powderbrak

I had previously requested help in finding switched 12 volts in the ceiling panel, but I found it in the mirror connector. Here's how I did it.

1) remove cover on mirror wiring by pulling to theside and downwards. It is a two piece assembly, one part clamps to the mirror support on the windshield, the other slides up and down to hide the wire going up into the roof.
The connector is now exposed. The Grey wire on the left is +12 volts when the ignition is ON, and the White/Black stripe next to it is the Ground.

2) I made up a wire harness froma phone cord. I installed a Bel Pro 500. ( the same wire can be used for a Valentine 1) The Red wire is +12 volts, and the Greeen wire is Ground. On the end that connects to the detector, looking at the wires from the side of the connector that does not have the latch, and with the wires going downwards and the connector pointed up, the colors are :
from left to right, Yellow, Green, Red, Black.
I soldered a 1 amp fuse in line with the red wiire, and soldered some small pins on the ends of the wires, and covered the joints with heat shrink tubing. The wiring harness is about 15 inches long, and the pins stick out about 1/2 inch.

3) The pins then are inserted into the connector alongside the Grey and White/Black wires, making contact with the internal parts of the connector. ( the Red wire of the harness goes to Grey, the Green wire of the harness goes to White/Black) They are not a tight fit, so after you have routed the wires up into the roof, keep a loop of wire at the connector to insure the pins stay in place.Pull the roof liner down and push the wires up under it. They will stay there OK. Replace the cover assembly by snapping into place, you may have to pull outwards on the cover to help it snap into place.

4) I mounted the detector with the suction cups. I have done this on may cars, both with Bel and Valentine 1 units. The V1's have the best suction cups, they last for many years, the Bel cups need to be replaced more frequently, but are available at any hobby/craft store. I mounted the detector on the right side of the mirror, as this is my wife's car and she doesn't like in front of her.

I bought the Bel Pro 500 for its Auto-Mute feature, as well as for the ability to block out signals based on GPS coordinates. This is for my wife's car, as she really doesn't like radar detectors, and the Bel 's auto mute makes it acceptable to her. I use the V1's in my own cars. So far it seems to be working well.

5) Sources for a harness are;

http://www.invisicord.com/

txes

Great!

Now I can use my Invisicord powered Escort Solo.

Been the pits having to put new batteries in it every couple of weeks. I always forget to turn it off.

Had it on my Infiniti and it worked great. Infiniti had a RJ11 plug that was exposed. Made it simple.

John

Mike728

That came out nice! Thanks for sharing all the details.

txes

Thanks to you it only took 3 minutes to remove the cover, hook up
my Invisicord and replace the cover!

No more batteries for the Escort Solo.

Thanks for your great tutorial.

John

powderbrak

I have done it the long way, i.e. running down the A pillar, across the dash, down the side of the dash to a fusebox, and it is a real pain in the rear. When power became available at the mirror, it really made things easier.
I am happy that it helped you connect your detector. The best part of these car forums is the help you can give to one another.
Jerry

lamikela1

Powderbrak thanks for sharing this as I need to set up my Escort on my 2013 and this will save me some valuable time.