Hardwiring a Valentine Radar Detector

[NOLES187]

I swear that I have never seen anything like the Valentine Radar Detector MSRP $499 But it is worth every penny. I have taken a few trips with my buddy using his Valentine in my truck and that thing starts beeping thirty seconds before you will ever even see the cop....plenty of time to slow down...and not only that it tells you if they are in front or behind you or to the side. It also identifies the band that it is picking up with certains audible noises to let you know which band without looking at the unit. This thing has already saved us both a lot of money in speeding tickets. This is going to be purchased when I get my alarm system as well. Does anyone have pics of a unit hardwired?

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[neuspeed5]

It will never pick up a vehicle pace. Watch your mirrors.

[NOLES187]

what do you mean pick up a vehicle pace?

[texaspyro21]

meaning an unmaked following right behind you, getting your speed off his speedomter, ie the old school way.

[anthny2040]

the "old school way" never will hold up in court.

[jenningsjh56]

I wired my Valentine in at the overhead lights. I ran the wires in the overhead lights. It shuts off when the overhead lights shut off. Just be careful the module that the valentine plugs into is about as big as a half of a roll of quarters. So make sure and tape it into a slot that will not damage your roof.

[WaWaTuSi]

Attached to the compass under the mirror and the remote unit is under the speedo.

[NOLES187]

Originally Posted by WaWaTuSi

Attached to the compass under the mirror and the remote unit is under the speedo.

wow I really like how you have everything set up. What is the remote unit under the speedo? what does it do? does it come with the valentine? Also what kind of phone is that. It looks like the BlackJack which is what I have. How did you get it to sit like that? I would love to talk to you more. Thanks for all your help!

[nditech]

I'll stick with my CB it tells me miles in advance. Nothing like knowing 10miles in advance. The last radar detector I had was cobra a long time ago and had way to many false alarms. I’m sure they have come a long way since then but my CB cost was only 120.00 with the ant and it has paid for its self over the last 10yrs. Just my .02 cents. Of coarse it doesn’t do any good when you’re the only one on the road. Good luck with the install though.

[kuruption]

Originally Posted by NOLES187

I swear that I have never seen anything like the Valentine Radar Detector MSRP $499 But it is worth every penny. I have taken a few trips with my buddy using his Valentine in my truck and that thing starts beeping thirty seconds before you will ever even see the cop....plenty of time to slow down...and not only that it tells you if they are in front or behind you or to the side. It also identifies the band that it is picking up with certains audible noises to let you know which band without looking at the unit. This thing has already saved us both a lot of money in speeding tickets. This is going to be purchased when I get my alarm system as well. Does anyone have pics of a unit hardwired?

Sorry, no pics, but I can explain how I did mine...

The connector cable is just a telephone cable, so this makes it easy to take some standard phone cord and cut to length to minimize excess cable behind your dash.

The basic idea is to mount the radar detector as high as possible, so I mounted mine to the right of my rear view mirror at the near top of the windshield. It's without obstruction as long as the passenger side sun visor is up, otherwise the rear-facing laser sensor is partially covered from laser signals coming from the right side of the vehicle.

From there, I ran the phone cable to the passenger side A-pilar, down the A-pilar, across the inside of the dash behind the center stack (radio, HVAC, etc). There we have the constant power (from the cig lighter or radio) and the ignition wire (from behind the radio).

I used a 12V 30A relay, wired up the radar detector to be powered by the 12V constant power from my cig lighter, but turned on and off by the ignition (this is why the relay was used).

Then, I also used the ValOne remote unit and mounted it near my right knee on the dash panel using some double-sided tape (Radio Shack). This was also a standard telephone wire, so it was cut and stripped to be just long enough for the installation. The wire runs to under the steering wheel and then back behind the dash to the center stack. The unit is viewable through the steering wheel when driving straight, obstructed when turning, but who speeds while turning? The button on the remote unit is within reach without leaning over too far (an inch or two). I could make it without a lean if I moved it up the panel a bit.

[ELVATO]

You could try invisicord.com. It draws power from the auto-dimming mirror.

Or you can use a telephone chord as some have suggested.

Not, sure, but I thought V1 came with hardwire kits. Don't rememeber. If you're going to tap into your fuse box, you can get an Add-a-circuit from an auto store. They're like 5 dollars and will make wiring in the radar detector alot easier.

Just a random fact, but the Escort/Beltronics and the V1 both use the same power connector (a telephone jack). So, if you ever change your V1 for a Belscort (you prolly won't ) you can use the same hardwire system.

Or, if you want to go into the ignition harness (like I did for my LPP) you can use an inline splicer and tap into the 12V wire. It turns on and off with the vehicle. I think it was green with a black stripe for my Expedition. You could even leave it to where you can hardwire other accesories in the future

[cskrmetti]

Originally Posted by WaWaTuSi

Attached to the compass under the mirror and the remote unit is under the speedo.

Not to bring up old stuff but how did you mount the V1 to the mirror? Did you have a custom mount or double sided tape or what?

[jhaskin4]

Does anyone know the right pins (wiring diagram) to use for the invisicord on the 2009 F150 (Platinum if that makes a difference)? My multimeter pins are too large to test with.....

Thanks, Jim

[carolinaboy32]

Sorry not to diss another radar detector but My friend had A V1 and he traded it for a Escort passport....That thing is sweet i have one now too the x50 the new one is even sicker...V1s haven't updated their software in like 10 years (so i've read on RD articles) just my .02 love mine hope installation goes well !

[jhaskin4]

Not sure why the response was a passport ad....but I got mine working - will post photo's. Love the mirror mount and short wiring.