V1 Hardwire--need instructions!

MMMazing07 · 03-28-2008, 09:41 AM

it doesnt stick out at all. You can barely see it in the roadster unless you are looking for it. In my first 2 pics in this thread you can see it

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128135

Starscream · 03-28-2008, 10:55 AM

ok not too bad,
takes away the function of the vanity mirror by the looks of it,
got any close ups?

Hawkeye · 03-28-2008, 11:30 AM

Courtesy of wrh3 http://www.billswebspace.com/bmwmc.htm

Irish Bimmer · 04-19-2008, 05:15 PM

I just did this hardwire - except using the passport 9500i, it was easy and all but my radar is only getting like 10-10.8 volts... so sometimes it shuts off and says low voltage - powering down...

Are there any suggestions? I used the lavender wire first, then tried the green hoping the problem would go away. The radar is fine - plugged it in my fiance's Jetta and fires right up. Now I'm wondering if there is something wron with my car that I'm not aware of - some other research led me to believe this is an indication of a faulty alternator...

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Kyle

Starscream · 04-19-2008, 06:13 PM

I installed my V1 a few days back and I used the purple wire with the white line and mines working great!

Sell your passport and buy a V1

Irish Bimmer · 04-20-2008, 06:52 AM

haha, I almost baught the V1 but I guess I'm too shallow - I didn't want to have this sweet looking car with this sexy interior and this old school looking box with this giant knob on it detracting from my cars sex appeal.

I know that's not the reason most buy a radar - but I love my radar when it's working, I think that there may be a problem with my electrical system... I hope not but this isn't the first issue I've had.

A few months ago I got in my car after a few hours of not driving it and the trip odometer said 0.0 and my clock was reset - and since then my clock has been in military mode.

I ordered my first wire off of ebay - yesterday I ordered one direct through escort. Hopefully this will fix the problem, if not then I guess I'm going to have to take a trip to the dealer to have them test my electrical system...

Burt Reynolds · 04-20-2008, 09:24 AM

Funny about old-school V1- It works though. I was an early adopter with the 9500i. My Audi S4 had a built in K40s with Blinder laser diffusers and when I sold it I needed a replacement. The 9500i just came out and I did not want to use my older 8500x50. I owned the 9500i for all of two weeks before I returned it. I think their was a problem with the early ones b/c all the early adopters were returning them to either buy a V1 or go back to their 8500x50. I went for the V1 and love it. I think they have worked out the bugs with the 9500i at this time so it might be a tougher choice today- I do like the bogey counter and arrows even if it is in the same box that was hanging from some guys IROC Z 100 years ago

Burt Reynolds · 04-20-2008, 09:32 AM

Also, I installed my V1 exactly like Bill did in the picture above. I tried it on the other side of the mirror and found that the rear detector was off center and with our smallish back window being on center improves rear detection. If any of you have your detector on the passenger side of the mirror, I would suggest you move it to the other side and try it out- you should get better rear detction.

Irish Bimmer · 04-20-2008, 09:54 AM

Yeah, I know that V1's have a pretty hardcore following and I'm not discrediting it as a great detector - I'm sure that it is.

For me, the issue at hand is either the wire I used to hardwire my detector or the electrical system of my car... The radar works most of the time in my car but when I first turn my car on with the detector left on the detector says "low voltage powering down please unplug". When it does work however the voltage meter in the detector shows that it's only getting 10 - 11.1 which is the highest I ever saw it go. I'm hoping the wire that I used was just a sub-par wire that I got off of ebay and that the escort wire will fix the issue, but if not I'll have to take my car to the dealer to have them check it out for me. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this issue - or if anyone has any ideas as to how to troubleshoot thsi problem.

Hawkeye · 04-21-2008, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Irish Bimmer

Yeah, I know that V1's have a pretty hardcore following and I'm not discrediting it as a great detector - I'm sure that it is.

For me, the issue at hand is either the wire I used to hardwire my detector or the electrical system of my car... The radar works most of the time in my car but when I first turn my car on with the detector left on the detector says "low voltage powering down please unplug". When it does work however the voltage meter in the detector shows that it's only getting 10 - 11.1 which is the highest I ever saw it go. I'm hoping the wire that I used was just a sub-par wire that I got off of ebay and that the escort wire will fix the issue, but if not I'll have to take my car to the dealer to have them check it out for me. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this issue - or if anyone has any ideas as to how to troubleshoot thsi problem.

Have you thought about testing the wire you are tapping directly? That would give you a pretty accurate reading, although it is a little more difficult it should tell you what you want to know.

Irish Bimmer · 04-21-2008, 05:10 PM

How would I go about testing the wire? Is there some sort of volt meter that I have to buy?

