[ru with me drhoo]

Found nothing on a search for this.

I'm awaiting my ordered 330i, and I'd like to avoid the coiled smart cord running up from the bottom of the console. Has anyone hard-wired a Passport? Is their wiring such that I can follow the similar installation for the Valentine One?
Another reason to do this...the suction cups have failed me on cold Chicago days, leaving the detector dangling by one or two cups...or even falling.

[jimf15e]

I hard wired it into the fuse box. Hard wiring won't have much to do with the suction cup mount, though. Hard wiring is for the electrical connections only. I basically ran the direct wire smart cord along the headliner, down into the fuse box from the passenger door area, and tapped into the Homelink fuse - plenty of juice left over, and the power cord is also fused. Just be sure you connect on the down side so that if the fuse blows the power to the detector is cut off as well. Best way to tell - pull the fuse and insert the wire into each side of the receptacle with the detector on. If it doesn't turn on, that's the side to connect it to (simulates a blown fluse). Then I ran the remote through the glove box, along the tunnel and out by the ashtray, right near the shifter, tucking all the wires into the joints to hide them completely. Very stealth and clean. I still use the suction cups though!

[ru with me drhoo]

nm

[jimf15e]

???

[Artz 330]

Listen. Get your self a Phone cable from radioshack. Prefferabley black.

1. Go to your owners manual and in the back search for manual sunroof closing, if you flip in the manual you will find it.
2. Follow the instructions for removing that Light pannel with the sos button and the over head lights and map lights. Remove that whole pannel like it shows in the manual.
3. My passport is located rear the mirror on the drivers side and works great, this is a nice concealed location.
4. Once you open the pannel you will notice lots of wiress. Look up and towards the front, you will see a bunch of thiner wires a whole bundle of them running to the Auto dimming mirror ect.
5. Locate the GREEN WHITE wire that runs to the auto dimming morror. Its easy to find it.
6. Tap into this wire. DONT CUT IT. Just splice.
7. Figure out which wire from the phone cable (Which is plugged into the passport) is the - Negative and which is the + positive.
8. Now Locate the 8 MM Bolt that connects to the frame of the car. if u look up past all the wiring you will see like a goldish/silverish Bolt. in the area you are working in.
9. Unscreen this bolt. Sand paper a small area on the bolt head because its covered with something.
10. once you have decide which is - and which is +
11. Splice the + wire from the passport into the GREEN WHITE wire
12. Now at the tip of the bolt figure wrapped the negative wire around it and screw it back into the frame.
13. Get your self a soda take a break your all done. make sure all connections are tight and secure with electrical tape.

[bpbenda]

Originally Posted by ru with me drhoo

Another reason to do this...the suction cups have failed me on cold Chicago days, leaving the detector dangling by one or two cups...or even falling.

This is a really good topic. I too have a different radar detector besides the Valentine One. I have not had my e90 very long, so I have not yet had the chance to install such. But we are definitely on the same page when it comes to hiding dangling wires and making the installation look as professional as possible.

So, here is what I plan to do and something to consider ...

At the moment, my radar detector is installed in my pickup. I too had the problem with the suction cups on the mounting bracket coming unstuck and the detector either dangling from the windshield or falling into the floorboard and eventually under the seat. This was extremely annoying.

I don't know what your mouting bracket looks like, but the answer for me came in removing the suction cups from the bracket. This left me a thin piece of metal that I could then wedge between the windshield and the headliner. This was a great fix for me because not only is the radar detector never going to fall down again, but I was able to move it out of plain sight and my field of vision.

When I first slipped the mounting bracket between the windshield and the headliner and the detector on the bracket, it had the device pointing up at like a 45 degree angle. Obviously, you don't want this. So, to fix this just bend the bracket until the detector sits level with the plane of the road, shooting straight out the windshield and the back window.

This leaves you with the fun part, hiding the wires. In order to do this you will need a DC power extension cord. I picked one up a long time ago at my local Radio Shack.

You will want to start by spending about 10-20 minutes bending and straightening the detector's coiled power cord. You won't ever get it perfectly straight, but the idea here is to do the best you can so as to make it as easy as possible to run it where desired. The power cord will run from the detector, which should be installed somewhere in the vicinity of the rearview mirror, and be tucked between the windshield and the headliner to the upper-right hand corner of the windshield.

In my truck, from there, the power cord runs down behind the plastic window frame cover that runs along the right side of the windshield. I got it behind there, again, by simply finding a place to tuck the cord and applying a little pressure to get it to pop behind. This is kind of like tucking a wire between the carpet and the baseboards in your house. However, on the e90, I don't know if it is going to be possible to slip the cord like I have described here. So, if that is not possible or easy to do, you can open the door and run the wire behind the weather strip. I have gotten my finger in there without issue, so I know that this method will definitely work.

