Toyota Tundra Forum

So I had the roof console down yesterday finishing up my parking sensor install and was looking at the ceiling. First I thought about taking everything down and insulating the whole ceiling. Then I decided that could come later. So I then thought about my radar detector. While the bottom of the dash is the best place for it, I didn't like it there. I wanted it up high on the windshield so that it's out of the way and less noticeable in a parking lot.

So I needed some switched power to that location. Well, turned out there was already power up there. I used the power that goes to the powered mirror.

There are 3 plugs above the front of the console. The main plug is the one that plugs into the console. The middle one is for the powered mirror and the left one is for the back up camera and monitor. The one we want is the middle one with the black plug with the blue, white/black, and white wires in it.



Closer view of where the plug is mounted:



You can cut the existing plug for the radar detector to use. I had a spare plug laying around so I use it and soldered my own wires on. Just leave it long enough to reach from the radar detector to a little past the plug we will be tapping into. You can run the wire through a little existing hole between the mirror and the roof lining.

Here is a picture with the wires already run:



I then used the blue wire splices to tap into the existing wires. The wire taps can be bought almost anywhere including WalMart.

The blue wire is the switched power. It is powered only when the key turned to the run position. The white/black stripe is the ground wire.



Here's a couple of finished pictures. The radar detector is just held in place with the stock suction cups. It's also placed so that the visor can still be put down and even pushed forward a bit.




The Radar Detector is my old radar/laser detector with a digital read out that still works like a champ. Somehow it picks up laser bouncing off cars when the cop is on the other side of a hill and it has a laser range of several miles. Regular radar detection works great as well. I'll keep it till it quits working.

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2007 SR5 Crewmax 5.7L 4x4
Mods: nerf bars, Truxedo tonneau, radar detector power, 3M clear bra, fog lights, black billet grille, rear differential breather, parking sensors, Line-X, power tailgate lock, hood safety latch mod, one off driving lights behind grille, Pioneer NAV w/ OEM camera, Flowmaster 50 SUV dual/dual, blue LED dash lights, Volant CAI, Llumar tint, CompuStar Pro alarm, ProComp 6066 20" wheels, Cooper Zeon LTZ 275/60/20 tires, OME HD coilover lift, Firestone helper air bags, stereo cable lock, Tekonsha P3 brake controller
All mod descriptions and pictures © 2007,2008 by Toxarch. They may be copied only for personal use and the mods may be done for non-profit only.

Nice, clear instructions Tox for those wanting to install radar detectors up and out of view. Heck, with your instructions and pics, I think even I could do that!! In fact, I might just do that since I ran my power from the fuse box up the driver A-pillar, and across the top of the windshield under the front of the headliner. I find the wires hanging out at the top occasionally and it's a pain.

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2007 Tundra Limited Double Cab 4x4 Super White
Volant Cold Air Intake
Pioneer AVIC Z-2
Key FOB Tailgate Lock (courtesy of Toxarch)
OEM back-up camera w/flip down monitor microswitch mod
Sirius Satellite Radio
20" OEM alloy wheels
Line-X Bed liner
UWS Black Powdercoat Low Profile Toolbox
DU-HA underseat storage unit
JC Whitney Black Nerf Bars
Lund Interceptor II Bug Shield
Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller

Nice write up, Tox! Pics always help. By the way, looks like you need to clean your mirror...... so you can see dem copper's comin' up behind ye!

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Another Great write up Tox, Thanks!

I need to get me a Radar detector, Someday...lol!

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From experience, having a radar detector when that copper does come up behind you is almost a sure bet ticket if you are violating the law! A Louisiana Trooper, who stopped me for speeding in my Titan (and after I pleaded with him for a warning ticket), pointed to my radar detector and said, "You've already had your warning!" Of course with the corruption in Louisiana, if you "know" someone, you can get the ticket reduced to a non-moving violation (which I was lucky enough to do)!

