Radar Detector/Laser Jammer Installation

[Ryco]

I followed consultadrone tips and did a hardwire today myself. Front fuse box located in the passenger footwell. The add-a-fuse only accepts up to 10A. F46 location has a 20A fuse which powers the 12V cigarette lighter. I use that for an air compressor sometimes, and didn't want to put an 10A fuse in it, so I decided to use F47 location instead. All of the wires tuck nicely and gives you a nice stealth look. You can't even see it when you look into the car. Plus your sun visor will still work 100%.

• Note: Both fuse locations come on immediately when you open/unlock the door. They will also remain hot for 6 minutes after you close/lock the doors.
• TIP: You can run the wire up the passenger pillar and across the headliner. The wire will neatly tuck behind the headliner. There is a plastic trim piece around the rearview mirror that the wire will tuck behind too.
• TIP: The nut above the fuse box works great for a ground location. I recommend unscrewing the nut all the way and then pulling the plastic cover down. Then install your ground wire, then plastic trim, then nut. This will push your ground wire firmly into the bare metal so you have a solid connection for your ground.

THANK YOU!! I was able to do my first hard wiring on my car for the first time thanks to your write up and instructions. I was able to knock that out in about 30 minutes.

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[30MilesOffshore]

Ryco, I'm glad to hear you were able to get it knocked out! Saved yourself a few bucks too!

 

[Ryco]

Ryco, I'm glad to hear you were able to get it knocked out! Saved yourself a few bucks too!

thank you for saving me some money. Hopefully we can meet up one day since we in the same state.

 

[akasonny]

(Cross-posted)

BlendMount manufactures a pretty nice bracket for installing a radar detector beneath the interior mirror. I picked one up for my Belltronics unit and made the better part of a day working with it.

First the BlendMount is a quality item...flat-black, all metal and very sturdy (unlike the cheapy plastic brackets--and no, I'm neither an employee nor am I getting anything free here. It tends to be a little on the pricey side especially when you add in the taps for the electrical hookup.

In case you've been contemplating this, be prepared for considerably more time than you'd anticipate. Here are the surprises:

* The plastic housing against the windshield, surrounding the mirror base, is TWO pieces. It doesn't separate easily as there are three clips in the center (inside) holding the two halves together. Just knowing it parts in the middle would have saved me 1/2 hour;

* Once the plastic is removed, the mirror slides downwards and off. Not knowing this was a spooky experience as it actually fell in my lap. Eeeek!

* With the mirror removed you'll see TWO connectors, not the expected ONE. With no schematic found, it became an exercise in trial & error. That was a dilemma. Which connector shall I use? The larger connector was fairly easy to remove....but the other, smaller clip was impossible for me to get out of there. I finally gave up and decided to use the larger connector;

* I was able to find ground (multimeter test)...it is black/brown and the red wire is hot on opposite ends of the connector. Not surprising but read on...

* These wires don't turn off with the ignition! I triple-checked all the wires in the connector. I finally decided to manually turn on/off the radar detector and use the hot wire.

* Tightened the bolts on the mount and hooked-up...all works fine.

Some here may have either inside knowledge on Toyota's wiring and/or experience with these mirrors which would make this all much easier. Until then, maybe this will help.

 

[kurumi]

(Cross-posted)

BlendMount manufactures a pretty nice bracket for installing a radar detector beneath the interior mirror. I picked one up for my Belltronics unit and made the better part of a day working with it.

First the BlendMount is a quality item...flat-black, all metal and very sturdy (unlike the cheapy plastic brackets--and no, I'm neither an employee nor am I getting anything free here. It tends to be a little on the pricey side especially when you add in the taps for the electrical hookup.

In case you've been contemplating this, be prepared for considerably more time than you'd anticipate. Here are the surprises:

* The plastic housing against the windshield, surrounding the mirror base, is TWO pieces. It doesn't separate easily as there are three clips in the center (inside) holding the two halves together. Just knowing it parts in the middle would have saved me 1/2 hour;

* Once the plastic is removed, the mirror slides downwards and off. Not knowing this was a spooky experience as it actually fell in my lap. Eeeek!

