BayAreaQ7

I'm installing a radar detector (Escort Max) this weekend and want to tap into the rear view mirror wiring.

Does anyone know what each color of the wiring represents? I have one of the Mirrortap / Blendmount kits and I want to run the black & red plugs from the radar detector into the same wiring on the mirror.

I'm not an electrical expert, and not sure which two wires to tap into for the red and black wire that comes out of my radar detector cable.

I did a search online and on the forum and didn't find much.

Any advice, tips?

Thanks!!!



I've had my SQ5 since Aug '13 and I already have 15k miles and it's running great!

SeaBlue

You need a volt/ohm meter to test the plug to find out which wires you need if you can't find a wiring guide.

BayAreaQ7

I figured it out using a voltage meter. The brown wire was the ground, and the white with black stripe was the hot.

Here are some pics with the Blendmount and Mirrortap products. Both well made and sturdy mount, worth the money.

If I did it over, I'd drill the wire hole lower. But I didn't take off the lower plastic cover and trying to feed the plugs through a small hole I drilled was a bit of a challenge. I didn't want the hole too big. But this will work.

Also, the Escort Max is my first Radar detector in 15 years, and it works well! Blocks out 99% of the false radar signals and does not go off to often with grocery store or other non/false radar signals. It's saved me a few times on 280 and 101 here in the bay area and worth the $450!

http://www.blendmount.com/

alpinestaraudi

Never understood these things. Most law enforcement agencies use lidar now and even if they are still taking out radars by the time you get a notification from your 450 dollar alarm clock they have already identified your vehicle and exact speed.

acadapter

You might want to do a little research on how the "alarm clocks" work nowadays. I also have an Escort Max which is capable of identifying multiple Radar bands simultaneously with notifications usually starting around a half mile. Lidar is also identified with enough range to slow before the second confirmation reading is shot...

MP4.2+6.0

That's a very sweeping statement, crossing locales and states all over the country.

For OP, it has some validity though--there is a lot of CHP laser here now, using very aggressive tactics. Since I am in the Bay Area like OP, I have seen laser on 80, on 280 up toward San Bruno, on both the San Mateo and Dumbarton bridges, on 880 and on 580. If you are hit by laser, its all over, and your Escort or my V1 will only tell you you have been hit and to expect you may get pulled over.

On the other hand, the local mounties are still almost all in radar world. Some (like Atherton) just drive around w/ it on all the time, perhaps as a "courtesy" to local residents. CHP often has it in in traffic spraying all over, which also makes it an easy "cop finder." Having been in NV, UT an CO in past couple of years driving, there I basically saw (occasional) radar.

Redd

"Most law enforcement agencies use lidar now and "
They would have you think so, because they want yo to think they are invulnerable and, as the Borg say, "Resistance is futile!".

It just ain't so. I've driven the length of I-95, which is a fairly well patrolled road, and gotten plenty of radar warnings with ZERO LIDAR warnings.

Yes, Lidar is out there. No, it is not very common compared to radar.

And since cops tend to wander out and play in traffic when they pull someone over, a radar detector warning can also alert you that there may be a cop wandering in the traffic lanes. Quite a few of them get run down and killed every year. Our state police used to openly call it "supertrooper syndrome" where the cop thinks he's Superman.

That one ain't so either.

ColdBrew

Thanks for this post! I plan to do this mod in the future. Thread saved.

And for the comment about Radar not being popular any more. In my town they only use 3 bands. Rarely X, mostly K, and a little ka. No laser at all. I don't even think I've ever even seen it before.

ForesterFan

That looks great! Looks like you removed the mirror cord cover and drilled a hole large enough to feed the MirrorTap Power Cord through it (the side with the probes and inline fuse).

I found this video for removing the cover:
Anything else I should know before I replicate your work?

samps

Did you connect to the wiring harness in the mirror cover or to the homelink harness in the overhead console?