# Hardwire Valentine One installation



## PassaTT (May 24, 2003)

For those that aren't familiar with this unit go to http://www.valentine1.com
My wife and I have V1 Radar/Lidar detectors for each of our cars. While we don't use the remote displays, we do like the direct power feature rather than using the 12V connection. In our Audi and VWs, the fuse block has been accessible on the left side of the dash, very accessible with the drivers' door open. An RJ11 modular plug (basically a phone cable) runs from the V1 under the edge of the headliner and A pillar down to the fuse block where a "power cube" can be tapped onto an unused switchable fuse and the modular cord would plug in.
The Phaeton, of course is like no other VW 
I don't think I can run the same setup in this car. Does anyone else run a hardwire V1 and if so, how did you run the wiring?


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (PassaTT)*

PassaTT:
Have you considered getting your 12V power from behind the roof control panel? There are a lot of sources of 12V there, although you would have to find one that was not affected by the soft dimming circuit.
Below is a picture of what it looks like up in there. If you want assembly and disassembly instructions, let me know and I can post them.
Michael
*Area behind front roof control panel*


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## PassaTT (May 24, 2003)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (PanEuropean)*

Michael, if you could post that I would be grateful. Infact, it was your post of the homelink transmitter that reminded me to post my question; I was hoping someone had tapped in up there. 
However, it looks like there may be plenty of room for the "power block" in that space, so I think that with the diagrams I would be comfortable pioneering the install and posting the photos and details back to the forum.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (PassaTT)*

OK, gimme 24 hours to write it up decently.
Michael


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## PassaTT (May 24, 2003)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (PanEuropean)*

Thanks Michael, I really appreciate it!
David


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## whealy (Nov 15, 2004)

PassaTT,
I'm in the same boat. Same detector, same past experience in installing in several calls from fuese through gap around windshield and same assumption that it just won't work that way in the Phaeton.
So I'm interested too Michael if you can find a 12 volt switched source in the upper console. I assume I will have to drill the cover as well to allow the cable to pass out to the detector. Unless I can find the really thin phone cable that they use in the wind up laptop deivces.
Just wanted to let you know there's at least one other person that will apprecaite this effort.
TIA


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## hmorse (Nov 14, 2004)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (PassaTT)*

I did a hardwire installation for the new model Escort 8500, just above the rear view mirror. Works perfectly!


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## whealy (Nov 15, 2004)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (hmorse)*

Care to share any details or pics?


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: Hardwire Valentine One installation (whealy)*

Here's the instructions for removing the front overhead control panel.
Removing the Front Overhead Control Panel.
To help keep the forum organized (for the benefit of those who may be searching for information some months from now), please keep the radar detector installation related posts on this thread, don't tag them onto the roof control panel removal instructions.
Thanks,
Michael


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## whealy (Nov 15, 2004)

The findings ...
Special thanks to PanEuropean for his assistance in better understanding the manual wiring diagrams. I would have been clipping wires all night without his help.
It would seem that the majority of the 12 volt switched wires (live only when ignition is on) are reserved for major components like ABS etc that are obviously not used when the ignition is turned off. So I did not find a wire set that was actually switched.
What I did find was a wire set that is tied to the interior lights circuit, but not what we would think of as interior lights. This was more of a voltage source that is available for the auto dimming mirror to power the lights it has underneath it. Of course our mirror does not have these lights. However, a previous car I owned had just this for interior lighting. For whatever reason, VW seems to have completed the lighting circuit for functionality that does not exist. But it does provide a power source every time a door is opened for about 7 seconds and constant when the ignition is switched on. So, if you use this source I am about to describe, be advised that it will switch on every time you open or lock the doors as well as when your headlights switch off after locking. But the power is cut off after about seven seconds if the ignition is not on. So not exactly switched, but pretty close.
The connection I found was using the 6 pin wiring harness connected to the auto dimming mirror. The wires in questions are positive voltage from pin 5 with a red and green wire and the ground was on pin 4 with a brown wire. Connect your hard wire to these connections and you will have the voltage switched as I described above.
I found it difficult to store away my V1 hard wire connector. So ultimately, I decided to mount it on the outside. Regardless of how I would have completed the install, I would have had some wires of some kind protruding from the mirror trim piece. I just decided this would fit my needs. But there is space in the sunroof controls area to house the hard wire component.
Here is a pic of my current install.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: (whealy)*

