something i'd been meaning to do for awhile was hide the wire for my radar detector... i didn't want to go out and buy a new one (though i did anyway--more on this later) that was cordless, so i set about re-wiring my current one.

i removed the center console and disconnected all the wires and lightbulbs in there. i had an idea not just to hide the wire and leave the 12V connector exposed but to splice the wire from the radar detector directly into the wires that power my 12V outlet. time to get crazy.

this brought up a few problems:

1. making sure i got the POS and NEG right (which i didn't--more on this later).
2. adding a fuse to the line.
3. hiding the fuse as well.
4. hiding the additional wiring.

first off i set out to do a test as to whether i could actually power the radar detector off of the spliced wires. this was a catastrophic failure as i did NOT make note of which wire was POS and which wire was NEG... i wired everything up and got some water and took a five minute break. in that time i'd forgot which wire was which and when i cranked the electrical on... *POP* *HISS* and the thing started pouring out smoke. what a newbie mistake. i couldn't believe i actually did this. worst of all was that i didn't put a fuse and holder into the line yet so my unit was pretty much toast.

so with that taken care of i ran out and bought a new radar detector. there were cordless models at my walmart... but they were all ugly and i was determined to finish my original project. down to business.

what i did was i spliced a fuse holder into my POS wire and i ran that to a $6 switch with an amber LED that i picked up at the local advance auto parts. the switch had input, output, and ground for the LED. i ran the ground wire to an already existing grounding point that had made. from there i popped out the little plastic placeholder next to my dimmer and drilled a hole in it. i mounted the switch to the placeholder and that was that.

finally i reconnected everything and gave it a try now that it was CORRECTLY wired... success! there's a few inches of wire visible before the new wire disappears under my dash. from there it runs under panels and under my steering column into the center column where it is spliced into the 12V. the switch lights up yellow (to match the car!) when it is activated and it works perfectly to shut off the detector with a flick of my finger.

i opened up the old detector and found a capacitor was totally fried... i removed it from the board and soldered on a new one and amazingly the unit appears to be fully functional. i will probably give it to my girlfriend to use in her car. not like she needs it, she rolls in a '94 sable.

sorry for the huge story but i figured you guys might think this mod is as nifty as i do.

 

Awesome Install ! very clean. Just a note for future radar detector use though they work better the higher up on the windshield you put them, thats why most guys wire them from the top down.

 

so.. closer to the headliner the better??

 

If you install your radar detector on the top it will be easier for it to pick up radar, closer to the bottom, and it will be easier to pick up Laser.

 

It seems so much effort what you did. I used the factory radar plug, cut the wire, and extended it. I spliced it into my accessory wires of the radio, so when the car turns on, the radar turns on. If I want to switch it off I just push the button on the Radar.....

Lower is good for laser (ie using the guns) Higher can detect other things. Although I didn't notice much of a difference when I moved it around and kept on heading towards one of those speed checkers.

 

Now all you need is a detector that actually works.

 

it was a lot of work but it seriously reduced clutter when it came to the 12V on the center console. i have to have my cell phone charger in the car because my wall charger is a POS and rarely works. i'm cheap and i don't want to spend the money to get a new one. i had issues with my display (half would dim out randomly and i'd need to switch it off and back on for it to work again) on the old radar detector so i wanted to be able to quickly power cycle it. the switch does just this and is not as distracting as reaching up on the detector to power cycle it.

airline: haha. the cobra ones get the job done for me. i'm not about to drop over two bills on a radar detector just yet. all i need is a few seconds warning and that's just what i get. a few seconds is enough for me to slow down to where i won't get a ticket. speed would be the only reason to get pulled over now that my straight pipes are off. my old one did the job quite well and more than paid for itself.