Electrically & Electronically challenged here. . .

I am installing a Whistler 3500 detector. It is a remote unit and the control which will be mounted in the face plate beneath the CD player, has a split power cord, one line is a ground, the other has a fuse in line and a spade type plug at the end. Instructions say to plug the power (spade) into an unswitched 12+ DC slot in the fuse box.

Obviously this spade won't plug into the fuse box. Do I need to get a tap and plug the spade into it?

Is there another wire I can tap into closer to the radio console so I don't have to stretch the wire all the way across?

Thanks for any assistance in advance!!
GC

 

Why would you want unswitched power? That's how detectors cause flat batteries.....

S

 

You should just get an "add a fuse" from an auto parts store near you. It costs like $3 and allows you to easily tap your accessory fuse. If you wanted to get daring you could tap the power that goes to the stereo/climate control, and that would shut off with the ignition like your stereo. However, it's probably a bad idea, just to save yourself the trouble of laying another two feet of copper cabling, IMHO.

 

You can tap into the cigarette lighter. It worked well for me.

 

Thanks, got it from the cigar lighter.

StealthTL, My bad! It was switched power. I'm apparently "Reading instructions" challenged as well. . .

 

How do you like the 3500? Any pics of the install?

 

So far, so good. Out this morning for a couple errands it detected three different hits, KA and X so I feel comfortable it is working as it should. The worst part of the install was feeding the wire connections through the rear of the CD head unit. Thank goodness for my flexible metal finger tool to allow me to grab the wires and pull them through. And thanks as well to Pikachu for the cigar lighter power connection.

 

Looks like a nice clean install. Glad I could help.