Hardwiring a V1 to your 996 Turbo
 

**THIS THREAD IS MEANT TO BE A DIY THREAD. IF YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS ABOUT RADAR LOCATION, METHODS EMPLOYED, ETC., PLEASE START A NEW THREAD TO DISCUSS FURTHER**

I decided I wanted to hardwire all my cars and since V1 sells their kit for almost $20 I decided to investigate if I could do it on my own. Turns out all you need is a standard phone cord (the kind that goes from the wall the phone). Each cord will do 2 cars. You don't need to buy any longer than a 3' cord since you will need less that 12" per kit.

First thing I did was using a multimeter I determined which of the 4 contacts on a phone cord that V1 provides is the power and which is the ground. The 2 inner of the 4 are what you are working with. The outside 2 are for other uses (I think a remote display and a memory) but you don't need them. If you are looking at the plastic connector on the phone cord with the 4 contacts on the top and the release tab on the bottom and then number them 1-4 going L to right, contact 2 is the ground and 3 is the power.

1. Remove the two infrared cover (look like tinted plastic ovals). They just pop out. Use a jewelry size screwdriver to get under and pry out.

2. Remove the 2 screws holding the overhead assembly to the roof.

3. Pry down the entire covering from the side closest to the rear of the car. It has a couple snaps that hold it up when the screws are removed.

4. Cut the phone cord you bought in half and trim to about 12" or so. (the picture posted (it's a local friend form his install last week) is not mine in case you are wondering why it doesn't look quite like mine)

5. Identify the color of the wires in spot 2 and 3 and trim strip the insulation to expose the wiring.

6. Using a multimeter verify the correct wire in the 4-wire plug that is the accessory power wire (it will read ~12V DC). In mine, the color (and it should be the same in most models since they use the same wire harnesses) is green with a red stripe. If looking down at the 4-wire plug, it is the front left one.

7. Tap into that wire with the 3 wire from the phone cord. Now you have power.

8. Loosen (DO NOT REMOVE) the screw in the motor assembly up above to use as a grounding point. Wrap the 2 wire from the phone cord around the screw and tighten back down. AGAIN, DO NOT LOOSEN TO MUCH SINCE THERE IS A NUT BEHIND IT AND IT IS A B!TCH TO GET IT BACK TOGETHER!!!

9. Zip-tie the phone cord to the wiring harness as a precaution in case your V1 falls off the windshield so it can't rip out the wiring.

Voila! You're done.

Feel free to post any question if you need help.

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Awesome, exactly what I needed to re-engineer the way someone did it in my car...stupid dealer hardwired a black interior with a grey wire :icon501:

Nice writeup!

Dell,

Great writeup. I used your garage door opener mod when I installed my painted center console. I have a Valentine on my list of winter projects, along with exhaust (2nd set), ECU flash, 6 pistons up front, wheels (only have two sets, must get more), 997 sport seats, etc. etc, etc. Wow, I need to sell a little more just to cover my mods............

Thanks!

Your list sounds very impressive. Can I add some of those to my list? :evilgrin:

LVDell,

Thanks for the thorough writeup. Very helpful.

Now that's what I call throwing down !

Geoff

I am far too mechanically challenged.
I just installed a V1 in my wife's Excursion in about one minute:
www.invicord.com

For extra credit, I also used a www.blendmount.com

She was happy. Came out very nice.

Lewis, very nice. Decided I was fine with the high end suction cup mounts :roflmao:

....with that said, I might go with the blendmount for the Range Rover.

Geoff, very welcome (for the info AND the entertainment). :cheers:

With all due respect,Valentine knows what he is talking about. Keeping the detector as high as possible will always have better results. I've experimented with detector positions with the Valentine since I got it back in 2001. Lower was never better. Since Valentine designed this detector, arguably the best on the market, I'll stick to his suggestions for mounting rather than the suggestions by his competitors for mounting their devices.

Come to think of it, the escort site logic really didn't make much sense. Since Laser is actually infrared, with a beam diameter upto 6'-0", lowering it potentially reduces the detection area considering the laser device is typically hand held. By mounting it close to the hood, you are cutting off the area below the hood more so than you would mounting it higher on the windshield.

Nice write-up Dell.

^ Looks like a great product (can't stand the suction cups, especially in winter), but its doesn't look like the Blendmount will attach to 996 mirror.