stu

Hi , I finally opted for the S4 Neo ( great price ? 230 from the wonderful costco by the way!) , this has both GPS and radar/laser detection capabilities.
I don't fancy sticking it on the windscreen with the rubber boot device since
(i) this may irritate mr Plod if he ever sees it
(ii) leave the thing on view and vunerable to theft
(iii) look a bit gash

Now there is a nice little cubby in the dash and with a bit of velcro will sit deep in there and still ve viewable from the drivers seat.
I need to run 3 wires
(i) Power , perhaps from the cig lighter a few inches away
(ii) Remote lead to the GPS aerial , any suggestions?
(iii) Remote lead to the Snooper remote extension laser detector which can sit somewhere in the grill.

Thanks for reading this far!
Now before I pull my E60 apart whilst trying to route these 3 leads in a discreet way - may I ask for advice?
Has anyone tackled a similar wiring exercise.
Or can anyone recommend a guy ,or shop, in or near Berkshire that can do this?
Thanks

Jimbo

This link from the DIY forum may help.

Here's another link.

Read through all the posts. There's lots of info buried in there.

Good luck.

Keep us posted.

JDN

Stu, I am not familiar with that particular device, but most detectors require a clear shot at the source radar or laser to work as engineered. I think you are going to have to do a mount that is visible to Mr. "Plod" and take your chances. Most seem to expect it in the US. Hardwired like Jimbo suggested is pretty easy and mounts the unit so high that it is not very noticeable.

northernmonkey

i have the origin B2 hard wired into my E60. It is located on the dash next to the piece of trim that houses the PDC switch. the power feed is taken from the power going to the back of the cigarette lighter.

the gps antenna is located very close to the windscreen in the middle of the dash.

all cabling is totally conceled from view though i have to own up i did not install it myself i got a pro to do it and he had basically the dash in bits (suprisingly easy to take apart) in order to conceal the wiring.

to fix the mount cradle to the dash i bought some "super strength" double sided velcro tape from B&Q and then cut a piece the same size and shape as the mounting plate and stuck it on with that, produced a very good seal and excellent finish and much better than the crap adhesive strips that came with the B2.

if I can I will try and post some pics for you.

speuk

Stu,

When you find out how to get to the wires at the back of the cigarette lighter let me know!!! My dealer recommended that as the best place to take switched power for my Road Angel unit.

The antenna can be fed up at the side of the dash, you need to remove the pillar cover, which clips on...( pull door seal away first to release rear eddge and be careful when working near air bag) I had a good look at the detail here while my windscreen was out this week ( 2nd one in 6 months!!). The pillar cover sits onto top of the dash with about a 20mm overlap, difficult to explain in words but you can thread the cable with the aid of some stiff wire.

Doctor Diesel has done a neat install of his Origin b2... if you seach his posts you can see pictures of antenna etc, he took power from the main bus bar via one of the spare fuse positions at rear of glove box, but this is not switched with the iginition, DD has set his b2 to power off automatically but I cannot do this on the Road Angel.

Let me know how you get on.... when you have done yours pop over and you can install mine ho ho!!

Rudy

JDN, is that your install? From the angle of the photo, it looks like you may be significantly blocking the rear-facing antenna which may affect your performance and directional arrow accuracy.

If you slide the detector a little to the left, it might unblock things enough...

JDN

Thanks, Rudy, but V1 reads loud and clear to the rear in that location. I think Mr. V picks up scatter signal good. Picks up Smokey (Mr. Plod on the move ) usually well before I can spot him. My wife is always trying to get me to slow down when he's back there whereas my mode of operandi is to accelerate if the V1 lights indicate he is closing (beats the break pedal, Juan. ).

Rudy

I'm sure it works, I'm only worried that it isn't working as well as it can. Don't forget that the directional arrows depend on how strong the signal is to the rear. In other words, if the bogey is in front of you and you pass it, I'm sure you've seen the arrows will shift from front, to middle, to rear. The middle and rear arrows rely on the rear antenna to determine where the source is. If you're blocking the rear antenna partially, you'll see a larger delay in when the middle and rear arrows light. Also, the rear laser sensor is the little dot centered under the antenna window. It shouldn't be blocked at all.

It's probably not that big of a deal but again, it's all about maximizing performance. Blocking the rear antenna would be like putting low-end tires on the car. It'll still move, turn, etc., it just won't do it as well as it could...

Jimbo

You can always use the e-brake to do a stealth slow down.

JDN

Right, Jimbo, before SMG downshifts, I used to do that.