I've got a 2012 Continental GT, and recently purchased an Escort 9500ix. The escort has saved me 4 times in the first few weeks I've had it, so it's already paid for itself.

I currently am supplying power to it with the included coiled power cord, but it looks terrible (running diagonally from arm rest to windshield) and I now want to look into running power from the fuse box or the rear view mirror for a cleaner, more custom appearance.

From what I have seen, there are a few options:

I can order the Smart Cord from Escort, and run it from the fuse box, up the A pillar, and through the head liner/windshield trim, but I am worried about damaging the interior trim as it is all put together so nicely.

I also could order something like this:

http://www.blendmount.com/mirrortap.html

But I am worried about taking the rear view mirror apart to get to a hot wire to tap into.

Anyone here gone thru this process and found a clean, safe way to power your radar detector?

Thanks in advance for your help and suggestions.

 

i think mirror tap is easier and less intrusive. you do need to know which wire to tap into. this will involve some experimenting. a good wire tap is very easy, just clip on the wire and plug in the power cord end. most auto supply stores have this tap. if you have a volt meter, choosing the right wire will be easier. do a search on the forums for CGT radar hardwire to see if anyone has any how to?

you can also have a good stereo shop do this for you. they'll probably charge you $50-100 and take about 15 min.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! I am going to see if I can find a good local car stereo installer who works on high end cars...I am sure it would take them no time to wire this up.

But just to satisfy my curiosity, I want to see if I can possibly do the wiretap myself, if its simple of course.

Does anyone know how to open up the housing behind the rear view mirror that holds the wiring harness and rain/light sensor? If I could easily open that, I am sure the wiring harness would be easily accessible.

 

most mirror have a plastic cover that can be pulled out to expose the wiring between the mirror housing and the headliner. not sure about the CGT.

if you are in norcal, there is a stereo shop i can recommend in San Jose. they worked on my gallardo to put in a brighter HID headlight.

 

Yes, I am in the bay area. Could I get the name of the shop? I'll give them a call and see if they can sort out a solution for me. Thanks!

 

Audio Design on Stevens Creek Blvd, about 3 miles from Santana Row. Ask for Mike, who I think is the owner.

Don't get suckered in on extra stereo or a 9500ci (built in radar from escort) while you are at it.

 

Not sure if 2012 are the same as 07 spec but pry out the oblong light at the side then push out phone mic and fake cover. You will see a torx screw in each hole which you need to undo. After which the complete housing sides forward for you to unplug and tap into a live after you have metered correct wire. Make sure you align the tabs on the covers as they are a bit annoying to install back.

See my below posts for pictures to get a better idea and confirm if its the same as mine.

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-blackbox.html

Have fun and nice ride!

J

 

Sorry it took so long for me to reply and let everyone know the outcome to my original question. I just got the wiring done this week, and could not be any happier.

In the end, after looking into a variety of ways to get power to my radar, I decided to leave it to the professionals (as many of you suggested here), so I took it to my local dealer to see who they work with and recommend. They have a well respected local high end car audio/electronics group that they trust all of their high end Audi's, Porsche's and Bentley's to. The installer had a long list of examples of installs (Bentley's, Ferrari's, Lambo's, etc) that they had recently worked on which made my simple radar install look like something they could do in their sleep.

I let them know that I wanted a totally stealthy install as I was not planning on keeping my radar installed on the windshield all the time - only when I was doing road trips or drives where I knew radar would help out. So they suggested running the wire in the headliner to come out right next to the rear view mirror stem. When I would have my radar installed on the windshield, the wire comes down about 2 inches from inside the headliner and plugs in - it looks very clean. When the radar is not installed on the windshield, they wired enough slack into the wire so it could be fed back into the headliner. The end of the wire with the connector then snugs right next to the rear view mirror stem and headliner - it is totally invisible to driver and passenger.

Finally, they installed a small remote unit in the recessed tray in front of the gear shift that includes a mute button and alert light in a much more convenient location. It is very professionally mounted and looks like it was always meant to be there, even by Bentley's standards.

In the end, I could not be happier with the install and how cleanly it blends in with my cars interior. In addition, my radar detector has saved me a number of times recently, including a few hits on I-5 where I was given at least 1 min warning before finding a CHP officer on the next on ramp radaring passing vehicles.

Thanks for all of your suggestions and information that helped me find the best solution.

 

nice, glad it worked for you. do you mind sharing which shop you went to? pm me. thanks!

 

What brand and model number did you buy?

 

I purchased the Escort 9500ix. I did tons of research between the Escort and the Valentine One. Both have excellent radar capabilities, but the thing that convinced me of the Escorts advantages is its ability to use its internal GPS system to alert drivers to red light cameras, fixed radar speed cameras and also lock out false signals without any driver intervention.

Now when I drive past my local market, or near a shopping center, my radar no longer gets falsed by automatic opening store doors since it knows it has seen the exact same signal at the exact same location three times. I don't need to manually store or mute these items - it does it for me automatically which means false radar alerts are very rare in my area now.

In addition, when I'm driving in a new area, the system warns me of known upcoming threats like red light cameras or fixed speed traps. That alone can save you $250 - red light cameras are more and more popular and are very costly.

Lastly, the escort is upgradable by simply plugging it into a computer via USB - your radar database of known threats and other system upgrades will then be upgraded. The V1 is not user upgradable and has to be sent back to Valentine for any kind of upgrade which means 1-2 weeks of no radar in your car.