The idea is to get the power cord to the glovebox. Once you get to this point, you are most likely going to have to use the DC extension. You want to run the cord into the glove compartment. On my truck, I was able to pull the glovebox out and actually run the cord through the back of the compartment without exposing the wires in the actual box itself. The cord will exit the glove compartment at the bottom on the left and be tucked and routed to the cigarette lighter on the right front of the center console where the ashtray is located.

On my truck, as you can see from the photo, the cigarette lighter is located on the left side of the radio console. In order to hide the wire, I removed the radio faceplate and pinched the wire out just below the DC power source. I provide these pictures so that you can see that it is possible to hide the power cord. In my truck, the power cord is not at all visible and the installation appears 100% professional (aside from the fact that it is plugged into the cigarette lighter and not actually hardwired).

And, finally, it should be noted that detector reception is perfect even though the device is installed directly behind the protective (blue) tint at the top of my windshield.

I will be doing this same installation in the e90 soon. I will make sure that I post detailed instructions and pictures.

In the meantime, I hope this helps.

[Vanilla Sky]

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...2&postcount=29

this is what i'll be following when my 330i is delivered

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by Vanilla Sky

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...ighlight=break

this is what i'll be following when my 330i is delivered

How is this any different from V1 DIY instruction we have available in E90POST?

My V1 is hardwired just like that. Really, you don't need "instruction" to install this. All you need help on, is how to take that goddamn overhead light panel. After that, its straight forward. Tap into green/white wire going to the rear view mirror, ground it to the hex bolt, and you are done.

[Vanilla Sky]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

How is this any different from V1 DIY instruction we have available in E90POST?

My V1 is hardwired just like that. Really, you don't need "instruction" to install this. All you need help on, is how to take that goddamn overhead light panel. After that, its straight forward. Tap into green/white wire going to the rear view mirror, ground it to the hex bolt, and you are done.

i havent seen the e90post diy, so i wouldnt know. the poster wanted a write up.. i supplied it. just trying to be helpful

[lux.sh]

Originally Posted by Vanilla Sky

i havent seen the e90post diy, so i wouldnt know. the poster wanted a write up.. i supplied it. just trying to be helpful

Oh, you wrote that DIY?

I was just simply saying that there is a good write up here in E90POST also, in case you were looking hard for one.

[ru with me drhoo]

Thanks to all of you for your help!

[Vanilla Sky]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

Oh, you wrote that DIY?

I was just simply saying that there is a good write up here in E90POST also, in case you were looking hard for one.

actually i didnt make that write up.. just supplied the link

[Jason]

Originally Posted by Vanilla Sky

i havent seen the e90post diy, so i wouldnt know. the poster wanted a write up.. i supplied it. just trying to be helpful

This is the mother of DIY threads, sticky'd in this DIY forum. Enjoy

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1721

[sdorn]

Originally Posted by lux.sh

How is this any different from V1 DIY instruction we have available in E90POST?

It is better because all of the instructions and pictures are in the very first post. Plus the pictures are all clear and from the proper perspective. The one here on E90 post is 5 pages long, and that is with 40 posts per page. It must be like 7 or 8 pages long on the default setting. The instructions and good pictures are all buried in the thread. There are also a lot of out of focus pictures and pictures from weird angles that confused me more than anything. If I had to vote on which thread was more helpful, I would have to vote for the bimmerfest thread hands down. I wish I had found it before I did my install.

[jtravinski]

Originally Posted by jimf15e

I hard wired it into the fuse box. Hard wiring won't have much to do with the suction cup mount, though. Hard wiring is for the electrical connections only. I basically ran the direct wire smart cord along the headliner, down into the fuse box from the passenger door area, and tapped into the Homelink fuse - plenty of juice left over, and the power cord is also fused. Just be sure you connect on the down side so that if the fuse blows the power to the detector is cut off as well. Best way to tell - pull the fuse and insert the wire into each side of the receptacle with the detector on. If it doesn't turn on, that's the side to connect it to (simulates a blown fluse). Then I ran the remote through the glove box, along the tunnel and out by the ashtray, right near the shifter, tucking all the wires into the joints to hide them completely. Very stealth and clean. I still use the suction cups though!

I am looking to find a power source in the glove box area for my V1 hardwire. Can you give me more info on exactly what fuse you used? All the ones I found were always on. If you could show me a pic with the fuse you selected marked in some way, that would be very helpful. Thanks!

[darkcloud]

I got an idea. Buy the Solo S2. It works great and runs on batteries so no wires. Problem solved completely.