* With the mirror removed you'll see TWO connectors, not the expected ONE. With no schematic found, it became an exercise in trial & error. That was a dilemma. Which connector shall I use? The larger connector was fairly easy to remove....but the other, smaller clip was impossible for me to get out of there. I finally gave up and decided to use the larger connector;

* I was able to find ground (multimeter test)...it is black/brown and the red wire is hot on opposite ends of the connector. Not surprising but read on...

* These wires don't turn off with the ignition! I triple-checked all the wires in the connector. I finally decided to manually turn on/off the radar detector and use the hot wire.

* Tightened the bolts on the mount and hooked-up...all works fine.

Some here may have either inside knowledge on Toyota's wiring and/or experience with these mirrors which would make this all much easier. Until then, maybe this will help.

The hot wire shuts off after 6 minutes when you lock the car doors. I used this for my Escort 360c. As for my dash cam, I used the F46 location (since I don't use the cigarette lighter) and a Cellink NEO battery to have it not drain the car battery.

 

[akasonny]

The hot wire shuts off after 6 minutes when you lock the car doors. I used this for my Escort 360c. As for my dash cam, I used the F46 location (since I don't use the cigarette lighter) and a Cellink NEO battery to have it not drain the car battery.

Thanks for that info.

I didn’t hang out watching the RD for 6 mins...I will now. They don’t draw a tremendous amount of current but still...

I also don’t recall if the Belltronics has an auto-shutoff...gotta check that.

I don’t use a dash cam but I’m pretty sure lots of others do.

 

[65sohc]

I honestly think all these mirror installations and the attendant wiring adventures look much worse than simply suction cupping the device to the base of the windshield , running the cord down to the cig lighter and calling it a day. Or rather calling it a minute. That's what I did with my Valentine 1 and am very happy. It results in zero obstruction of the precious forward vision and the vertical screen hides much of the cord.

 

[akasonny]

The hot wire shuts off after 6 minutes when you lock the car doors. I used this for my Escort 360c. As for my dash cam, I used the F46 location (since I don't use the cigarette lighter) and a Cellink NEO battery to have it not drain the car battery.

Six minutes confirmed. Thats a bit of a load off my mind. Thanks again.

 

[65sohc]

I must mention that the unit is always on, but I daily drive my car (to avoid withdrawal) and I doubt the overnight draw is significant.

 

[consultadrone]

I must mention that the unit is always on, but I daily drive my car (to avoid withdrawal) and I doubt the overnight draw is significant.

if you’re plugged into the cigarette/DC outlet, then it only stays powered on for ~6 minutes after shutdown. So it’s not always on so no worries about battery drain. I’m hard-wired into that circuit and it’s no problem.

BTW- your radar placement May be blocking rearward protection due to the multimedia screen (ask me how I know). Before I hard-wired, I moved my V1 up to the top of the windshield and rear signal scanning was restored. Plus it’s easier to reach.

 

[65sohc]

I hadn't even considered the rear reception but obviously the center screen is blocking it. Thanks.

 

[akasonny]

I hadn't even considered the rear reception but obviously the center screen is blocking it. Thanks.

Here's the end-result with Blend mount. The RD isn't really blocking the view...I don't even notice it:

 

[wesupra]

Here is my end result with blendmount+escort m1 dashcam+uniden r7

 

[roadtripper]

Hardwired my V1, finally. Far easier than I thought it would be. For those interested, I used a simple add-a-circuit to fuse F46 in the front panel. It powers the 12v accessory socket exclusively. Stays on for a few minutes after car shutdown, but does turn off. The cord tucked nicely behind the headliner and down the A-pillar without needing to remove anything other than the fuse door cover.

Thanks for the info for this install, I assume you ran the wires down the pillar along the windshield. I had a little difficulty fishing the wire down below the dash. just had to keep trying till it found it's way down. Thanks again!

 

[consultadrone]

Thanks for the info for this install, I assume you ran the wires down the pillar along the windshield. I had a little difficulty fishing the wire down below the dash. just had to keep trying till it found it's way down. Thanks again!

I actually turned the corner and ran it down the pillar under the window molding, but your way is probably a lot easier. I used a trim tool to push the wire.

I did update my install following @30MilesOffshore's install, using the F47 fuse location with low amp fuses instead of the F46 location. He did a great writeup just a little way back in this thread.

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