That looks like a pretty good choice of wire. The wire you chose for your positive 12 volt DC supply (T6c/5)is the wire that supplies power to the automatic dimming circuit for the interior rear view mirror, and to the indicator lamp for the HomeLink buttons (not the HomeLink transmitter). The ground you chose (T6c/4) is, well, a ground, what else can I say?
As long as the radar detector does not draw too much power, I can't see any problem with that source. What would be the 'obvious' choice on any car - one of the wires that provides power to a dome light or reading light - would be unsuitable for selection on the Phaeton, because all these lights go through a soft on / soft off dimming process - that would fry the circuits of the radar detector really nicely.
If you ever have to troubleshoot your radar detector power supply, just check and see if the background lighting behind the HomeLink buttons works, and/or if the green light on the bottom of the interior rear view mirror comes on when the button on the bottom middle of the mirror is pushed (it is a toggle, on/off).
If you want to look at that circuit in more detail, go to wiring diagram 5/20. Your positive DC supply wire is shown on track 262, and your ground is on track 264.
Michael


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## HunterST (Dec 11, 2008)

*Re: (PanEuropean)*

Michael, could you please repost pics?
Thanks!


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## mhoepfin (Dec 20, 2007)

*My 9500ix installation*

I've been meaning to post the pictures of my 9500ix installation.
Here's the RD sitting in the windshield. Nice thing about this RD is that it uses GPS to lockout false signals and alert to speed traps and red light cameras, so it also will constantly display your current speed.
















This RD has what is called a smartcord, which has a little dongle that has a mute button and lights for when there is an alert. It's held in place by friction between the fuse panel door and upper panel. Nice and hidden by the parking brake release.








Finally, the rats nest by the fuse panel. Just need to group the wires together, haven't had a chance yet. Used a 10A fuse tap in the windscreen washer fuse, which is switched. RD turns off when the car is off.








Overall really easy installation. Just ran the power up along the door trim and along the bottom of the A pillar. Took just a few minutes and looks good (in my opinion).


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## swsmith (Jan 16, 2009)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (mhoepfin)*

What did you use as the ground for your installation?


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## mhoepfin (Dec 20, 2007)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (swsmith)*


_Quote, originally posted by *swsmith* »_What did you use as the ground for your installation?

I found something back there near the emergency brake assembly to use as a ground.


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## HunterST (Dec 11, 2008)

*Re: (whealy)*

For Valetines' day, I hardwired my Valentine One radar detector using the "whealy method" described above. I believe this would work with any radar detector, but it's truly ideal for units like the Valentine which use a dongle to allow quick-disconnect of the radar detector.

_Quote, originally posted by *whealy* »_
The connection I found was using the 6 pin wiring harness connected to the auto dimming mirror. The wires in questions are positive voltage from pin 5 with a red and green wire and the ground was on pin 4 with a brown wire. Connect your hard wire to these connections and you will have the voltage switched as I described above.


I think it's a great solution - the unit powers up as I unlock the doors, and powers down after I walk away. As whealy stated, there's about a 7-second delay where if you don't turn on the car, the unit will power off again, so sometimes it cycles on/off a few times while the whole family is opening/closing doors - no big deal. 
Reading the  Removing the Front Overhead Control Panel post should be considered required reading material.
I used the hardwire kit supplied by Valentine, along with two "Quick-Splice Connectors for 22- to 18-gauge wire" from Radio Shack (part# 64-037). The whole job took me less than 1 hour. Pics from my install:
This shows the Valentine hardwire kit "dongle" to allow quick disconnect of the unit. The wires are not visible from outside the car, because of the tint stripe at the top of the windshield, which oddly doesn't show up in flash photographs:








And with ol' faithful installed (newer Valentine One units are a lot smaller than my old clunker):








And finally a pic borrowed from other posts, with annotations:








Hope this helps someone else - mine's been up and running now for several weeks with no issues. 
Thanks to whealy for the detailed instructions!


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## ruddyone (Feb 9, 2009)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (swsmith)*

Thanks for the update. I had just posted a similar 'request for info' on stealth installs in a thread below. Looks like the install wasn't too difficult and looks good. Nice work.