Hawkeye · 04-22-2008, 03:48 PM

Yeah, voltmeters are fairly cheap and very useful. Then you could either tap into the line and test the tap's connections, or you could strip a small bit of the line and test it directly and electrical tape it back after you are done.

I recommend the first way.

Irish Bimmer · 04-22-2008, 04:24 PM

Alright, well I might buy a voltmeter but I've already set an appointment at the dealer for them to test my electrical system for me. If that checks out fine then it should be my wire that I bought because I tapped into the exact same wire that you all tapped...

We'll see - hopefully I'll have good news to post up here soon!

Irish Bimmer · 04-23-2008, 05:44 AM

Another thing that is odd that perhaps one of you guys could check - when you push in your cigarette lighter does the element turn red? I pretty sure that it does because any one I've ever seen gets extremely hot and the element is red... well my gets hot but it stays grey. Which would seem to indicate that it's getting power, just not enough - which should mean that this issue is throughout the car and not just the two mentioned wires before. Also, are any of you able to use your radars in the cigarette lighter slot? Mine won't even turn on in there...

I talked to my dad about the situation - he is very knowledgeable about cars.... he told me that my battery should be fine since the car is a daily driver but that it might be my alternator or my voltage regulator... two things I'll make sure to have the dealer check out for me.

BimmerZealot · 04-23-2008, 02:37 PM

When I was using the cig lighter to power my V1 it was very temperamental, I had to wiggle the plug around to get it to power up. I also noticed the same thing with my cig lighter, it doesn't lock in and pop out like all the other cars I've been in, nor does it turn red. Its definitely hot though.

Irish Bimmer · 04-23-2008, 05:30 PM

Alright, well I hope the dealer is able to find something wrong otherwise I just bought my fiance a sweet radar for her Jetta...

Irish Bimmer · 04-26-2008, 05:14 PM

Just wanted to follow up and say that the issue was with the wire that I purchased off of ebay. I got the directwire from escort and redid the install and everything is working fine. I'm now getting in the vicinity of 14.6 volts.

All that worrying for nothing...

pholden · 08-14-2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BimmerZealot

There was a thread that I used but I dont have it saved I'll try to find it. But you use the blue t-tap and tap into either a green/blue (key position 2) if you have premium package or lavender/red (key position 1 "accessory") either will work just fine.

First pop out the center map assembly with a flat head screw driver, unplug it from the wiring harness. You wont find the wire you need in the plug for the map light. The wiring harness you want will be tucked in the back of the hole which the map light fits into. The entire loom will be wrapped in black tape so you'll need to peel it back to find the wire you want.

Clamp the blue t-tap onto the wire of choice give it a good squeeze so it splices and clicks. Plug the red spade connector on the V1 power box into the t-tap and then inside the same hole you should see TWO black screws, I used one of these as my ground, you'll see a black wire ending in a fork which you will place under the screw and put the screw back in. After that run your wiring for the power to the V1, you can squeeze it out between the gap in the roof/plastic lining and the windshield. Using the applied double sided tape, tape the power box and the wires safely inside and replace the map light fixture.

Before this you'd want to power on the V1 to make sure it works. My car is also a lease and this was the easiest, quickest method so I went with it. I dont foresee any problems with taping it up when I'm done with the car. Also my car is an 07 Roadster so the inners behind your map light may be slightly different but you get the idea. Take a look, you'll see what I mean.

I just used these directions. Worked perfect, and took MAYBE 15 minutes.

BimmerZealot · 08-15-2008, 02:53 AM

Haha my old, poorly written instructions are still helping, that's good =]

pholden · 08-15-2008, 08:21 AM

Heck yeah man! They were perfect. Thanks again.

nmulax · 10-26-2008, 02:59 PM

So I just finished hardwiring my V1 - such an easy mod.

In fact, snapping the dome light back into place proved to be more difficult and time consuming then everything else combined.

I used BimmerZealot's instructions as well. On my car - 2007 M Coupe with Premium, I tapped into the green wire with white stripe. Powers up with key position 2.

tom_48 · 11-02-2008, 07:55 PM

Guys, I have a different question:

Pretty soon, I am going to get a V1, but I really don't want to work on it myself.
How much do you guys think is a reasonable price for hard wiring a V1? I heard BestBuy can do it?

And do you think I have to provide any instructions for them, or it is such easy of a task that they won't need it???

Thanks...

