Accessory wiring?

[ZAL81]

Has anyone used the accessory wiring under the coin holder in their car to wire in a cig lighter plug for their radar detector? I tried to wire mine in tonight and kept blowing fuses. I tried wiring in to constant hot and hot only in run and i would blow the utility fuse or the cig lighter fuse everytime I plug my detector in? Do I have a crossed wire or what. I HATEad electrial problems. Zane

 

[Ken]

Zane, I hard-wired my Valentine to the hot lead on the window switch with no problem. That way when the ignition was shut off it ensured that the power was killed to that device. One less thing to worry about draining the battery.

_ken

 

[69MyWay]

Has anyone used the accessory wiring under the coin holder in their car to wire in a cig lighter plug for their radar detector? I tried to wire mine in tonight and kept blowing fuses. I tried wiring in to constant hot and hot only in run and i would blow the utility fuse or the cig lighter fuse everytime I plug my detector in? Do I have a crossed wire or what. I HATEad electrial problems. Zane

Zane, there is an easy way to do this.

Get about a 12-16 gauge single strand wire about five feet long, and a good self tapping zip screw, and a test light.

Now, get your philips head screw driver, a cold drink (or a hot one if it is cold outside), and pop open the passenger door. Pop the fuse panel cover off.

Remove the upper trim piece that runs on the upper windshield frame and the rear view mirror.

Now, pick a fuse (like the stereo, or a/c blower). Pop the fuse out of the holder and with the key on/off make sure it only has power with the key on. Probe test the side of the fuse plug that is the "fused side" In other words, with the fuse out, only one side will have power. Strip our wire back, and tuck it into the fused side, and push the fuse in so that it jams the wire in place.

Now, thread the wire up the side dash, tuck it into the side windshield trim, and run it across the upper frame to about where the rear view mirror goes. Cut about 6 inches off the wire, strip the end back, and crimp a spade terminal splice on one end. Run the zip screw through the windshield frame and attach that wire end under that zip screw.

Now you have a 12 volt fused key on wire, and a ground.

Now, test your radar detector wire by plugging it into power, then probing the plug end that goes into the detector with the test light. Identify which wire is power and ground. cut your cig lighter plug off, cut the wire to the right length, and splice it to your new wires.

Tuck it all up nice and neat, and replace the upper trim and rear view mirror making sure not to pinch the power wire with the trim screws.

Put the fuse cover plate back on, close the door, put your tools away, and enjoy your cold/hot drink, because now you have a dedicated detector wire that took you all of 20 minutes to install.

 

[beamer]

radar detector wiring

I used the accessory wires that are hidden under the coin holder in the console. I didn't have any problems, nor have I blown any fuses. I hooked it up that way, so that I wouldn't have the coiled plug going into my cigarette lighter. I went to radio shack and got the plug for the detector - it wasn't a radio shack detector thou. Most detectors use the same type of power plug for the input into the detector. The other end was the two wires, one hot, the other-ground. use the description in your owners manual to hook it up. I like this way - because it looks better, more professional. I ran the wire under the face plate for the shift console and up the curve of the right side of the driver's dash. Secondly - the power is off when I turn the car off.

 

[Skant]

If it's burning fuses each time, you've probably got a short in that wiring. Your detector shouldn't be drawing anywhere near enough power to blow the fuse. Perhaps an intermittent short if an exposed wire touches just sometimes. Remember that the whole chassis is grounded, so if the positive leads touch pretty much anything, it will short.

Don't bypass the fuses or anything weird like that. Fix the short.

Btw... I just did it myself and it worked fine for me, too. Even got to clean out all the fallen loose change from the center console left by the previous owner...

- Skant

 

[ZAL81]

beamer, That was what I was hoping to do- wire a cig lighter into the console wires so that i could take my detector out when i drove my 81- but i can't figure out why i keep blowing fuses? I like the look of the car with the ash tray/cupholder door closed, plus it gives me a good place to lay my cell phone! I may just have to hard wire the detector into the 94 and buy another power cord to use in the 81. I'm not giving up just yet, I hate getting beat by my own car. Zane

 

[Skant]

Sounds like a job for a volt meter. Perhaps you have the accessory plug you're installing wired backwards with the positive at the ring instead of the tip.

The one I bought from Kragen surprised me because the white wire was ground (ring) and the black wire was positive (tip). A bit strange for automotive wiring, I think. More like house wiring colors.

- Skant

 

[beamer]

radar detector wiring.

you should have no problems if you use your owners manual. I just remembered how I actually did it. I bought a replcement cigarette lighter inlet (the part that usually goes in the dash- the female) and since you could tell which one was the hot and which was the ground. The ground lead from the replacement was attacted to the body of the lighter. used the description in the manual and then I inserted the male plug from the radar detector into it. taped it together with electric tape. and then there was enough room between the end of the console and the beginning of the console box to hide it under there. like I said, I then ran the wire under the face plate and up the curve of the dash to where I wanted it exposed. the wire then is in air from the dash to the detector which is lower on the windshield. works fine.