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## PanEuropean (Nov 3, 2001)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (ruddyone)*

Photo re-hosted.
Michael


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## invisiblewave (Sep 22, 2008)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (mhoepfin)*

Just wanted to add a little extra useful information for a simple radar detector installation. 
Like Mike, I went for the easy option of running the cable along the lower edge of the windscreen. I spliced in a very thin, slightly stiffer wire to make it easier to hide. You can make the wire disappear completely when you get to the side wall by running it right down the edge of the dash and pulling at the bottom so it slides between the panels, and then feed it into the fuse panel from the rear. The only place the cable is visible from the driver's position is as it leaves the detector.
Once inside the fuse panel, I spent some time locating the best circuit to use, one that's switched from the ignition so the detector automatically turns on and off when you start and stop the engine. Fuse position 42 was the one I eventually found (took a while), there were others but they were attached to scary things like ABS, etc, so I thought it best to leave those alone, according to the fuse card, 42 doesn't have anything attached to it in my vehicle, although it did already have a 10 amp fuse in it. Starting with the upper left fuse, 42 is 3 rows down and 3 fuses in (mine had a red 10 amp in it, position 40 on the left of that third row has a blue 15 amp). Like Mike, I used a little circuit-adder connector (Autozone, couple of bucks).
Again following Mike's lead, I fished around under and behind the fuse box with a torch and a multimeter and found a grounded bolt. Most of them don't work, but there are a couple of accessible ones that do.
One other snippet, the fuse panel is accessible by pulling (only take a very light pull, if it's hard, you're pulling in the wrong place) a handle just in front of the brake pedal (LHD, V8). If you get under there with a torch it's easy to spot.


_Modified by invisiblewave at 8:12 AM 1-21-2010_


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## mhoepfin (Dec 20, 2007)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (invisiblewave)*

Glad to see this post come back up. I've still got my 9500ix (awesome detector btw... also has GPS and displays MPH so it's kind of like a poor mans HUD).
Anyway, just wanted to chime in that the wiring is still in place and functioning nicely.


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## ruddyone (Feb 9, 2009)

*FV-QR*


_Quote, originally posted by *mhoepfin* »_Glad to see this post come back up. I've still got my 9500ix (awesome detector btw... also has GPS and displays MPH so it's kind of like a poor mans HUD).

Mike -
I completely agree. The 9500ix is by far the best radar detector I've owned and I've had a lot of them. The GPS features are simply fantastic.
My only problem is that my windshield was replaced last year with one that has the IR film and now neither the radar nor GPS will work.








If anyone has any suggestions to get around this problem I'd be up for trying most anything.
Best Regards,
Nate


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## madreg98 (Jun 1, 2009)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (invisiblewave)*

Has anyone taken apart the 9500ix to see if the guts could be placed in the over head space next to the rain sensor/OnStar and be hidden? I would like to install the ci but not at that price so was trying to put combine the post on the extra space in the over head where somebody put the EZpass in with this application. In this case, if small enough, I would try to put the 9500 in the extra space.


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## mhoepfin (Dec 20, 2007)

*Re: FV-QR (ruddyone)*


_Quote, originally posted by *ruddyone* »_
Mike -
I completely agree. The 9500ix is by far the best radar detector I've owned and I've had a lot of them. The GPS features are simply fantastic.
My only problem is that my windshield was replaced last year with one that has the IR film and now neither the radar nor GPS will work.








If anyone has any suggestions to get around this problem I'd be up for trying most anything.
Best Regards,
Nate

Hi Nate,
I may be dense, but there could be a portion of the windscreen without the IR covering. For instance on the 745 it's near the bottom on the middle. Possibly worth checking that. Maybe one of the guys with a w12 can chime in..


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## zenmoused (Nov 6, 2008)

*Re: My 9500ix installation (madreg98)*


_Quote, originally posted by *madreg98* »_In this case, if small enough, I would try to put the 9500 in the extra space.

That's a great idea, though I highly doubt the guts of our detectors are compact enough to fit in that space without having to remove components. Now, if you remove the HomeLink unit, you may have a shot. I have an X50 I'm trying to find a good place for, so this may be a cool way of going about it. Please keep us updated if you attempt this.


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## 2oo1.8T (May 6, 2006)

sweet, same concept for a MKiv?


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