DIY e36 Valentine V1 radar hardwire install

[hvguy]

Hi all, I tried to post this in the DIY section however the button is not there for me... so if this is technically in the wrong section, LMK.




My car: 98 BMW 328i convertible. Mods include BC coilovers, m50 intake, CAI, 100W LED high beams, projector headlight conversion, new radio (hardly a mod) and a gutted muffler.


The valentine radar is (from what a read and word of mouth) the best radar detector in the world.
I ordered mine with the bluetooth adapter for my evo 4g lte (they also have one for iOS). The basic kit comes with the main unit, a suction cup mount (with 2 sizes of cups), visor mount, cigarette lighter power supply, springy RJ-11 cord and a straight RJ-11 cord, hardwire adapter and instructions. The bluetooth kit came with the bluetooth radio and a short (3 inches long) RJ-11 cord to goto the hardwired power supply.


1: Mounting
Start off by mounting your detector to the windshield (I honestly almost made an all aluminum mount for the unit because of how flimsy the cups looked; however once I windexed my windshield and cups, I could probably use the bracket as a tow point if I ever get stuck...... really) I swapped out the small cups for the larger ones since it seemed a bit more stable, and with the unit pushed all the way back, it kind of wedges itself against the windshield and doesn't wobble around.



2: Remove the dome light for power.
Place a small screwdriver (in this case; my knife) between the trim and the light housing in the center on the left side of the light (NOT THE RIGHT!!!!! it hinges down from the right side) and pry it out. It shouldn't put up any fight, if it does, your doing something wrong or this doesn't apply to your car. Push the lamp back into place to get a feel for how its supposed to go back together, then take it out again. (trust me)





3: Wiring/radio prep.
Remove the center dome light reflector and lamp, then bend the metal strips away from the center to allow space for the hardwire power supply. The strip with the brown wire attached is negative, the one with no wire attached is positive (or if you want to use a map light, I believe the center conductor is negative and the case of the lamp is positive). While using a knife (be careful) pry out the left section of styrofoam to allow space for the bluetooth radio. Pull the main power wire between the trim and the windshield and measure how long it needs to be. (be sure there's enough room to plug it in easily, you can always tuck the excess away)






4: Soldering.
NOTE: Since I was going to install my radio outside of the lamp bezel, I made mine longer, but later noticed it would fit if I removed the foam; which is why you will see WAAY too long of a wire going to the radio.
Bring your 2x RJ-11 cables (the non coiled and the short bluetooth cable), hardwire power supply and lamp bezel. Using the measurements you made in step 3, cut and solder the wires together being sure to match the colors correctly. Dont forget to slip heat shrink tubing over the wires first! After that, solder the hardwire power supply to where the dome light used to be, the positive (red+) goes to the strip with no wire, the negative (black-) goes to the strip with the brown wire connected. Dont cut the fuse out of the wire, its rated for 2 amps and im 100% sure the inline fuse for the lighting is much more than that just in case something goes wrong.








5: Reassembly.
Pull the main unit cable between the trim and the windshield and hook it up as you see fit (I made mine short so you cant see it) then hook it into the MAIN spot of the power supply. Plug the bluetooth radio into its cable and plug it into the ACC spot on the power supply and tuck the radio into where you removed the styrofoam earlier. (I had to wedge mine in place with some foam to keep it out of the way when pushing the light back in place) Now push the power supply into where the dome light used to be (the flat bars help keep it in place with tension). The fuse needs to be pushed out of the way toward the windshield since there is nearly no room between the power supply and the roof. Tuck the remaining wires in place and push the light bezel back into place being super careful not to smash any wires or in worse case scenario; break the bezel. Remember how it felt when you did it last time (step 2)







6: Testing.
Now that its wired to where the dome light used to be, flip the middle switch towards the rear of the car (on) the other way is (door) then power on the unit by turning the volume knob clockwise. If it doesn't work, rock the switch back and forth (mine was a bit corroded) or check your fuses. If no avail, disassemble and test the unit with the cigarette adapter. If your letting someone else drive your car, you can turn the unit off by flipping the dome light to off and turning the knob off to discourage speeding lol. Nobody would ever think of flipping the dome light switch to turn on the detector.


Hope this helps! I dont check this forum very often, however I have emails turned on so if you need help, email me.

[hvguy]

nearly 100 views and no replies. I even messaged a mod about my original post and nothing. Is anyone there? (spoken in an oracle turret voice)

[BimmerBreaker]

Pictures are a bit big (so big I didnt even bother reading through it... since half the pics get cut off) and this is not a common place for DIYs to be posted.

If you want views, I would reupload the pictures at 800x600 or 1024x860 and maybe post the DIY in the E36 section

[hvguy]

Pictures are a bit big (so big I didnt even bother reading through it... since half the pics get cut off) and this is not a common place for DIYs to be posted.

If you want views, I would reupload the pictures at 800x600 or 1024x860 and maybe post the DIY in the E36 section

when I posted the pics, i was hoping the version forum they are running would shrink them untill clicked for more detail. And I cannot post in any other sections and ive contacted mods but nobody is replying.

Ill fix pics when I get home, thanks.

[BigSandwich]

Nice write up. I agree the pictures are huge.

[ShowtiM3]

Nice work.