shaf

Has anyone hardwired a radar detector into the mirror overhead area? If so what is involved? Dealer quoted about $300, ouch.

jamis

Yup.

I ordered one of these (15") for my escort radar detector (they make them for several manufacturers)...



You then pop off the big plastic cover behind the mirror (take a trim removal tool around the edges to loosen it, then wiggle/pull down). The red wire in the tap goes to the yellow wire in the harness (top left), and the black wire in the tap goes with the brown wire in the harness (next one over to the right from the yellow wire).

It's not too difficult, but give yourself some time and take it slow. Some of the trim pieces can be stubborn and I was never able to unplug the harness (which would have made it easier).

scoopman

Thanks for the Mirror Tap info .... and if you don't mind my asking, how did you wire up your dashcam? did you run a wire down the A-pillar to the fuses? if so, any tips for that? what fuse did you tap into? (my S5 is on a boat somewhere, can't look at this yet myself...)

jamis

I didn't hard wire the camera. I ran the wire under the headliner, down the passenger side A-pillar, under the dash, and to the 12V outlet. It actually looks pretty clean and was able to use a trim removal tool to work the wire into most gaps/seams.

shaf

Thanks. Is the harness easy to access once the plastic is removed and is there enough room to hide the extra wire? Assume this is B9 model wiring.

jamis

It was kind of a pain getting the taps into the harness as I couldn't unplug it and it was kind of hard to see which wires were in which position of the harness.

One you realize that the upper left most wire in the harness is yellow, and the next one over to the right is brown, being able to see the wires becomes much less important.

There is plenty of room up there to hide extra wire.

chucktu

Just wanted to add a quick reply in case somebody else tries this...I was able to take the 3 trim pieces off from around the mirror...from there you'll see the mirror is held in place by 4 spring clips over a piece that is stuck to the windshield...once you pull down, the mirror should come off with some effort...then you can unplug the harness and get to the wires more easily...I wasn't able to get my fat fingers in there to get the wires into the taps...then do everything in reverse and you should be good to go...

scoopman

So I was able to get the mirror off as you describe, which made it a piece of cake to shove the wire taps in the right place.

But I cannot figure out how to get the mirror back onto the piece stuck onto the windshield. It's got a metal spring clip thing. Do I just use lots of force?

scoopman

Oh nevermind, YouTube. The mirror metal spring-loadey thing actually twists and is supposed to be put on like a screw (counter-clockwise to remove, clockwise to put on). Once I figured this out, and took off the plastic pieces surrounding the metal mirror mount, I was able to reassemble everything.

I'm taking photos and will post my continuing adventure of wiring up two dashcams and my Passport Max 360 in a little bit.

PrazVT

$300 to open the mirror cover and stick 2 wires in?? I'm picking up my new A4 in the next day or two and need to do this as well. I did it myself on my BMW 228i, but this is my first Audi and a little nervous about popping it open on my own. Should I ask the dealer if they can do it when I pick up the car?

I haven't received the blend mount and some additional mirror tap cables yet, but I have the one from the BMW (which i'll be selling anyway).