I know this has been discussed many times, but I did a search and could not find dteailed instructions for what I want to do. I need help...

I'm using the Passport "Directwire" Smart-Cord , which I ordered from Escort to replace my coiled Smart-Cord.

I want to direct wire the cord from my X50's current location which is low, center windshield; a few inches above the dash. How do I route the wire? I want it to drop down into the middle of the dash, close to where it meets the glass. Do I need to remove the dash? There are small vent holes there; can I go through these??

If anyone can explain how to do this install (preferably with pics), that would be great.

Thanks!

 

only way to route it down the center of the dash is to remove the entire dash

 

You should be able to just push the wire down between the windshield and the front edge of the dash...

Tuck the wire in there all the way across the front of the dash going from the center (where the detector will reside) towards the driver-side door. You should then be able to simply wedge it in the crack between the side of the dash and the weather-stripping.

At that point, you'll have the wire where you need it right where the fuse panel is. Hook the negative up to a grounded bolt (I think there's one just forward of the fuse panel) and the positive up to a fuse which turns on with the key.

I copied someone else here at Acurazine who did a full write-up (mine is located just to the right of the rear-view mirror at the top of the windshield) and tucked the wire under the edge of the headliner.. then mounted the remote unit (2 lights and a mute button) in the extra panel near the VSA button. Went from there down to the fuse panel and hooked up the power.

It has worked great for the past 6 or so months, so I can't complain. Even though mine is at the top of the windshield and yours is at the bottom, the only real difference is simply where you tuck the wire in. Other than the wire routing, we're talking about the same install. Good luck!

EDIT: Just looked it up HERE'S THE LINK

Mine looks exactly like the pics you see in the first 1-2 posts... Yours could look the same only at the bottom of the windshield.

 

Here is a suggestion for you: I like to mount the detector high to get the best range so I placed it on the left side of the mirror. I then removed the interior lights to get the panel off. Then using 3-way connectors, I wired the detector to the review mirror circuit. It now goes on and off with the ignition switch.

An added advantage of mounting it high on the windshield is that It's hard to see it from the outside.

Good luck.

 

Thanks guys. Any extra detail on removing the panel near the VSA button and installing the remote buttons? How do you remove that section and how do you feed the wire up in there?

I guess once I know how to remove the section, I'll be able to figure it out, but any advice is appreciated.

 

1 screw, and the rest are clips

look underneath the panel near the center console, you'll see a black clip with a screw head on it, remove that, and just pull lightly, the entire thing will come out, after that remove the 5 harnesses

 

The best info I can give you for that would be to read THIS THREAD

Go to Post#14 in that thread. Shinj1EVA fully explains how to do the custom mount of the remote. It's really a PITA, but when it's done, you'll love the results!

As far as removing the clip is concerned, just contort your body so you can fit your hand up behind the empty panel near the VSA button. You should feel 2 clips holding it in. Squeeze them towards each other and the panel will fall right out the front.

There's a boatload of plastic in the back of that small panel which you will need to Dremel out if you want to mount the remote lights and button. Instructions for mounting the remote items into the panel are located in opst#14 of the hyperlinked thread.

Let us know how it turns out for you once you're all done!

 

Thanks again!! I'll post my results when finished.

 

Well, I happened to be to be driving past a Circuit City today, so I figured I'd stop in and see if they could do the install for me. They said no problem, so I took one of the techs into the store, logged on to Aurazine and pulled up the pic of the install that Scribesoft hyper-linked for me. Told the guy, "that's how I want it to look."
1.5 hrs and $30.00 later, DONE! Looks just like the pic!!
I kinda wanted to do it myself, for fun, but hey, 30 bucks for guaranteed work??? It was a no brainer.
Thanks for the pics and advice guys!

 

Awww.... you cheated!

But glad you got a cheap install and that you like it!

 

hope you watched everything they did, most of their work is pretty shitty, and very dangerous (open wires)

 

Yeah, I did. But thanks.

 

I talked to them and watched what I could. They seemed to know what they were doing. At least I hope!!
They do guarantee their work, so if anything goes wrong I have recourse.
Thanks for the concern though.

 

Wow, it's been over a year since I wrote that. Glad some people are still using it I'm actually thinking of removing it at this point and getting a caliber K40 system installed. The escort x50 and the V1 are pretty good detectors, but the K40 is in an entirely different ballpark

More info here: http://www.k40.com/home_main.html

 

Your write-up was perfect. I used it as a reference a few months ago and am thrilled with the results. Thanks for putting in the time to make it!