Wiring radar detector or dash cam
 

My dealer (and many electronic shops) has declined to wire my Escort Max 360c or Escort M1 to the ignition block. Escort is adamant that it is easily done. Lexus doesn't give a reason except they are not allowed to do it. Currently wired to "cigarette lighter". Anyone know of the reason or what the solution might be?




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2018 RX 450h
2018 LC 500

I have my radar detector wired to the rear view mirror.
I disconnected the connector that powers the mirror and using a meter found the ground and power wires and tapped them.
You can buy the radar mount connector made with the tap adapters in Amazon.
Let me know if you need additional info.
Puertex

Thank you Puertex. I have looked into that but I am still leery of wiring in it for fear of invalidating the car"s warranty (which Lexus service rep said could happen).

I understand that I voided the warranty on the item I modify but not the whole warranty.
For example, if something electrical malfunctions on the rear view mirror they may claim they will not honor the warranty because I modified it.
But if anything else happens, the warranty is still intact.
My suggestion, talk to the service manager. This installation is pretty commonplace.
It sure is handy to not have to wrestle with the long cord !
Good luck !
Puertex

I have no meter. Can you tell us which wires to tap into for power and ground?

:egads: My god man! If you own an LC you should be able to afford a simple volt meter from amazon. They run less than $10.00

Yes, just don't how to use one. I am ordering one now.

YouTube is your friend . . . . Just Saying

I will try to document this for you.
Give me a few days so that I can take a look at what I did.
If interested, I can share with you how to find the negative and positive or the ground and power wires.

Its incredible how much stuff I have found on YouTube...I am fairly adept mechanically and electrically and still find great value in using YouTube !

How To Wire Radar Detector To Rear View Mirror
 

Of course here is the disclaimer.
Do this at your own risk. I take no responsibility for any damage or issues resulting from the information provided.
I strongly suggest that you take your meter and verify these polarities.
Also be very careful not to short circuit the two wires by touching the two wires during the install. Keep them separate. Take your time.
I did this myself because I have done electrical work in my past and I know I am not going to screw this up. Although I have screwed up a few times in my distant past :)
I built my own cable as you can see. I did not use the MirrorTap because I had some RJ11 connectors available and a soldering iron.
I may be criticized by some here for not doing it "elegantly" but I am documenting it for those that may benefit.
See the attached photos.
When sitting in the driver seat look at the rear view mirror.
Behind it, there are a couple of plastic covers that cover the wires powering the mirror.
Remove the plastic cover closest to the mirror.
Then you will see the connector just like in the photo.
Remove the second cover and you will be able to grab the connector and disconnect it by pushing the tab and pulling it apart.
Take a look at the photo showing the positive red wire being the bottom row leftmost wire.
The next wire to the right is the ground wire.
You can buy a MirrorTap cable that has the stabbing blades already done for you.The installation will the be deemed "elegant".
I suggest getting a MirrorTap that has several blades of different sizes so that you can use the ones that fits best.
Not all detectors use the same cable.
My detector is a Uniden, so the power is on cable #3 and the ground is on cable #4 (out of 6 slots) of the RJ11 phone connector counting from right to left.
Notice that my last photo below is looking at the connector with the tab up and the slots facing downwards.
Keep in mind that my color wires are different because I am cheap and used a phone connector I had laying around here.
The key is that the positive wire is the bottom leftmost and the ground is the cable to the right.
So if you buy a pre-made MirrorTap you will have the red wire going into the positive and the black into the negative.
Have Fun !


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I am glad to share.

Thank you!
 

Thank you for sharing the correct plug wiring locations for the mirror tap. I just ordered an Escort 360C and a mirror mounting bracket and mirror tap for my 2018 LC. I thought that I could get away with the Escort Solo battery powered unit with a quality suction cup mount. But ,when I tried it along side the Valentine V1 in my Landcruiser, the range performance was abysmal by comparison. So, after talking to the Escort folks, they offered to take back the Solo and sell me the 360C for 2.5 times the money. They, of course, claim that it outperforms the V1 in every respect. It certainly seems to have more of the latest and greatest technology that is missing in the V1. I will post up results after I try it next to the V1 in the Landcruiser. I had a V1 in my 2010 ZR1 for nine years and it paid for itself a hundred times over. Never got even close to a speeding ticket.
One other question on the install, were you able to route the mirror tap wire cleanly out from under the plug cover?
Thanks again for the great post!

Hello,
There is enough room inside the plastic cover to bring the cable back up under the ceiling cover.
Just be careful to protect the cables with electrical tape from short circuit when the cables are bunched up under the cover.
I have an Uniden R3 and its been a nice detector. They have really reduced the false alarms making them more effective.
Good luck!
Puertex