I had my Valentine 1 hard wired on my BMW 540. Planning on an installtion into the TL this weekend.

has anyone done this yet? If so, please share your installation.

 

I hard wired in my Passport 8500. Looks sweet. i mounted it next to the rear view and used the Trunk defeat switch in the glove box as the power kill switch. I wired it up to always use the trunk release button then reused the switch for the detector. Here in VA they are illegal so I wanted it out of sight as much as possible

D.

 

Had dealer do my V1 (see prior post). I did not want to mess with shorting out the NAV, etc. I accidently shorted my BMW once trying to put one of these in. Dealer only dinged me for $80 or so. Ran the wire where I wanted it (inside headliner and down the drivers A pillar into the fuse box)

 

I mount my Valintine on the windshied below the bottom level of the rear view mirror ( so it can pick up rear radar ). I run the power UP to the overhead console and tap into the always hot wire of the overhead lights. Tap a small hole for the ground and bury all the extra wire in the headliner. This is the slickest instalation and you will also get the best proformance out of the detector Good luck.

 

gserp4sox

Why did you decide to go to an "always on" connection rather than "switched"? Aren't you at risk for dead batteries?

 

bigdomer, That's only a problem if you don't drive the car for many days. It did happen to me once when I went on a 8 day vacation and didn't turn it off.(dead battery) I don't risk forgetting to turn it on with it wired this way and thus risk getting a ticket. I've never had a problem leaving the car for 4 days, however, I do always shut it off for longer periods of time now. It's really just a matter of preference, and it's only 3-5 times a year (for me) that the car is left unstarted for long periods of time, vs. having to turn it on and off every time in and out of the car.

 

For those of you with the V-1. Do you have the concealed display also? If so where did you run the wire?

???? Does anyone know if the side pillars are removed will it have an effect on the side curtain air bags?

 

I didn't hardwire my V1 into the car. Rather, I bought telephone cord and ran the wires under the trim pieces. I used the V1 cigarette lighter plug, and ran one wire under the passenger side glove box, up the passenger A pillar, and underneath the windshield header trim to exit by the rear view mirror. I used some of that 3M velcro-like stuff to stick the concealed module in the instrument panel by the speedo and ran a second wire from that, under the steering column the driver's side trim along the center console. I was more willing to put up with a couple discreet wires than go through the effort of hardwiring the unit into the car's electronics. Use a plastic knife to hide the wires under the edges of trim pieces. It has stayed that way for the past 5 or 6 years without a problem.

 

I also made sure that the pathway the wiring took along the A pillar wouldn't impede upon any deployment of the airbag there.

 

No V-1 but have had a hard-wired Sti for 6 years- used an invisicord and tapped into the auto-dimming rear view mirror so the unit turns off when the ignition is off. Learned what to do at this web site and I'm sure the info is very searchable.

I believe the V-1 uses the same connector type so the same solution should also work.

 

o.O

 

V1 uses the standard RJ11 connector that telephones (land lines) use. You can buy those connectors and the crimper at any Radio Shack type electronics store. Buy a 50' long cord, and then just cut and crimp to whatever length you need.

 

I did a hardwire too, easier than I thought, took about an hour to do. I also highly recommend a stealth "mute" button too. I mounted mine on the back of the turn signal stalk, it is small discreet and you can hardly see it. But what it does is it quiets down warning on command, instead of annoying you with false alerts and having to reach up to touch the knob. Make sure you zip-tie all wires against the existing wireloom in the A-pillar to prevent it getting in the way of the curtain airbag as mentioned.

I was going to do the phone wire method, easy enough. I decided to just spend $20 and get a readymade one. You can buy a wire with a mute button and inline fuse. The fuse is important because the normal cigarette lighter install has an inbuilt fuse. Hardwiring means you will lose that and you would have to fuse some other way. This hits 3 birds with one stone. Highly recommended.