Mackhack

Hi guys,

I wanted to knows if it's possible to connect the power cord with the little fuse attached to one of the 2 wires of the Valentine One somewhere in the little gray box in front of the rear view mirror which has some cables inside.

Any help is much appreciated!

UK-C200

Probably Mackhack - but since we no longer see car details on the profiles, whatcha driving? I'm assuming you will want switched power, right?

Mackhack

Hi UK-C200 I just saw that the car infos are gone from our left hand side member information. Why is that?

Well what I want to do is switching from the curled cig. lighter power cord to the perm. connected wiring solution. I hate to leave this cord hanging over my dashboard all the time and not being able to close my ashtray lid.

Edit: I forgot it again: I'm driving the 2004 E320 (W211)!

Mackhack

*PUSH*

Diesel Benz

First time I notice the car info has disappeared, should we sell our cars?

The overhead control panel control unit has a permanent power source. It drives a couple of switched power lines but I don't know how much current those would be able to give, I doubt it would be enough for a V1.

Building a small relay circuit could do it, driving the relay from the 15R circuit.

weinschela

the best place for 12v power for a V1 is the cigarette lighter. If you search the forum(s) you will see that the overhead does not have a switched power source. It is pretty easy to remove the ashtray to get direct access to the cig lighter. You can then use the power module supplied with the V1 and while you're at it put the V1 remote into the ashtray of you'd like. The wires run from the cig lighter behind the panel under the glovebox (comes out with a few screws) and then up the pillar between the glass and the panel and across the top of the windshield. I did this on a 2004 E320 wagon and it did not take great skill. Searching the forum you will find instructions and photos. If you're not comfortable with this, any competent audio shop could do it. Its maybe 1/2 hour for someone very skilled and an hour for the rest of us.

UK-C200

What weinshela said - no switched power up top.

Mackhack

Thank you guys. @ Weinschela, when you take pillar covering off (I assume they just have clips), will they go back and be as sturdy and tight to the pillar as before? I did a few COMAND replacements and know how to get to the ashtray but I never dealt with the glove compartment, pillar things so far and don't wanna mess anything up!

UK-C200

On the R171 everything goes back together nice and tightly - so I'd imagine it's the same on the W211's. Just invest in a plastic trim wedge, and take your time.

weinschela

I never removed the pillar. The V1 wire is pretty thin and you can push it in to the crevice between the pillar molding and the windshield fairly easily with something blunt. I think even a credit card would be sufficient. Also using your credit card in this way does not incur any interest or late fees. 8-)

Mackhack

:-)

Is that cable long enough to go from the mirror position, over to the pillar, down to the glove compartment and back towards the ash tray?

weinschela

The "cable" is 4 wire flat phone cord. I don't remember whether for this car I used the one from Valentine or simply made a new one. You can get phone card in white black or beige almost anywhere, and if you want to make it a customer length, you can get the modular plugs and the crimping tool from Radio Shack or Home Depot.

Mackhack

True... important is that fuse I guess.