I finally got sick of that damn cord hanging across my dash and decided to chop up my radar detector cord and did a little re-wiring...

The detector was an Escort 8500 X50 (Best one I've owned yet) and the cigarette adapter contained a mute button and a red alarm light when radar was detected. Neat feature but a P.I.T.A. when it comes to wanting to hard wire the thing. everything turned out great though and my storage bin of my stereo dash kit came in quite handy

https://www.f150online.com/galleries...w.cfm?num=9666

 

Looks like you put some work into it.

I wired mine up to the fuse box and mounted it right under the rear view mirror then ran the wires up behind the mirror and headliner.

 

Good job, you could have gotten the hardwire kit. Looks good tho.

 

What kind of sick hybrid is that Looks quite funky while knowing there was a nipple there before.

Anyways, where did you tap into the power source? Did you just splice into a wire that was already powered (like the power for the head unit), and did you splice both the DC + and - on the same wire or do you have to run each cord to each terminals on the battery (what a noob question I know). Lastly, can you take a picture of where you soldered the dc +/- to the circuit board.

And what camera phone is that (quality images)? I have the Razr and look at my pics in my gallery :X

 

04 Red Lariat - which fuse did you tap off from? Does it now go on when you start the engine and go off when you open the door?

I just bought a Beltronics RX65 and have to figure out which fuse to hardwire it to.

Ragged05FX4 - Nice job, great pics.

 

When you say "tap from a fuse", what kind of fuse are we talking about here. Any pics?

 

From research here, I've learned that you can 'tap' off an existing fuse. Any autoparts store sells 'taps', its just a small piece of copper that connects your new device to the existing fuse. By the way, our trucks -04-06 take the mini fuses and taps.

I don't have any pictures yet (of the tap), haven't bought mine yet.

 

Yea but this took just as much time and I got to use that $30 I saved on a half tank of gas

 

Sprint Sanyo 7400, I used to sell cell phones and have had every brand and every type of phone imaginable, I just keep going back to Sanyo

 

Thanks, Yes I have the + attached to the remote turn on lead from my radio (usually used for power antennas or amplifiers) and the negitive is spliced into the negitive off my stereo. Since the detector is such a low amp draw it can easily piggy back juice from another accessory. I LOVE IT no more having to turn it on and off, it turns on when I start the truck and shuts off when I open my door.

 

I still don't see how you can tap into a fuse, the fuse I am thinking of is plastic, square and has two prongs. Lastly, you have to go all the way to the fuse box to tap into it, so why not just tap into a wire that powers another appliance.

 

I just pulled a fuse at random and pushed the wire back in with one side of the fuse prong. Yes it does stay on all the time so you will have to remember to turn it off.

I don't think just a detector will draw much from the battery. I have left mine on for a week or so and it does not have any effect on the battery.

I can get you a picture of the wire sticking in the fuse if you want.

 

Exactly, there is no reason to direct connect your detector to the fuse box or battery. Simply splice into your exisiting radio's wiring for a negative and positive lead which will give u 2 options, connecting to the always on + will do just that, and splicing into the +ACC will turn the detector on and off with the truck...

 

Exactly, that is how I have my XM wired. I tapped into the radio. When I start the truck XM turns on and when I pull the keys out of the ignition it stays on just like the radio, until someone opens a door and then it shuts of along with the radio. If I get a radar detector, I will do it that same way.

 

I got the hard wire kit with the remote mounted mute switch. I have mine up where it is at my eye level and out of the view of "the man":

I have the mute/aux warning signal mounted by my 4wd switch:

All of the wires are hidden and it makes it a little easier to see, here, and mute when needed.