Tuco

Hey all,

Well I picked up my 2009 S5 about two weeks ago, and one of the first things I did was take the V1 out of my A4 and transfer it over to the new car. It wasn't until after I finished that I remembered I meant to take pictures of the process. Sorry about that, but I think I managed to capture most of it anyway.

Before I start, please excuse my a) less than perfect composition/photography skills, and b) my terrible Photoshop skills (GIMP, actually.)

Each of the thumbs below is linked to larger images, including the large originals for the most detail. And so...

To remove the fuse panel cover just carefully pry it off with a flat screwdriver... I mean "fuse panel cover removal utensil". There are three tabs (marked in the pic with my squiggly X's) that will pop loose as you pry with your fingers.



With the cover off (and everything already installed, sorry about that) you can see where I:
• routed the V1's power cable from the A-piller window gasket into the fuse panel,
• mounted the V1's cable connector,
• attached the V1's ground cable, and
• tapped a switched 5 Amp fuse to power the V1.

OK, now... which fuse did I tap into? I looked through the fuses (all labelled on the inside of the cover) and selected the 5 Amp fuse for "Interior Mirror". That's the switched fuse that powers the rearview. Note, the V1 cable also has a replaceable fuse in-line so the mirror should be safe anyway.



This is just a closer shot of the cable connector and its velcro-pad attachment to the inside of the panel.



I've highlight here where I wanted to route the cable from the V1. I tried, but I could only get the cable tucked away 'til about halfway down the A-pillar before it required more persuasion than I was comfortable applying. The A- and C-pillars contains break-away tabs, rather than the previous reusable tabs. If you break the break-away tabs that tells the airbag system that the A-pillar (or C-) airbags have deployed and the airbag light will come on. So, careful out there, don't break the break-away tabs.

Instead I backed up and continued tucking away the cable from the V1 into the headliner and into the seam at the top of the A-pillar and over into the rubber gasket that runs down the outside of the A-pillar where the window closes. Different route, same destination.



This is the view from the driver's seat. The V1 itself is tucked up nice and high beside the mirror so it doesn't obstruct the driver's view. It has a nice high clear view of the road ahead, away from the reflections off the hood. Some people will notice that the visor is obstructed now, but I've quickly gotten over that. It'll certainly bother some people more than others, but it wasn't a big deal to me. The visor still comes down to vertical, it just doesn't swing forward against the windshield.



A simple shot from underneath looking up at the installation of the V1, showing the routing of the cable from there straight into the headliner. It goes from there, up over the V1 (still tucked into the headliner) and across to the A-pillar.



And a shot from forward down on the dash looking back up at the V1's location. Don't mind the hairy arm.



The view from outside looking in. The installation is pretty low key, which I like. This wasn't much work and it looks better than radar detectors plopped down on the dash or suctioned onto the middle of the windshield with the stretchy/curly cable dangling to the cigarette lighter.



Another simple shot just showing the relative location of the V1 -- up high and tight next to the mirror.



And that prior outside view from further back. From here the V1 is almost invisible.



I'm sure this installation has very little that makes it V1-specific. Got a radar detector that's flopping around on your dash? Give this a try!

P.S. Here's a link direct to the photoset.

P.P.S. I see now that this post might be better stored under "General D.I.Y. - Do It Yourself". If any admin agrees I wouldn't be upset if it was moved over there. This really does apply to virtually any install, not just the S5.

JSC

Nice post. That's a nice mounting job.