Hi all,
Since I've been using the resources of the forum here I decided to pay back some of the good information I've discovered in my install.
I purchased a Escort Passport 9500ix because it had great reviews and the features I really wanted (i.e. false alarm location memory, mark trap zones, etc)
The coiled wire to the cigarette lighter was not cutting it because it was so fugly and the invisicord wasn't an option because I wanted to retain the alarm and power lights and the mute/memorize button that the Passport detectors have.
Let me first say that I took all the pics with my phone because that's all I had at the time. If it's not clear enough once you start tearing into it just let me know.
Oh and if you melt your car down to a bubbling steaming pile, lose my contact info.
1. I started by purchasing the Direct Wire SmartCord Blue. It's really easy to wire since there's only a ground wire and a power wire. I just connected the ground wire to the screw that holds the OBD II connector in place under the driver side dash.
2. I had to find a switched ignition feed because apparently in 2009 they cigarette lighter wasn't. I asked around for another ignition source but all i heard back was along the driver door sill and I wasn't very interested in running a wire all the way up when I figured there had to be Ignition power in the dash. After a bit of poking around in the service manual I struck pay dirt.
Circuit 539 passes through the cabin connectors on the drivers dash panel that's exposed when the door is open.
3. The connector in the side of the dash with the circuit 539 Ignition is X200 (the bottom connector in relation to the other two). The pin on X200 is pin 1 of the 20 pins and the wire is pink. It's part of the Misc Ign circuit which is fused separately from the airbag circuit.
DO NOT INSTALL ANY DEVICE TO THIS CIRCUIT THAT DRAWS MORE THAN 1A BECAUSE THERE IS OTHER MODULES IN THE CAR THAT ARE ON THIS CIRCUIT. IF YOU NEED MORE SWITCHED POWER RUN A RELAY OF CIRCUIT 539 AND DRAW A DEDICATED POWER SOURCE FROM THE BATTERY THROUGH A FUSE. IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I JUST SAID DON'T EVEN TRY.
4. I decided to mount the Smartcord controls in the tiny storage pocket in the radio/HVAC controls panel so I could hide the LED's and button when not in use. I first dremeled a hole in the back of the pocket for the wires to route through.
Front
Back
5. Then I drilled a hole 1" fromthe front lip of the pocket and 7/8" from the left side of the pocket just large enough to fit the single screw that is in the smartcord remote.
6. I needed a bit longer screw than the single one that comes in the smartcord remote. I just found one approximately the same diameter and thread pitch and ground it to 1/8" longer than the original.
7. Then I fed the wires through the hole in the back and assembled the smartcord remote with the longer screw in the pocket.
Door closed
8. The rest is pretty simple. Just run the smartcord plug (RJ-11) along the dash and up the drivers 'A' pillar by removing the pillar cover. Neatly tuck the cord in along the head liner and down the rear view mirror harness. Plug in and go.
Easy stuff. The thing that took me the longest was climatizing to the service manual schematics. They leave a lot to be desired compared to everything else I've seen.
Since I've been using the resources of the forum here I decided to pay back some of the good information I've discovered in my install.
I purchased a Escort Passport 9500ix because it had great reviews and the features I really wanted (i.e. false alarm location memory, mark trap zones, etc)
The coiled wire to the cigarette lighter was not cutting it because it was so fugly and the invisicord wasn't an option because I wanted to retain the alarm and power lights and the mute/memorize button that the Passport detectors have.
Let me first say that I took all the pics with my phone because that's all I had at the time. If it's not clear enough once you start tearing into it just let me know.
Oh and if you melt your car down to a bubbling steaming pile, lose my contact info.
1. I started by purchasing the Direct Wire SmartCord Blue. It's really easy to wire since there's only a ground wire and a power wire. I just connected the ground wire to the screw that holds the OBD II connector in place under the driver side dash.
2. I had to find a switched ignition feed because apparently in 2009 they cigarette lighter wasn't. I asked around for another ignition source but all i heard back was along the driver door sill and I wasn't very interested in running a wire all the way up when I figured there had to be Ignition power in the dash. After a bit of poking around in the service manual I struck pay dirt.
Circuit 539 passes through the cabin connectors on the drivers dash panel that's exposed when the door is open.
3. The connector in the side of the dash with the circuit 539 Ignition is X200 (the bottom connector in relation to the other two). The pin on X200 is pin 1 of the 20 pins and the wire is pink. It's part of the Misc Ign circuit which is fused separately from the airbag circuit.
DO NOT INSTALL ANY DEVICE TO THIS CIRCUIT THAT DRAWS MORE THAN 1A BECAUSE THERE IS OTHER MODULES IN THE CAR THAT ARE ON THIS CIRCUIT. IF YOU NEED MORE SWITCHED POWER RUN A RELAY OF CIRCUIT 539 AND DRAW A DEDICATED POWER SOURCE FROM THE BATTERY THROUGH A FUSE. IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT I JUST SAID DON'T EVEN TRY.
4. I decided to mount the Smartcord controls in the tiny storage pocket in the radio/HVAC controls panel so I could hide the LED's and button when not in use. I first dremeled a hole in the back of the pocket for the wires to route through.
Front
Back
5. Then I drilled a hole 1" fromthe front lip of the pocket and 7/8" from the left side of the pocket just large enough to fit the single screw that is in the smartcord remote.
6. I needed a bit longer screw than the single one that comes in the smartcord remote. I just found one approximately the same diameter and thread pitch and ground it to 1/8" longer than the original.
7. Then I fed the wires through the hole in the back and assembled the smartcord remote with the longer screw in the pocket.
Door closed
8. The rest is pretty simple. Just run the smartcord plug (RJ-11) along the dash and up the drivers 'A' pillar by removing the pillar cover. Neatly tuck the cord in along the head liner and down the rear view mirror harness. Plug in and go.
Easy stuff. The thing that took me the longest was climatizing to the service manual schematics. They leave a lot to be desired compared to everything else I've seen.