newbie

i did some search on this site regarding the radar detectors and went with the passport 8500 because of the cost as well as the "stock looking install" you can do with it (using the blank button) on the 2003 tls.

But now i have some questions (as my alias suggest that i should)...

1. How do I pull off the driver side panel to take out the button? i know first i need to take off the fuse box cover, and then unscrew one screw behind the cover... are there any other screws? do i just pull with force once all the screws are out or is there a more correct and gentle way to do it so i don't break anything.
2. Hardwiring... I looked through all the threads but wasn't able to understand exactly how this is done. how do i tap into the fuse box? any explaination, or even better, pictures, would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks all!

djsteve

Hey Newbie,

Check your private messages.

-djsteve

Black-n-Tan

has anyone mounted the passport 8500 mute button in the blank button? if so i would love to see pics. i toyed with the idea a couple weeks ago when i was hardwiring my detector. did you have to cut part of the dummy button out. i tried fitting it in, but the mute button is angled.

djsteve

Check this thread from about two years ago for instructions.

-djsteve

Bobbydoedoe

i got my passport 3 days ago, and i would also liek it to be hardwired, can soemone post instrustcions? thx in adavance

newbie

first i just want to thank djsteve for providing all the detailed info and pictures. i got the passport 8500 today and just finished the install, and it just looks awesome!

i will post somemore info and pictures about the install in a day or two!

thanks again djsteve.

I-MOD

I did the same install on my TSX but didn't put the Passport sticker back over it, wanted the more stealth look. Cops here in VA love to ticket for detectors

D.

newbie

Okay... Here are the instructions I promised. Please note that most of what I post are basically from djsteve and i take no credit for any of it. i simply supply the pictures which i took for this install and maybe a few more details. i will even reuse the instructions provided by djsteve which he posted a couple years back.

Step 1. Remove the drivers panel.

first remove the fuse box cover, then you will see a screw which the driver panel is secured by (circled by the red in the picture). unscrew it and then pop it out. note that there are 5 other clips that holds the panel down (circle by green in the picture).

newbie

2. After removing the driver's panel and then unscrewing the blank button, I found that it was not completely open on the back. The button is fairly deep (>1 inch) and has center fin molded into it, from front to rear. I used a rotary tool to grind out the center fin, leaving the button completely open and hollow when viewed from the rear. (from djsteve)

the picture attached is the before and after for the empty button.

newbie

3. Disassemble the remote, and then you have to trim the circuit board in order for it to fit into the button. However, trimming it will mean that 2 wires will need to be desoldered and reconnected (the Green and Black wire). So study the circuit board, then desolder/resolder the wires, and then trim the circuit board. Also what you can do is run the wires that were desoldered through the hold which the screw used to go through to get to the back side.

Attached is a picture showing the circuit board before modification and also the part to trim is noted in blue.

newbie

4. Hopefully by now you have already measured and drilled the holes in the blank button... if not do so, and then make sure that the modified circuit fits the button and also the holes drilled. Then once you think everything looks good and works great, hot glue the circuit board into the cavity so that it won't move around.

couple of suggestions though... before hot gluing the circuit into the button, i would suggest that you:

1. make sure that all the solders done correctly and well so that it doesn't come loose when moved around (Which it did for me... a pain to correct after the hot glue is in).
2. test out everything before actually hot gluing it.... just to make sure that you have did everything correctly... because once the hot glue is in there's no turning back.

What you get is the following!

newbie

5. Once the button is done, you can put the button back to the driver panel. What djsteve have done (and i copied) is to move the dimmer to the right and the passport remote to the left to make it more visible. Now comes the hardwiring part... The following is djsteve's instructions (can't get any better than this).

I tapped into the stereo's switched power on the driver's side fuse box (yel/blk wire on connector O, position 11 - this connector is light green and a little more than halfway back on the inside of the driver's side fuse box) and used a convenient chassis screw for a ground point.

The following is a picture of the fuse box djsteve is talking about, and i have circled the general area in red and note the t-tap that is used to tap into the electrical is in blue (circled by the green). Also like djsteve said, the wire to tap into is a yellow wire with black strip (and silver/grey dot).

newbie

6. Finally it's running the "phone cord" up to where the detector is. As many have suggested, just go up the fuse box and then through the A-pillar and then to the detector. What i have done is I pulled out the A-pillar and then twist the phone cord around an existing cord behind the A-pillar (so it doesn't come lose and move around). About the A-pillar though... it's by far the hardest part of the project... putting the a-pillar part back was not easy (maybe because i did it wrong?), but because of the seal that's next to the cover it's extremely difficult to put back....

Attached is a picture of what the a-pillar looks like without the cover. note that there are 3 holes where the clips goes into to hold the cover in place.

newbie

Once you are done running the wires and putting back the covers, and clean up the wires so that it's not all over the place, you have got yourself a hardwired passport that looks stock!

djsteve

Great job on the instructions and pictures, Newbie! Congrats on a very clean looking install!

-djsteve