[JBM]

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Alright . . . the the usual stuff applies . . . do this at your own risk . . . I am not a trained professional or expert . . . These directions were modified from shawnsheridan's post for the f10 found here . . . http://wwww.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?p=6140426

So on my E90, I had used an invisicord for my 9500ix, I loved the setup. Nice and clean and minimal effort for installation (minimal effort is always a good thing for lazy slobs like myself). This install is also very effortless and took me about 10 min with no real instruction.

The F30 had no DIY for this, so I bit the bullet and tried myself.

1. Sit in the passenger seat, it's a lot easier.

2. Remove plastic cover plate from rearview mirror. It's seam is down the middle. I started at the top by the roof line and pulled the driver's half off. This takes a bit of effort to remove and is by far the hardest part of this install.

3. Once removed, find the molex plug that runs from the roofline into the electrical mirror. There will be 4 wires running into the molex plug. The brown/black wire in the top right position is the ground. The brown/green wire in the bottom middle position is the 12 V switched.

4. Take your Invisicord . . . make sure you buy the one with the regular pins, not the micro pins, those are too small and will slide out. I have a 6 inch cord, which seems to be the ideal length. (You can get one here http://www.invisicord.com/index.html) Anyway, plug the black pin into hole where the brown/black wire (ground) is entering and plug the yellow pin into the hole where the brown/green (12 V switched) wire is entering. This is known as piggybacking. And afterward, you should have two holes in the molex plug each with two wires entering them.

5. Run the wire however you would like, I ran mine to the roofline.

6. Reassemble the plastic rearview mirror housing. They will just snap together.

7. Plug in your radar detector and have fun . . .

P.S. I don't have the lane departure warning camera in the rearview housing. That may or may not change which plug you use.

[mikew2069]

So it looks like you don't have the remote 'mute' button installed anywhere?

[F555]

Lucky I live in a country where speed doesn't apply

[howiegu]

Wow, that's great! Thanks for the write-up and for making it working in F30.
I've been running my V1 through the windshield abyss to the outlet under the glove compartment. Which was fine until my passager decided to do some kickin stretches -

[JBM]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

So it looks like you don't have the remote 'mute' button installed anywhere?

No. I don't have the remote installed. So all controls are on the radar itself. I never really used the remote when it was plugged into the cigarette lighter, so it wasn't much of a loss. I'll be honest, I haven't seen any rearview mirror install with the remote. But if you know of one, I'd love to see it.

[mikew2069]

Here's the install on my previous car. Can't wait to take delivery of my F30 to see if I can replicate...


Radar by mikew2069, on Flickr

[JBM]

Originally Posted by mikew2069

Here's the install on my previous car. Can't wait to take delivery of my F30 to see if I can replicate...


Radar by mikew2069, on Flickr

Very nice!

[chriskd]

Thank you for this walkthrough, JBM! I just finished setting mine up.

[Balzz]

Just installed my bel magnum tapping into the rearview mirror cabling. Thanks for this write-up!

[shawnsheridan]

Nice Job...and thanks for the reference.

[venkata]

Can this be replicated for a car camera?

[DangerousTacos]

Originally Posted by venkata

Can this be replicated for a car camera?

Also interested in this.

[JBM]

Originally Posted by venkata

Can this be replicated for a car camera?

I have seen car cameras wired this same way. Some people in the e90 board have done this. I have not tried it myself, but the only thing you would need is the appropriate wire end to plug into the camera.

I'm sure if you ask Invisicord, they will make you one. He will custom build most things. The other option is to do it yourself. Through a google search, I found a a few sites showing how to take a old telephone cord and convert it.

Good luck with it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

[JBM]

Originally Posted by shawnsheridan

Nice Job...and thanks for the reference.

Gotta give credit to the great contributors!

[venkata]

Originally Posted by JBM

I have seen car cameras wired this same way. Some people in the e90 board have done this. I have not tried it myself, but the only thing you would need is the appropriate wire end to plug into the camera.

I'm sure if you ask Invisicord, they will make you one. He will custom build most things. The other option is to do it yourself. Through a google search, I found a a few sites showing how to take a old telephone cord and convert it.

Good luck with it. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Thanks JBM. Will need to look into more.

[inChargeOfIT]

I mounted my mute button above the review mirror and have the radar out of my view on the right as much as possible.

[ad78]

how hard pulling the center plastic cover?

[inChargeOfIT]

I followed the directions from this post http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=754283 and it worked out well for me.

The only difference was that I mounted the remote mute button above the rear view mirror using some simple velcro tabs, and I also used shrink tube and some network cable wrap (http://savvytronics.com/index.php?l=...t_detail&p=478) to keep the cables secure (zip-ties can cut into cables and electrical tape can come undone.)

The hardest part for me was getting the a-pillar covers back on, everything else was pretty simple. I also had a plastic tool used for installing screens in doors and windows that helped me run the cable along the cabin floor (https://www.google.com/shopping/prod...ed=0CFkQ8wIwAQ)

Took about an hour and a trip to Pepboys and Harbor Freight.

Unless you are fairly mechanically inclined, I would probably advise getting it professionally installed from your local audio install shop-- I was going to, but I was confident that I would do a better job.

[facepunch77]

Originally Posted by ad78

how hard pulling the center plastic cover?

I have same question. Do you use a tool or by hand?

[inChargeOfIT]

Originally Posted by facepunch77

I have same question. Do you use a tool or by hand?

The dome light cover is not too difficult, but it may take a minute to figure it out. You do need a small screwdriver to gently pry the clips to get the dome to release-- you can see the pics in http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=754283 where he describes this. It helps to constantly pull down on the cover as you pry the clips on both sides (firm but gentle.)

The A Pillar was much more difficult. It has keyed clips and was difficult for me to get back on. It's also easy to break the plastic clips if you apply too much pressure. The trick for me was to put one of the clips on the a pillar cover before putting it back on.

Overall, I would give this project a 'moderately difficult' rating (wiring a radar from the fuse box in the trunk to the mirror.)

The difficult part being the A Pillar (at least for me) and then the dome light part. Again, not difficult, just little tricky to figure out; but, any DIY stuff will require some amount of just figuring things out as you go. The pictures and posts online help, but not all of the parts are exactly the same.

If you are not fairly confident in your mechanical skills, it may be worth spending the ~$200 getting it installed professionally.

[ad78]

Originally Posted by inChargeOfIT

The dome light cover is not too difficult, but it may take a minute to figure it out. You do need a small screwdriver to gently pry the clips to get the dome to release-- you can see the pics in http://www.f30post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=754283 where he describes this. It helps to constantly pull down on the cover as you pry the clips on both sides (firm but gentle.)

The A Pillar was much more difficult. It has keyed clips and was difficult for me to get back on. It's also easy to break the plastic clips if you apply too much pressure. The trick for me was to put one of the clips on the a pillar cover before putting it back on.

Overall, I would give this project a 'moderately difficult' rating (wiring a radar from the fuse box in the trunk to the mirror.)

The difficult part being the A Pillar (at least for me) and then the dome light part. Again, not difficult, just little tricky to figure out; but, any DIY stuff will require some amount of just figuring things out as you go. The pictures and posts online help, but not all of the parts are exactly the same.

If you are not fairly confident in your mechanical skills, it may be worth spending the ~$200 getting it installed professionally.

the OP seems to me that he didnt remove the dome light. i believe what he removed is the plastic cover from the rearview mirror. they are 2 pieces from what i see, i just tried pulling on top but i dont have the balls to pull really hard lol

[facepunch77]

Thanks for the write up! I installed mine today.. works great/literally took 10 minutes!