Radar Detector hard wire, who has done it?

[jdubs]

Also done!

I included some more photos of the wiring under the cover. A few suggestions that may help the next person:

1) The cover is difficult to pop out, even with a plastic pry bar but what worked for me was doing each corner a bit, then moving to the next one.
2) the cover is actually in two parts, the main cover and then a smaller section that comes off to allow the cover to go over the mirror arm and then goes back on behind the mirror. This is hard to get off by itself but it came loose as I was prying off the main cover so I would suggest just doing that.
3) the wiring kit I have for a Uniden R3 had two sizes of pins and I used the smallest ones and they worked just fine. This is the kit I used: Uniden wiring kit
4) I ran the wire out along the top of the mirror arm. I removed a little bit of the material from the bottom of the small cover part where it covers the top of the mirror arm to provide enough room for the wire.
5) I removed the metal clips from the main frame so I could try the cover fit without having to wrestle it back out of the clips each time. It's easy to do this, just pinch the two sides of the metal clip together and pull it out. Then you can just fit the cover to make sure nothing is getting pinched or is in the way.
6) There is a large silver metal box that you will see in the photos. I suspect it's either a hard drive or a processing unit of some sort. It gets VERY hot. The cover has an opening /gap where it meets the windshield just in front of that box. I would make sure not to cover that or any of the vents in the cover. That needs as much airflow as possible.
7) I used a small plastic tie to hold the pin wires to the existing wires feeding into that molex power connector, hopefully, this will avoid them working loose over time. I also wrapped the wires and spare pins with blue electrical tape, again to minimize movement and also to dampen and noise from vibration.
8) I tested the unit before reattaching the cover and it worked the first time. Then I replaced the metal clips, attached the main cover, and tested fit and location of the radar unit to ensure it wouldn't block mirror movement, sun visor movement, or too much of the driver's view. Once I had it in place, then I replaced the small cover over the mirror, and the job was done!

Take your time and this is an easy job.

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[Hopper]

Its compression clips, not magnetic.

Perfect! I’m ordering taps now. THANK YOU!!

 

[Hopper]

Also done!

I included some more photos of the wiring under the cover. A few suggestions that may help the next person:

1) The cover is difficult to pop out, even with a plastic pry bar but what worked for me was doing each corner a bit, then moving to the next one.
2) the cover is actually in two parts, the main cover and then a smaller section that comes off to allow the cover to go over the mirror arm and then goes back on behind the mirror. This is hard to get off by itself but it came loose as I was prying off the main cover so I would suggest just doing that.
3) the wiring kit I have for a Uniden R3 had two sizes of pins and I used the smallest ones and they worked just fine. This is the kit I used: Uniden wiring kit
4) I ran the wire out along the top of the mirror arm. I removed a little bit of the material from the bottom of the small cover part where it covers the top of the mirror arm to provide enough room for the wire.
5) I removed the metal clips from the main frame so I could try the cover fit without having to wrestle it back out of the clips each time. It's easy to do this, just pinch the two sides of the metal clip together and pull it out. Then you can just fit the cover to make sure nothing is getting pinched or is in the way.
6) There is a large silver metal box that you will see in the photos. I suspect it's either a hard drive or a processing unit of some sort. It gets VERY hot. The cover has an opening /gap where it meets the windshield just in front of that box. I would make sure not to cover that or any of the vents in the cover. That needs as much airflow as possible.
7) I used a small plastic tie to hold the pin wires to the existing wires feeding into that molex power connector, hopefully, this will avoid them working loose over time. I also wrapped the wires and spare pins with blue electrical tape, again to minimize movement and also to dampen and noise from vibration.
8) I tested the unit before reattaching the cover and it worked the first time. Then I replaced the metal clips, attached the main cover, and tested fit and location of the radar unit to ensure it wouldn't block mirror movement, sun visor movement, or too much of the driver's view. Once I had it in place, then I replaced the small cover over the mirror, and the job was done!

Take your time and this is an easy job.

Thanks for posting this!

 

[pfbz]

Thanks to all those that posted up their results on hard-wiring to the mirror connector... Appreciated!

Though my Rivian delivery is delayed another few days, I'll add a couple of notes from multiple other V1 hardwire installs...

Power Cord:

I've used these V1 slide-in-tap style power cords (Amazon B082V1245P) on several vehicles. Inexpensive and come with three sizes of prongs. No need to cut or vampire into any wires, they slide into the back of the connector.


