MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

i just installed my radar detector and i decided to share the info. i didnt like the fat wire hanging from the lighter, or wiring into the dome light so that i would have to turn the detector on and off manually. im lazy.....i forget.....i can drain the battery if i leave it on. ne way i hooked it up so the radar detector turns on when the car turns on and turns off when the car is shut off. (lazy man with a brain...kinda)
im thinking of having the radar detector be turned on/off using the dimming buttons on the rear view mirror. but this is for a later time.

first of all.....theres a clip the plugs into the mirror which controls the 3 garage door openers and the mirror dimming controls. this has 3 wires in tubing and is covered by a nifty looking plastic piece. this peace is easily taken off by holding it at the top and bottom ends and pushing them together. this piece will go in intself (as in overlap) and come off VERY easily. dont be violent with it....its sensative. this pic shows the top part of this piece already disconnected. do this first

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

next
dissconnet the clip the plugs into the rear view mirror.
now here comes a tricky part.
put a small hole in the TUBING only and make sure it is far up so when u put the cover piece back on, the hole doesnt show. DONT put holes or mess up the wires.
run 2 wires into this hole and out to where the clip is. this is what it SHOULD look like.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

next
move the tubing up as to give u some working room. dont cut the tubing....u shouldnt have to.
there are 3 wires showing. a SOLD BLACK wire.....THIS IS THE NEGATIVE TERMINAL. cut this wire and reconnect it only this time adding one of the extra wires you just ran threw. label the wires so you know which is positive and which is negative.
the RED wire WITH a BLACK STRIPE is the POSITIVE TERMINAL. cut this wire and reconnect it with the 2nd and final wire u just brought threw. make sure u cut these wires far enogh up so that they wont show when u bring down the tubing. and dont use too much electric tape or too thick of wire this way the original black tubing will be able to fit over the wires without cutting or adding ne thing. the clip has to rows where wires go in. the black and red wire are on the same row on the clip. the third wire is not needed. heres what the finished product looks like

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

next
run the tubing back over the wires.
this should cover just about everything.

next
run your wire along the top end of the car. you should b easily able to just stuff the wire in without taking anything off.
next take off the side panel next to the door. just pull straight out it should snap off.
this way u can put the fuse holder inside. if u dont have a fuse holder with ur rader then u dont need to pop off the side panel.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

next
put the fuse inside the panel and close the panel

next
run the wire down the side panel just by pushing it is. pretty simple.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

next
cut off any extra wire
hook the 2 wires up to the plug of the radar detector.

next
test it to make sure its working right.
plug in the detector and turn the the car......(make sure the radar detector is on already)......if it turns on when the car is on and shuts off when the car is off, then u did GOOD.

if nothing happens.....try switching the pos and neg wires....u might have them hooked up backwards.

if nothing still doesnt happen......u messed up pretty bad somewhere.

if ur radar detector stays on regardless to when the car is on and off, then u spliced into the WRONG wire going into the mirror.
heres the finished product.....no wires showing

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

this shouldnt take longer then 30 minutes or so. just be carefull. and im not responsible if u fry something because u didnt listen to me

nothing broke with me, and everyting worked on the first try.
its not as complicated as it sounds, and it is worth it....for me ne way. just pace yourself.

oh if you have any questions....let me know
peace

ZRiCaN

iTrader: (1)

Sunset- I am not knocking your idea, seems well thought out. But I too installed my radar to turn on and off with car. My radar detector came with the lighter plug and a hard wiring plug. All the hard wiring plug is same as the other but the end has an inline fuse on power and a ground wire with bare ends. I just put the power one in with one of the fuses thats only on when the car is (the lighter plug in my case) and ran the ground around a screw thats goes into the metal frame. I tuck the wires inside the plastic that goes around the windshield. took 10 min and same effect and you don't have to worry about taking anything apart just the fuse panel cover.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

true that is another option, but the whole point for me was to avoid opening any fuse boxes....and im trying to work it into the mirrors dimming controls.
when i get around to it...not now.

dreamznblu

I am trying to get rid of the ugly plug running up to my lighter plug but my detector didn't come w/ a hardwiring kit. I wouldn't mind putting it in the fuse box as u had suggested. Can u buy an adapter that replaces the cigarette lighter plug?

FLY BY Z

Just cut the end off the lighter plug.

