Finally took the V1 out of my windshield and installed it up and overhead using the Direct-Wire Power Adapter Kit (item #20305 and item #00030 available seperately at an additional cost).



Took me about an hour I'm hardly the electrician. Anyway the hardest part was finding the fuse box which is way underneath on the driver's side and connecting and the fuses are really tiny. Fuses are easy to pull with needle-nose plyers. I used the red 15A (seat heaters and ventilators) fuse which is fuse #13, it is hot only when the ignition is on and it is not hot when you turn off the ignition. If you're not trying to start the vehicle and you push the button once, this fuse is not hot; push it a second time and it's hot...accessory. Works for me!

Anyway, since the fuse is so tiny you'll need a thin wire to insert and I still couldn't push the fuse back in all the way. Also I used the screw that holds the fuse box down as the ground. The easy part was pushing in the cabling into the cracks and hiding the cable in the headliner. Here's a pic before I completed from the V1 left across the top of the windshield under the headliner, all the way down the pillar (careful there's an airbag there) to the bottom of the windshield, and then come back about six inches and down:



You could remove this panel to help with the wiring, the triangle wedge that you have to open the door to pop-off; use a coat hanger to help guide the cable:



Finally, the V1 is mounted low enough to still see the road ahead but beneath the top layer of the windshield:



Positioned just right in the cabin, not too close to your head in case of accident (don't want Valentine permanently imprinted on your forehead), not at such an angle that you have to take your eyes off the road:



Edit: I used this particular fuse box area for power because it is switched. When you turn off the ignition, the V1 will power off by itself. When you start the car, the V1 will power on. No need to manipute the V1 power button. I have been unable to determine if any other fuse areas of the vehicle exhibit this behavior.

 

Looks good. A nice standard installation. Thanks for the post.

What I'm interested in though is where to put the remote display which in my opinion is an essential part of the V1.
Here's what I did in my current car if anyone is interested. Best mod i ever did.
V1 Custom Install

 

Very Nice
I would really like to do that on my car, it looks really ugly in the middle of the windshield.

 

With that thing so close to my head, it would bother the crap out of me.

I have my Cordless Escort Solo S2 on the windshield. Easy to take down and put back up.

Put thanks for sharing.

 

wow, that's very cool. unfortunately i won't be able to do any cutting, i'm not that good. besides i left my remote in my trade-in. VitB6, i use to have the s2...but i sent it back.

 

can anyone suggest a good radar detector? i've heard about the valentine but don't know much about it, or where to find a decent deal on one...any suggestions?

 

I don't really know much about them either, but I know that the Valentine V1 and the Escort Passport 8500 X50 are the best of the best. I've heard (and seen) that the V1 is the top pick usually, however very expensive.

The Escort Solo S2 is the best cordless one out there, but they tend to shut themselves off to preserve battery life.

 

Thanks for taking time to post this. I have used a number of different detectors and the V1 directional arrows are the most useful features out there.

My household owns three V1s.

 

Remember, no matter how good your radar/laser detector is, you still have to be careful. Being a "smart speeder" is key. I own a Valentine1 myself, and even with it I got a speeding ticket in September. I was speeding on I-70 coming back from Vail in my previous car and got caught by an aircraft. No detector on earth can protect you from that.

 

The two top-rated radar/laser detectors are the Bel RX65 and the Escort X50. I only wish that they had the V1 directional arrows!

Lex

 

Can you use the sun visor with that up there?

 

yes you can.

 

yeah one of the first things is hardwiring a V1... AFTER the break in peiod..

 

I've had 2 valetine one's, over the past 7-8 yrs,, and just recently purchased
a passport 8500x5,, and it is without a doubt 10 times better than the
V1, ... The sensitivity is not that much of a difference, they are both
great radar detectors in that aspect, but the passport x5 has WAY
fewer false alarms, i mean this thing never goes off unless its the real
thing,, which in my oponion makes it the clear choice...

 

I just turn off X-Band on my V1. My V1 is *OLD* though, about 6 year old now. It rarely falses in the other bands, but it's very easily to tell if it's falsing or not