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Guys,

I have a 2001 Civic LX. Want to het Passport 8500, 'cuz the cops here in the Bay Area are getting vicious! Now, I read all of the recepies in this forum about hardwiring the detector through a dashboard etc. Different people suggest different things. I somehow like the idea of hooking it up to the lighter the best. Now, a question to all you gurus: What is REALLY the best way to do this? The most hassle-free, and such that you don't have to turn the detector off when you get out of the car, i.e. it is on only when the engine is running.

Thank you to all of you guys for really cool suggestions, now please pick the best before I take my car apart.

 
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umm...i just took mine and plugged it into my cig lighter...simple as that

 
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you could always wire it from the hot wire for the illumination to the radio, that way it comes on and turns off automatically, although i think i have seen somewhere where they hotwired it from the dome light, i forget how though

 
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Well if you got a little bit of patience find a big set of wire loom and the connector. Probably the radio connector will work best. Stick in multimeter or accessory (that has to be grounded) in each set of connections. Each wire will have a connection. When you find the wire deemed accessory on ( only on when the ignition is flipped to the on position.) Tap that wire and you are good to go. Now you will know its that wire cause the accessory will come on or you will get a reading on your meter. You will trouble shoot alittle and make sure the wire isnt connected to any other switch like the lights also. I am going to be doing this as soon as I get a nice warm weekend. If you want to wait I will just tell you what set of wires it is and what not. Maybe do up a cleaner DIY.

 
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The lighter socket only has power when ignition key is turned "on".


I have a 8500 and I love it!! Just plug it into the lighter socket, the socket is switched so the detector will turn on and off with the car. I like the idea of the lighter socket with switched power except when you park your car to go into a store and you want to leave your car phone charger on to recharge your phone. Unless you leave the keys in it with the ignition on it won't work.

 
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look in the DIY section...im pretty sure there is one, if not search the forum. I followed somebodies DIY to wire it to the top map lights and it is tight as hell. Thats what i recommend. Its very easy as well.

I think it might depend what model you have though.

 
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Thats a good idea, that would look really clean, no wires hanging, I'm going to search for that DIY.

 
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this is what i did, just go to radio shack and get another 12v outlet (liek the cig lighter) and use the then hook it up to the back of the one in your dash now, so it is inside the dash, then run the cord up and throug the dash where you need it.

 
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No, man... The wire running over the dash ain't cool. Plus, I used the lighter for the cell phone charger.

 
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I have Civic01LX.
But then, you had to stick the detector up there by the rear view mirror - someone here mentioned that that affects the rear direction scanning sensitivity.

 
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OK. This sounds interesting. So you had to start from INSIDE the dash and then come through the vent up? - I mean I don't even see alot of space on top of the dash to even come through.

I wish someone would provide a DIY with pictures...

 
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Thanks, man. If you could let me know which set of wires I should use - it would be the best!
I'll be waiting for your post.

 
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Heres pics of my hard wire:





They have all the wires and connectors at Radio Shack.

 
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hardwire it to the cig lighter, tap it into that wire, it's always on.

 
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The higher you have the detector the better it works.

-Kre

 
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No its not. The lighter only comes on when the ignition key is turned "ON".

 
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You are somewhat incorrect....Im guessing your talking about it being able to pick up radar better at higher "altitute" but the radar detector works better towards the bottom of the windsheild that way it has a larger field of view towards the back..

I used to have my radar above the rear view miror and now that i moved it to the bottom middle of the front windshield (or middle of windshield) it seems to pick up any radar better now.

 
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Thanks for the pix.
I visited your site, but didn't find any additional explanations.
Could you say in a couple of sentences where is the "+" connection, please.
The ground is clearly marked, but it is not clear how/where to plug in the "+".

Thanks.

 
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i did mine a little differntly, i use a t-tap and connected to the brown wire in the cruise control button on top of the coin tray, works great, theres a wire you can tap into behind the a-pillar trim, but they are constand +12, not a switched +12

 
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They are supposed to have the new Passport Solo 2 out or coming out. I saw a pic of it in a magazine. It looked pretty cool but $$ It was like $350. But being cordless was definitely a nice feature.

 
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Thats exactly what I did, took me like 2 minutes & I didnt have to take anything apart & if u want to take it out u just pull.

By far the simplest way IMO.

 
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That's great. Now can someone explain CLEARLY, based on the pics, where the "plus wire goes, please. Please, please, please...

 
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The wire with the mark on it (I think its + but sometimes they switch it around) goes in the radio fuse(thats where I put it), just stick the wire in the fuse hole & plug the fuse back in. The other one just needs to be grounded, wrap it around a bolt of something.

 
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stick the wire in the fuse hole and plug the fuse back in?... how does that work?... somehow i can't visualize it

sorry i'm dumb haha

 
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Now you know how I feel.
I'm sure there are plenty of people here who can explain the whole thing in 3 sentences + 4 pics, but unfortunately they all speak strictly in technical terms - I mean if you don't know off the top of your head which one is the radio fuse, what are you doing in this forum at all!
And I really don't want to order the damn Escort Passport 8500 and optionals smart cord, be out for 330 bucks, and not to know EXACTLY how to put the damn thing on my car. And the cops are smelling blood on 101 between San Jose and San Francisco...

HELP!!!

 
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Look in the manual where it lists all the fuses & find the one for the radio(#8 on my car but I would still check the manual, it may be different on your car). Unplug it. Then stick the wire(make sure the wire is stripped) into the hole that the fuse goes in & plug the fuse back in so that it will make contact with & use the current going through the fuse. It really dosent matter which fuse you choose but I used the one for the radio, that way when I start the car it will turn on with the radio(when you turn on the ignition) rather that staying on while the car is off.

Im not to car auido & electric savy either so I understand, I deal mostly with PA audio & house systems. I had a friend explain the procedure to me so...

 
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About Having the Radar in the top I have the 8500 and I havn't noticed a difference in the place I put it... I don't get radard from behind that much. I've also taken some heat from cops about having a radar even though they arn't illegal.

As for tapping into a fuse make sure you don't tap into the fused side of the wire. It may cause the fuse to blow by pulling to many amps through it...

I havn't hardwired mine yet, when I do i'm going off the radio fuse.