Can someone let me know how to hard wire a radar detector into my truck. I dont want the cord anymore and I like the idea of it turning on when my truck does. Is there a "how to" out there.

Thanks Jake

 

I'd like to know too.

 

You would have to find an ignition based 12V source. The cig lighter wont work b/c its always on.You could tap into the 12V wire goin into the headunit and it would work fine.

 

wqell lets make this a little different. Where are you mounting this? and will you be able to remove it when you go over state lines? Some states have laws against them.

 

I am going to mount it to the wind shield and it will be removeable. Anyone else?

 

take apart your underdash shroud and look for the ignition harness youll see a gray with yellow striped wire thats your accessory wire run your power side of your power cord to that fused of course maybe a 5A fuse? and ground your wire to the metal plate that covers all that stuff

 

ok there should be a circular hole in your defroster pannel on the right{the big black pannel on top of the dash}. you can sen your wire threw there. send it down by the airbag then over towards the pass kick pannel using a wire in there.. or the other way towards the radio. then wire it to the radio's + and-.
but it depends on where you want to send it. the radio usaly is the best cause of the ease of acess.

 

^^^ you can goto the radio or fuse panel but if something should pop the fuse youll have no radio or whatever fuse you went to accessory wire is always the best bet for power

 

I did this to mine.

Mounted it down low on the dash and ran my wire between the wind sheild and where the dash meets up. No need to take it apart. Just get a flashlight and flip down you glove box all the way and look for it. Pull it through. Now you can put it on a fuse. I have a power wire for my strobes and blue lights that constent power and I just tapped into that. So Its always on. You would have to find your aux wire or whatever its called. zabeard did it to his ask him what wire it is.

 

Because I didn't want to cut the facory coaxial wiring of the detector or the cig. lighter plug, I just bought a new cig lighter socket for like $2 at walmart and located that under the dash. I ran the wire where the windshield and dash meet up to the drivers side and have the new cig lighter hooked up there. I then removed the Ford factory cig lighter and filled the hole with a round LED switch from walmart and it looks pretty good. If you get the +12v from your cig. lighter power, it should already be fused in the truck harness so you don't have to worry about adding another fuse. This way I can remove the detector in about 30 seconds and put it in another truck if I am going with someone on a road trip or something.

 

like everyone else has said, find a 12v source, ground, and throw a switch in...


im assuming you don't have a smart cord so mute should not be and issue for you

 

even if you do have a smart cord escort makes a direct wire kit that has the mute button and warning light module on the wire so you dont sacrafice that comfert.

 

Any one have a pic of the place i need to hard wire it into. I diagram of the fuse box?

I have no idea were to start.

 

Ditto I have that one but I wish I got just the wire since I dont use the mute button I disabled x band so it does not go off all the time.

 

I spliced mine into the headlight **** and it goes off like 20 minutes after the truck does

 

yea that would have been my point...

 

http://youtube.com/watch?v=twC5pCQYC90

 

I stuck my radar detector at the top of the windshield, above the mirror for best reception. For power, a ran a new lead off of the battery (mostly for radios but I used this same wire), ran the wire into a relay. From the relay, into a 3 outlet 12v plug in the glove box. The relay is triggered by the power for the radio, so whenever the radio is on the 12v plug is on in the glove box. Then I made a longer cord for the radar detector, plugged it in inside the glove box, ran the cord to the drivers side, up the a piller, above the headliner and out the front right into the windshield.
Only visible wire is the 2" out of the detector, it turns on and off with the radio, plus I have a switched 12v plug out of sight.

 

Just now got to doing this. I was busy with school and what not (just an excuse).

I tried to wire it into my fuse panel like I did my OHC and it didnt work. ( I just stuck the wires into the fuse slot and then put a fuse in it) I even used the same fuse as my OHC. Why will that method not work?