03-28-2008, 09:41 AM	#67
MMMazing07 More than you can afford pal....ferrari 180 Rep 1,471 Posts Drives: Z4M Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: MD iTrader: (0)	it doesnt stick out at all. You can barely see it in the roadster unless you are looking for it. In my first 2 pics in this thread you can see it http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=128135
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03-28-2008, 10:55 AM	#68
Starscream Colonel 135 Rep 2,120 Posts Drives: ///M Roadster + E92 335i 6MT Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Park Ridge NJ + Windermere FL iTrader: (23)	ok not too bad, takes away the function of the vanity mirror by the looks of it, got any close ups? __________________ Imola Red Roadster
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03-28-2008, 11:30 AM	#69
Hawkeye Brigadier General 2070 Rep 4,365 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 Coupe, '21 X3, '16 GMC Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Iowa iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 GMC Sierra SLT [10.00] 2008 Yamaha R6 [9.00]	Courtesy of wrh3 http://www.billswebspace.com/bmwmc.htm __________________ 2007 Z4 3.0si Coupe • 6 MT • Black Saphire Metallic • PP • SP 2016 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 Premium Plus 4x4 2017 Harley StreetGlide • Denim Black • V&H Tune 2021 BMW x30i • Phytonic Blue Metallic • Fully loaded
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04-19-2008, 05:15 PM	#70
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	I just did this hardwire - except using the passport 9500i, it was easy and all but my radar is only getting like 10-10.8 volts... so sometimes it shuts off and says low voltage - powering down... Are there any suggestions? I used the lavender wire first, then tried the green hoping the problem would go away. The radar is fine - plugged it in my fiance's Jetta and fires right up. Now I'm wondering if there is something wron with my car that I'm not aware of - some other research led me to believe this is an indication of a faulty alternator... Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks, Kyle
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04-19-2008, 06:13 PM	#71
Starscream Colonel 135 Rep 2,120 Posts Drives: ///M Roadster + E92 335i 6MT Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Park Ridge NJ + Windermere FL iTrader: (23)	I installed my V1 a few days back and I used the purple wire with the white line and mines working great! Sell your passport and buy a V1 __________________ Imola Red Roadster
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04-20-2008, 06:52 AM	#72
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	haha, I almost baught the V1 but I guess I'm too shallow - I didn't want to have this sweet looking car with this sexy interior and this old school looking box with this giant knob on it detracting from my cars sex appeal. I know that's not the reason most buy a radar - but I love my radar when it's working, I think that there may be a problem with my electrical system... I hope not but this isn't the first issue I've had. A few months ago I got in my car after a few hours of not driving it and the trip odometer said 0.0 and my clock was reset - and since then my clock has been in military mode. I ordered my first wire off of ebay - yesterday I ordered one direct through escort. Hopefully this will fix the problem, if not then I guess I'm going to have to take a trip to the dealer to have them test my electrical system...
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04-20-2008, 09:24 AM	#73
Burt Reynolds Captain 53 Rep 689 Posts Drives: 2007 M Coupe Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Windy City iTrader: (0)	Funny about old-school V1- It works though. I was an early adopter with the 9500i. My Audi S4 had a built in K40s with Blinder laser diffusers and when I sold it I needed a replacement. The 9500i just came out and I did not want to use my older 8500x50. I owned the 9500i for all of two weeks before I returned it. I think their was a problem with the early ones b/c all the early adopters were returning them to either buy a V1 or go back to their 8500x50. I went for the V1 and love it. I think they have worked out the bugs with the 9500i at this time so it might be a tougher choice today- I do like the bogey counter and arrows even if it is in the same box that was hanging from some guys IROC Z 100 years ago __________________ 2007 M Coupe w/NAV/Premium/Extended Leather, Clearbra, DICE, 4.10 BMW Motorsport Polished LSD, Active Autowerke Gen IV Headers, Supersprint Race Exhaust and X-Pipe, ESS Tuned DME, KWV3 Coilovers, Volk RE30, OEM Strut Tower Brace, Short Antenna, JL AMP, JL 10W7, Valentine V1.
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04-20-2008, 09:32 AM	#74
Burt Reynolds Captain 53 Rep 689 Posts Drives: 2007 M Coupe Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Windy City iTrader: (0)	Also, I installed my V1 exactly like Bill did in the picture above. I tried it on the other side of the mirror and found that the rear detector was off center and with our smallish back window being on center improves rear detection. If any of you have your detector on the passenger side of the mirror, I would suggest you move it to the other side and try it out- you should get better rear detction. __________________ 2007 M Coupe w/NAV/Premium/Extended Leather, Clearbra, DICE, 4.10 BMW Motorsport Polished LSD, Active Autowerke Gen IV Headers, Supersprint Race Exhaust and X-Pipe, ESS Tuned DME, KWV3 Coilovers, Volk RE30, OEM Strut Tower Brace, Short Antenna, JL AMP, JL 10W7, Valentine V1.
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04-20-2008, 09:54 AM	#75
