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radar detector


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DA_Lawrence 
Member - Posts: 2
Member spacespace
Joined: June 21, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: June 21, 2002 at 9:14 AM / IP Logged  

i have a radar detector that came with the standard cig adaptor.  but i want to hard wire the detector to the car so that when i turn the ignition, the detector comes on.  how should i go about wiring this?

HotRod53F100 
Copper - Posts: 84
Copper spacespace
Joined: May 12, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: June 21, 2002 at 7:24 PM / IP Logged  

It's an easy job, Radio Shack sells the connector to fit, take your old one as a guide. Solder the plug onto a long piece of 2 wire, 16 or 18 gauge will work just fine. My detector has a diagram right on it to show that the center of the plug is the +12. Most cars have a cig lighter that has no power when the ignition is off, this is the circuit that you want. You can check this by trying to heat up the lighter with the key off. If you have no places to tap into the accessory circuit, you can come right off of the wire to the cig lighter. Radar detectors draw very little current, you can tap into the acc circuit just about anywhere. I would suggest adding an inline fuse for protection. I have a Jeep Grand Cherokee and I put the detector above my mirror, tucked the wire under the headliner, removed the A Pillar post cover and put the wire behind there, dropped the wire down under the dash, and wired into the cig lighter under the dash. It sure is nice having it there when I need it and it looks like it belongs there. Maybe posting what kind of a vehicle would bring more detailed info on removing the A pillar cover ect. My Jeep just snapped in but yours may be different.

HotRod
GlassWolf 
Copper - Posts: 365
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 22, 2002
Location: South Carolina, United States
Posted: June 24, 2002 at 1:16 AM / IP Logged  
when I wire mine directly, I use a pair of wire-splices (the little blue crush-on jobs) and wire the detector cord into the fuse-box or at an accessory pont, like the cig-lighter harness, and wire to ground, and ignition-accessory, so it turns on and off with the ignition.
Just personal preference though.
-GlassWolf
Pioneer Stage-4, Orion, DynAudio, Fi
DA_Lawrence 
Member - Posts: 2
Member spacespace
Joined: June 21, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: June 24, 2002 at 12:15 PM / IP Logged  
thanks...i have a 1999 civic 2d ex.  i was able to just tuck the cable under the a pillar (without having to remove it).  initially i wired directly to the battery (as i am not great on patience and i figured it'd take a while to get some replies).  this worked alright, but the detector will stay on even after the ignition is off, so that was not going to be kosher.  i rewired it to the cig lighter like was suggested and it works perfectly.  thanks again.
Motts 
Member - Posts: 1
Member spacespace
Joined: June 25, 2002
Location: United States
Posted: June 26, 2002 at 12:06 AM / IP Logged  
I’m about to install a radar detector and have very little clue on what to do. I think I follow almost everything HotRod mentioned in the above post, but I still have a few questions.
I’m assuming the wire that plugs into the radar detector can be clipped free of the actual cigarette lighter adapter and I’ll be left with a positive and ground lead? From there can you simply connect the wires to any accessory and a ground? If I choose to connect the positive to the cigarette lighter can I still use the cigarette lighter for other devices or will this overload the lighter…I’m guessing that’s what the fuse is for? Also my last question is this “connector” Radio Shack sells. Did HotRod just buy an extra connector so that the chord that originally came with the radar detector did not have to be destroyed? Thanks for the help!
GlassWolf 
Copper - Posts: 365
Copper spacespace
Joined: June 22, 2002
Location: South Carolina, United States
Posted: June 26, 2002 at 3:06 PM / IP Logged  
yes. just snip off the lighter plug and wire the 2 leads (correctly in regards to polarity!) to chassis ground and +12V accessory lines.
that's all there is to it
-GlassWolf
Pioneer Stage-4, Orion, DynAudio, Fi

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