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

no, thats not a good idea...the lighter plug has a built in fuse most of the time. u can cut the lighter plug out, but there is a risk of burning the radar detector is case of a power spike. no cars dont get huge power spikes, but it doesnt take much to fry a radar detector.

try disecting the radar detector plug. if there is a fuse then u need to add one on....if not then your ok.

bastard

Just go to radio shack and get a replacement lighter/power plug. Then you can plug the detector's plug into that and connect the wires from the power plug like you would do with a hardwiring kit and stuff the plug under the dash somewhere.

FLY BY Z

Even if you run it to a fuse in the fuse box that would pop before the detector? Wouldn't that be the same thing?

MySunset350Z

iTrader: (23)

it depends on the rating of the fuse and how big of a power spike you get.
lets say (as an example) the fuse for the radar detector is rated at 3amps. the fuse box has a bunch of different amp ratings. a too low of a fuse (say 2 or 1 amp) would pop even though the detector isnt in danger of blowing out. a too high of a fuse rating (say 5 or 10amp) would not pop at all and the power spike would reach your detector and fry it.

this depends on how "big" the power spike is. but its always better to have the right fuse rating for whatever electrical component your running. so ya if you do have a detector with the same fuse rating as one of your fuses in the fuse box, then you are good to go.

peace

Chief F1 Fan

iTrader: (1)

so, i tried hardwiring my V1 last nite doing it the same way I did for my CL-S (red=hot, black=grnd) on my Roadster and no worky! Ideas? I turned on car, turned on V1 and kept looking for a ground to make it turn on. Still no luck. Help?!!!
andThanks

Vlad

if search worked you'd find TONNS of topics on how to hardwire detectors. Most people either do it to cigaret lighter fuse on fuse box or to the mirror wire itself... Depends who want's to mess with what. Both are swithcing off with the car, of course

onecoolee

There are many MANY ways to hardwire your detector, and the only requirement for the ON/OFF condition you describe in this thread is taht the 12v source (Vcc) be applied only when the ignition is on...there are alot of wires floating around, in the radio compartment, the cigarette lighter, at the fuse panel etc, jsut use a meter and find one--if you don't have a meter, get a 12v test light... when you find a wire that is on when ignition is on, turn the key off, the light will go out... presto, the same thing. I belive that the wires to the mirror controls are 12v all the time, so you can get a ground wire there, but not the ignition wire...

Also, your radar detector will not draw enough current to trip any fuses...the fuse is there for protection of itself only, and if you wire it to an already loaded down circuit, it will not load it down to the point of needing to change the fuse to a higher rating (a bad idea anyways).

Do a search for "hardwired" here and I am sure that you will find several posts about hardwiring detectors that will be even easier to follow than this thread...I did one awhile back, but didn't keep the link. I did wire mine to the fuse panel. Also, there is never a need to cut any wires, jsut get a wire tap connector or crimp on splice and you can tap the wire without making any cuts and having to rewire things...ratshack sells them for $2 or so...

KPierson

iTrader: (1)

I personally would NEVER use a test light in this car, or any other car. In the Z/Gs I would say about 80% of the wires go back to either the ECU or BCM. Both units can be permanently damaged by using test lights. Also, be careful using the power wires that go up to the mirror. Almost every switched source is controlled by the BCM. Your best bet is to use the ignition wire in the ignition harness coming off of the key switch. Going to the fuse box is not a bad idea either, just not very professional imo. Also, fuses arn't there to protect your radar detector from spikes, they are there to protect your car from the radar detector! 99% of the time when a radar detector, or other similar device, goes bad they short out. When this happens, it doesn't matter if you have a 1amp fuse or a 20amp fuse the short will pull >600amps and blow the fuse almost instantatiously.

Kevin

onecoolee

alot of people don't know how to use a meter...so a 12v test light is the only cheap alternative, especially for the people without the factory service manual...if you have the fsm, just find the wire location and color and splice/tap your new wiring. If not, then you have to resort to finding the proper wire by probing with test leads. The bottom line is, if people are worried about screwing something up, they shouldn't be probing or cutting wires and splicing things in to begin with So whehter they use a test light or a meter, there is always some risk involved.

As far as my fuse explanation goes, I admit, it was not worded properly. I should have stated that the fuse is intended to blow when the fuse's current rating is exceeded, and this in turn protect itself from drawing too much current and protects the system from supplying the current the device is demanding...I hope this makes more sense. I never meant to say that the fuse is only for protecting itslef, but that the way I worded it (a poor choice of wording)... thanks for clarifying.

By the way, how are the window remote control circuits coming along ? I am dying to get one !