okie981

I use the YaV1 app with my V1 and wanted a BlendMount installation below the mirror. My initial installation is on my GT4 and I'll be doing my 981 Boxster S next. Both of these cars have the auto-dimming mirror with integrated rain sensor. If you don't have the auto-dim mirror or rain sensor, the electrical connections I used may not exist or work in your vehicle.

What I used:
- V1connection for Android, V1 item 20230 (YaV1 only works with Android phones and will NOT work with the V1 item 20232 V1connection LE)
- V1 direct wire power adapter kit (item 00030 on V1 website, one of these comes with each new V1 you purchase)
- A 4 conductor, 12" length, black, flat, telephone extension cable with RJ11 connectors both ends.
- BlendMount model BV1-2021
- Various mechanic's inspection mirrors, with telescoping handles (24" minimum extension on at least one of the mirrors)
- Two male D-sub pins with pin diameter between .020" and .050" that will accept 14-16 ga. wire soldered connection (I bought a small package at Fry's Electronics)
- Patience, lots of patience

IMPORTANT: Cover your PCM, dash, and center console with towels or similar to protect from parts and tools that you may (will) drop during the process.

Photos further below, final installation pictures first, from passenger and driver side.

You first need to take the 4 plastic trim pieces off of the mirror and the B2 bomber shaped plastic cover off that is under the 2 aft-most trim pieces. This is not as hard as it seems at first. There are other threads on Rennlist and other P-car forums about how to remove these plastic pieces, here's one:

https://rennlist.com/forums/991/8047...re-of-dog.html

EDIT: Found this post that may provide some additional access to the aft side of the mirror power OEM connector, but I did not use this and have not tried it:
https://rennlist.com/forums/991/8047...l#post13459292

I took the V1 direct wire power adapter and cut the wires off shorter but left the inline fuse in the positive wire. You do NOT need to purchase the MirrorTap connection to do this installation. Save your $39. Take the male D-sub pins and solder them to the ends of the black and red wires of the V1 direct wire power adapter, using heat shrink tubing to cover the bare metal except for the male pin itself.

My third photo below shows how these are connected, red to the mirror power connector blue wire and black to the mirror power connector brown wire. Just poke the male D-sub pin in until it stops.

The fourth photo shows what the V1 direct power adapter looks like after I've made this connection, hanging down to show how long the wires are. You could trim the wires off shorter but you'd have to make another solder connection if you want to leave the 2 amp inline fuse in the positive lead. The wire length shown does not cause a problem, it all tucks in OK. Note the extension mirror in this photo. This was a breakthrough for me during this install. Extending the handle so it was resting in the passenger seat next to my leg freed up one of my hands. All this work is best accomplished sitting in the passenger seat with the seat slid forward until your knees bump the dash (almost). Wear an LED headlamp that you can focus on whatever you are working on. Having a smaller mirror is also handy at times. The mirrors are crucial for getting the OEM connector extracted from inside the headliner and installed back in afterwards. Use loops of string, flat screwdrivers of various lengths, whatever works, but the mirrors, LED headlamp and patience are crucial. It is the hardest part of this process, getting the OEM mirror power connector out of the headliner and back in again to it's original location.

Next you will create 2 power connections out of the 4-conductor cables, the one that comes with the V1 direct wire power connector and the one you purchase at wherever (Lowe's, Amazon, etc.). Cut them and solder back with heat shrink over all 4 conductors, as necessary, to produce 2 cables, each 12 inches in length. I used the cable from Valentine for the radar detector power connection because it has heavier duty insulation (probably heaver gauge wires inside also) and heavier duty RJ11 connectors for repeated plug/unplug connections to the V1. The lighter duty cable from Lowe's was used for the semi-permanent V1connection. I wrapped over the heat shrink covered solder joints with black electrical tape to protect the rather delicate wires. FYI, the radar detector uses about 450 mA at full alert load and the V1connection uses nor more than 50 mA continuous (per Valentine 1 tech support).

You can see in the fifth photo where I placed the V1 power connector. This connector provides power and serial bus data connections for the V1 and V1connection. I ended up routing both cables around the driver's side of the mirror post, so ignore the one cable shown on the passenger's side of the mirror.

Photos six through ten show the progression of dressing in the cables and V1 power connect for final installation, along with the B2 bomber shaped plastic cover piece. After the tenth photo, all that remains to be done is installing the two aft-most trim pieces that can bee seen in the first photo.

The V1 connect was semi-permanently mounted to the BlendMount using some of the adhesive mounts that came with the V1, as can be seen in the last photo.

With this install I can move my V1 from car to car without using cigarette lighter power connections, and my V1connection is always there for YaV1. I use Waze also, but I frequently travel through small rural towns and interconnecting highways that are well known for radar traps, and there's not enough traffic for Waze reports to be useful.

EDIT: This installation is completely reversible with zero trace. No factory connectors, trim pieces, or wires were harmed in the making of this modification!

TRAKCAR

Nice

JAhmed

Looks great!!!

JCtx

An easier alternative is to power the detector from the roof console, and the only tool you need is a credit card to drop the console. And it's also 100% reversible with a MirrorTap 1015 cable. I installed my V1 at the first 'click', so it sits flush with the mirror, increases visibility, and allows me to use the Porsche sunshield. All I had to do is add a hard rubber square under the bracket's tongue, so detector doesn't move (it actually moves less than if you slide it all the way back). I could have routed the wire like you did, but since it's almost invisible while seated in either seat, didn't want to mess with it. It'd still be an easier install than the fuse box. I spent the time to level the detector in every direction, but that might only attractive to semi-OCD guys like me. Ha ha. Great job on your install.

okie981

That's definitely a quicker solution if you don't want V1connection. Thanks for the feedback and ideas. I would've used a MirrorTap if I didn't want the bluetooth connection to the V1 from the YaV1 app through the V1connection. To use the V1connection, you must connect it to the cable running to the V1 so that the 2 non-power wires in the V1 power cable can carry the serial data. Don't know if there's room up there above the roof console for the V1 direct wire power connector that has the "main" and "aux" connectors for the V1 and V1connection. The V1 direct wire power connection isn't mandatory for V1connection, but getting those 2 data wires connected to the V1 power cable is mandatory. If there is enough room for the V1 direct wire power connector above that console, then all you'd have to do is run the V1 power cable down to the V1 and leave the V1connection stuffed somewhere up above the console, or above the B2 bomber plastic piece above the mirror. Or you could just run both cables down from above the console and mount the V1connection like I did.

My "final" installation photos don't show the V1 after I used a digital inclinometer to get it geometrically parallel and perpendicular to the center of the earth, and tucked up right under the mirror and flush fore/aft with the face of the mirror. I do leave my V1 low enough so I can remove it without scraping it against the mirror lower edge. I have a somewhat advanced case of the OCD disease also.

EDIT: BTW, if you haven't used YaV1, it transforms the V1 into an awesome traveling companion. Very, very few false alarms, and ridiculous control over band selectivity and sensitivity if you are so inclined. For the non-tinkerers, there are several available profiles that come with YaV1 that provide a set and run capability that works very well for auto lockouts and false alarms.

shookatash

Timely post, thx!