Windshield Mount:

I've used blendmounts and the generic mirror mount mentioned above on several cars. Blendmounts are excellent but very pricey. The generic mount is ok but cheap. But it seems like neither is going to be a good solution for the Rivian if you want to be able to adjust your mirror.

I've been using the V1 suction mounts lately on a few cars... The trick to getting them to stick really well is to clean the portion of the windshield and the suction cups with some isopropyl alcohol before sticking it on. And of course make sure you aren't using a damaged or very old suction cup. They stick great if you do this, or at least they have on my cars...

 

[Christopher]

I just use the mirror taps on my R8 and the radar detector stays on 24/7. Is the mirror always supposed to be powered on?

 

[RBR1S]

I use a blend mount on my C7 Vette. Attaches to mirror and I tap power from the mirror. Where I live, Washington, it is illegal to attach things to the windshield. Technically of course.
Something like this works great. Just gotta find the right power wires at the mirror. It has pins you push into the existing connector. Super easy.

Radar Mount Mirror Mount Bracket...

I'm not sure that's true of it being illegal. The only info I could find was that it was illegal to have a screen type device (law calls out phones and GPS units), but it doesn't say other device types. In theory, one could say you are violating 46.37.410 which says any windshield obstruction (non-transparent), but that specifically says if it's blocking your view. I mean if a cop wanted to get specific and say ANYTHING blocking the window - he'd be in a paradox because toll decals are required to be displayed.... you guessed it - ON THE WINDSHIELD.

I have a dashcam on my window now and I've never had an issue. Then again I don't get pulled over, so....

 

[prestapost]

I have!!

Looks fantastic! This will be my first detector. What all do I need from Valentine for this, besides the main v1 gen2 unit?

V1 Parts Department | Valentine One | Radar Detectors (valentine1.com)

My friends that use detectors all swear by Valentine... is that what you all recommend, or are there others I should consider?

 

[MNLightning]

Looks fantastic! This will be my first detector. What all do I need from Valentine for this, besides the main v1 gen2 unit?

V1 Parts Department | Valentine One | Radar Detectors (valentine1.com)

My friends that use detectors all swear by Valentine... is that what you all recommend, or are there others I should consider?

Valentine is a great detector but the false alerts drove me buggy. If you have an android phone and like to run your phone with the detector you might like it. It requires a level of user involvement that I didn’t like. The R8 or Escort Max 360c. I run the Max 360c which falls slightly behind the Valentine’s sensitivity, but not enough to concern me. Plus on road trips running Escort Live & Waze is a plus

 

[pfbz]

Looks fantastic! This will be my first detector. What all do I need from Valentine for this, besides the main v1 gen2 unit?

Valentine is a great detector but the false alerts drove me buggy. If you have an android phone and like to run your phone with the detector you might like it. It requires a level of user involvement that I didn’t like.

For iPhones and Android, V1Driver is the ultimate accessory for the V1. Yes, it can seem a bit complex at initial setup (though you can just ignore 95% of the options it gives you), but it couples with the V1G2 via bluetooth automatically every time you get in the car, auto-learns nuisance radar and is very intelligent about muting lane change radar and the like....

I run a V1 with V1driver, and Waze in every car I own. If the V1 isn't gen 2 with built-in bluetooth, you'll also need to add the Valentine Bluetooth dongle.

https://www.v1driver.com/

 

[prestapost]

The R8 seems the most full-featured and popular on Reddit. My friend is a pretty hardcore Valentine fan, but maybe he is just a loyal customer.

 

[zefram47]

If you don't care about the arrows, the R3 is a bargain and the R4 is a nice upgrade over that. I currently run both in different cars. R4 is a little more sensitive and slightly better filtering, but the big one is the R4 finally got auto mute memory so it'll automatically block things like doors and speed signs that don't move.

 

[R1TFTW]

It is in fact ignition switched

Hello. I hooked my radar detector up through the mirror tap and it seems to be that it is not shutting off when the vehicle shuts off. Any ideas why this might be?

 

[R1TFTW]

I just use the mirror taps on my R8 and the radar detector stays on 24/7. Is the mirror always supposed to be powered on?

I have this same problem and would like to know the answer here. It didn’t turn off when I locked the doors or after some time.

 

[Christopher]

Make sure you havent plugged the + wire to yellow

Correct. I saw your photos said to not use the yellow wire. I only used red and black.

 

[Christopher]

I have this same problem and would like to know the answer here. It didn’t turn off when I locked the doors or after some time.

If you have the R8, I found out there is a setting to have it turn off after no GPS change in position. Problem is, there's been a few times it doesn't turn back on automatically.

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