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2007 Tundra Limited Double Cab 4x4 Super White
Volant Cold Air Intake
Pioneer AVIC Z-2
Key FOB Tailgate Lock (courtesy of Toxarch)
OEM back-up camera w/flip down monitor microswitch mod
Sirius Satellite Radio
20" OEM alloy wheels
Line-X Bed liner
UWS Black Powdercoat Low Profile Toolbox
DU-HA underseat storage unit
JC Whitney Black Nerf Bars
Lund Interceptor II Bug Shield
Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller

Yeah, you can still see the Toyota symbol on the mirror from the "You have a full tank of gas" sticker when I bought the truck. I haven't cleaned the windshield on the inside either. When it fogs up, you can see a big square in the middle where a sticker used to be on it and two round marks where suction cups were used during truck assembly. One day I will get around to cleaning both of them. I only see the marks when it gets foggy inside the truck.

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2007 SR5 Crewmax 5.7L 4x4
Mods: nerf bars, Truxedo tonneau, radar detector power, 3M clear bra, fog lights, black billet grille, rear differential breather, parking sensors, Line-X, power tailgate lock, hood safety latch mod, one off driving lights behind grille, Pioneer NAV w/ OEM camera, Flowmaster 50 SUV dual/dual, blue LED dash lights, Volant CAI, Llumar tint, CompuStar Pro alarm, ProComp 6066 20" wheels, Cooper Zeon LTZ 275/60/20 tires, OME HD coilover lift, Firestone helper air bags, stereo cable lock, Tekonsha P3 brake controller
All mod descriptions and pictures © 2007,2008 by Toxarch. They may be copied only for personal use and the mods may be done for non-profit only.

This is a great post and got me started on the right track when I wanted to do a windshield install of my Valentine1 radar detector in my '07 5.7l DC. My truck came with the fancy mirror (auto dimmer, compass and garage door opener). So, it didn't have the middle connector that Toxarch's CrewMax did. As a result, I had to (gingerly) expose the wiring that comes up from the fancy mirror into the upper console area.

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The wires in the bundle from the mirror are: gray, light blue, black (I think), and white with a black stripe. They are taped and glued inside the headliner, so you have to be careful when slicing the black electrical tape to expose the wires. I used the same light blue and white/black stripe wires Toxarch used for his install to attach the 3M connectors. (These come with a .25" connector input to accept a male connector as supplied by the Valentine1 adapter unit.)

The photos show how I made up the connections and then used some foam packing sheeting and a couple tie wraps to form a "burrito" to stuff into the space between the headliner and the roof for the excess wiring. I did this because the Valentine1 connector has a fuse holder that you might need to get at sometime.

I stuffed the RJ11 (phone jack) type connector through the slot in the headliner trim for the connection to the V1, and - viola! - it looks great!

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oops - here's a shot of the "burrito" and a close up of the two wires used with the 3M connectors.

I'd highly advise that you test and double test that everything is working before you put the overhead console back together.

I had to fuss with the (ground) 3M connector a bit to make sure the connection was sound before buttoning up the install.

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Looks good. Glad my write-up helped you out. Kinda surprised they don't use the plug if the mirror is factory installed.

BTW, nice NSX.

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2007 SR5 Crewmax 5.7L 4x4
Mods: nerf bars, Truxedo tonneau, radar detector power, 3M clear bra, fog lights, black billet grille, rear differential breather, parking sensors, Line-X, power tailgate lock, hood safety latch mod, one off driving lights behind grille, Pioneer NAV w/ OEM camera, Flowmaster 50 SUV dual/dual, blue LED dash lights, Volant CAI, Llumar tint, CompuStar Pro alarm, ProComp 6066 20" wheels, Cooper Zeon LTZ 275/60/20 tires, OME HD coilover lift, Firestone helper air bags, stereo cable lock, Tekonsha P3 brake controller
All mod descriptions and pictures © 2007,2008 by Toxarch. They may be copied only for personal use and the mods may be done for non-profit only.