way!

When you say to "hard wire and ground it to a wire in the fuse box" what's the best (easiest) way to connect to the existing wires?

It sounds like I'll need to run the cord along the top of the windshield. Any suggestions for doing this, so the cord doesn't fall down (as it's done in other cars where I paid to have the installation done)?

I guess there's no better solution than using the suction cups?
(Actually, they've held just fine, so far.)

I imagine using the smartcord would require a lot more work running wires ... I can live without it.

Thanks for your help!

Mr Zipps

The Passport Suction Cups work fine. I had a Passport 7500 for over a year now and Ive never had a problem with the suction cups. They have never come off since the first time I suctioned them.

Mr
03 ABP TL-S
New Jersey

unbeknownst

To connect to the existing wires... the kit that comes from the factory has a "clip" that you just squeeze down onto a wire with pliers... and voila! As you run it across the top of the windshield, just simply place the wire ABOVE the sun visor.... all the way to the back... not sure if it would fall down some... but hey I never use the visor. Also, the extra length of the wires can all be stored in the fuse box area. It IS easy, cause I suck at eletrical projects as well but found it simple.

TopGum

The hard wiring was pretty easy. Mount the V1 near the rearview mirror. The "phone cord" tucks neatly under the trim pieces. Then at the lower left corner, I tucked it in along the dash edge with a thin putty knife. You could even use a flexible kitchen knife. The wire is then routed easily to the fuse box and up to the concealed display mounted on the steering colummn.

DMorgen

Sounds easy enough! So that only leaves the issue of deciding which wire to choose. This might be obvious if I were sitting in the car looking at the fuse box ... is it easy to associate a wire with a given fuse? The other issue is choosing which end of the fuse I'd want ... assuming the smartcord comes with a fuse of its own (does it?), I'd want to use the power source end of the fuse, so the detector current doesn't flow through the car's fuse.

unbeknownst

All I did was buy one of those "voltage readers." Not sure of their technical term... get one at a auto store... about $5... looks kinda like a screw driver... just turn the car off and make sure there in no current to that fuse, and turn the car on, and if the light bulb lights up showing current, you can tap that wire.

DMorgen

I never heard of those. Definitely sounds like a useful little tool! Thanks for the suggestion.

Mr Zipps

Does anyone have pictures or a step by step process on how to do this or is there a website to follow. I would like to do this also. Thanks...

Mr
03 ABP TL-S
New Jersey

03TLTYPES

to hardwire it simply cut the cig lighter plug off of the cord, leaving enough cord on the plug in case you ever decide to use the plug again. Wire the positive to the ignition fuse and the ground wire to one of the 10mm bolts that hold the fuse panel in place.

gohawks63

You can even do it without cutting the coiled wire. Just order the straight wire from Escort ($10) and it comes with an inline fuse. I posted the following instructions on another thread.

You can connect the power cord one of two ways.

If your power cord has an inline fuse, you can just splice it into the the wires powering the cigarette lighter in the dash or the power receptacle in the console.

I did it the following way:

I found a fuse for an item that is not critical (i.e. Power socket/cigarette lighter) so that you don't risk a system like the airbags, ABS or your lights.

I pulled the fuse and used a test light to find out which side was HOT (i.e. carried the power). I stripped a little of the wire off of the detector's power cord and and wrapped it around one of the fuse prongs (key here is to only strip of a little here, otherwise you won't be able to reinsert the fuse). I then reinserted the fuse with the prong that had the wire OPPOSITE the hot receptacle in the fuse box. Since my power cord doesn't have an inline fuse, this method still provides protection in the event the detector shorts out by blowing the fuse, otherwise if the wire was connected on the HOT side and a short would occur, the wires would melt. If you have an inline fuse, it doesn't matter which side you use. I then wrapped the negative wire (stripped end of course) around a screw that went into the firewall or other metal part.

I then ran the cord up the side of the dash, the driver's side "A" pillar and along the top of the headliner/windshield to just above my rear view mirror to where the detector is mounted.

Aside from opening the fuse box, I didn't have to disassemble anything and I didn't have to run much wire.

It was really pretty easy. It looks very clean and since the detector is mounted near the tint band, it's very difficult to notice the detector from the outside and NO WIRES.

Good Luck!

BTW, I've had the 8500 since January and I love it!

DMorgen

Were you able to run the wire along the A-pillar without removing the trim?

Ruski

the best installation I have seen - this dude combined V1 radar output with his mirror. He actually etched away the reflecting material from the mirror surface in the shape of the V1 arrows and LEDs. He also put a little TV in the mirror too.

gohawks63

Yep.

melotical

For all the people with the passport 8500, have you thought about or gotten the shift laser that links with the 8500? How is the product on a whole for anybody who has it? http://www.escortradar.com/zr3.htm

DMorgen

This is the first I've heard of it. I like the concept! But $500 is a little more than I'm willing to spend now

Does anybody know if the police are using laser in Massachusetts? How about the rest of New England & NY?

gohawks63

$500 is a little steep, especially when I consider that I have never encountered laser here. I might wait until the price comes down a bit.

pianoman41

MA is definitely using lidar. It's hit-or-miss as to which towns use it and which don't, but it is all over the state. MA state police also use lidar.

Mr Zipps

Riski....

I saw that in the mirror. It was on the bottom left hand side. He had something else on the mirror I forget. It was a Lexus IS300. That was sick.

Mr
03 ABP TL-S
New Jersey

dj5

$500 includes installation. The Shifter itself can be bought for $299 for those you want to do the install themselves. I have been thinking about purchasing the Shifter as Laser is common in and around Atlanta.

Ruski

yeah. on the right side of the mirror he has a small LCD TV screen. All the TV guts are in the headliner, then the ribbon cable goes from under the headliner to the mirror.

You are right - it was a Lexus IS300