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	Yeah, I know that V1's have a pretty hardcore following and I'm not discrediting it as a great detector - I'm sure that it is. For me, the issue at hand is either the wire I used to hardwire my detector or the electrical system of my car... The radar works most of the time in my car but when I first turn my car on with the detector left on the detector says "low voltage powering down please unplug". When it does work however the voltage meter in the detector shows that it's only getting 10 - 11.1 which is the highest I ever saw it go. I'm hoping the wire that I used was just a sub-par wire that I got off of ebay and that the escort wire will fix the issue, but if not I'll have to take my car to the dealer to have them check it out for me. I was just wondering if anyone else has had this issue - or if anyone has any ideas as to how to troubleshoot thsi problem.
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04-21-2008, 05:10 PM	#77
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	How would I go about testing the wire? Is there some sort of volt meter that I have to buy?
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04-22-2008, 03:48 PM	#78
Hawkeye Brigadier General 2070 Rep 4,365 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 Coupe, '21 X3, '16 GMC Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Iowa iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 GMC Sierra SLT [10.00] 2008 Yamaha R6 [9.00]	Yeah, voltmeters are fairly cheap and very useful. Then you could either tap into the line and test the tap's connections, or you could strip a small bit of the line and test it directly and electrical tape it back after you are done. I recommend the first way. __________________ 2007 Z4 3.0si Coupe • 6 MT • Black Saphire Metallic • PP • SP 2016 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 Premium Plus 4x4 2017 Harley StreetGlide • Denim Black • V&H Tune 2021 BMW x30i • Phytonic Blue Metallic • Fully loaded
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04-22-2008, 04:24 PM	#79
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	Alright, well I might buy a voltmeter but I've already set an appointment at the dealer for them to test my electrical system for me. If that checks out fine then it should be my wire that I bought because I tapped into the exact same wire that you all tapped... We'll see - hopefully I'll have good news to post up here soon!
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04-23-2008, 05:44 AM	#80
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	Another thing that is odd that perhaps one of you guys could check - when you push in your cigarette lighter does the element turn red? I pretty sure that it does because any one I've ever seen gets extremely hot and the element is red... well my gets hot but it stays grey. Which would seem to indicate that it's getting power, just not enough - which should mean that this issue is throughout the car and not just the two mentioned wires before. Also, are any of you able to use your radars in the cigarette lighter slot? Mine won't even turn on in there... I talked to my dad about the situation - he is very knowledgeable about cars.... he told me that my battery should be fine since the car is a daily driver but that it might be my alternator or my voltage regulator... two things I'll make sure to have the dealer check out for me.
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04-23-2008, 02:37 PM	#81
BimmerZealot Major 61 Rep 1,210 Posts Drives: 2019 BMW X3 xDrive30i Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Diego, California iTrader: (2)	When I was using the cig lighter to power my V1 it was very temperamental, I had to wiggle the plug around to get it to power up. I also noticed the same thing with my cig lighter, it doesn't lock in and pop out like all the other cars I've been in, nor does it turn red. Its definitely hot though.
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04-23-2008, 05:30 PM	#82
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	Alright, well I hope the dealer is able to find something wrong otherwise I just bought my fiance a sweet radar for her Jetta...
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04-26-2008, 05:14 PM	#83
Irish Bimmer Private First Class 6 Rep 142 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Jax, FL iTrader: (0)	Just wanted to follow up and say that the issue was with the wire that I purchased off of ebay. I got the directwire from escort and redid the install and everything is working fine. I'm now getting in the vicinity of 14.6 volts. All that worrying for nothing...
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08-15-2008, 02:53 AM	#85
BimmerZealot Major 61 Rep 1,210 Posts Drives: 2019 BMW X3 xDrive30i Join Date: May 2007 Location: San Diego, California iTrader: (2)	Haha my old, poorly written instructions are still helping, that's good =]
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08-15-2008, 08:21 AM	#86
pholden New Member 1 Rep 23 Posts Drives: Z4MC Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Wallkill, NY iTrader: (0)	Heck yeah man! They were perfect. Thanks again.
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10-26-2008, 02:59 PM	#87
nmulax Brigadier General 378 Rep 4,320 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 M Coupe Join Date: May 2006 Location: Metro-Detroit iTrader: (5) Garage List 2007 Z4M Coupé [7.66]	So I just finished hardwiring my V1 - such an easy mod. In fact, snapping the dome light back into place proved to be more difficult and time consuming then everything else combined. I used BimmerZealot's instructions as well. On my car - 2007 M Coupe with Premium, I tapped into the green wire with white stripe. Powers up with key position 2. __________________
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11-02-2008, 07:55 PM	#88
tom_48 BMW Novice 69 Rep 237 Posts Drives: M Coupe Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Chicago, IL iTrader: (0) Garage List 2007 M Coupe' [0.00]	Guys, I have a different question: Pretty soon, I am going to get a V1, but I really don't want to work on it myself. How much do you guys think is a reasonable price for hard wiring a V1? I heard BestBuy can do it? And do you think I have to provide any instructions for them, or it is such easy of a task that they won't need it??? Thanks... __________________
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