Member Since: 21 Jun 2020
Location: Altadena, CA
Posts: 133
Weekend project: Dash Cam, Radar Detector, Pedals
I moved my trusty Uniden R3 radar detector and Street Guardian dash cam from my dearly departed Disco/LR4 to the Defender. Unlike the LR4 I could not find a suitable place to hardwire either above the overhead console - there are lots of wires and plenty of room up there, but everything is encased in plastic and I could not locate a grounded bolt to connect the negative lead of the hardwire kits of these devices to.
So, I tapped a couple of fuses with piggybacks in the passenger junction box compartment, using the 5 amp receptacle of the wireless phone charger (fuse 11) for the camera and the 5 amp receptacle of the air ionizer (F52) for the radar detector. Wired that way, the dash cam will turn on and start recording as soon as I unlock the car or open a door, and turn off when I lock the car with the remote (or about 5 minutes later if leave it unlocked.) The radar detector will turn on when I start the engine and turn off as soon as I shut if off, both of which are fine for those devices as I don't bother recording while parked, and the radar detector won't help you avoiding a speeding ticket unless the engine is running.
Routing wires was fairly easy with a couple of plastic tools to tuck all the wires out of sight as much as possible, along the roof liner's front edge (camera) or bottom windshield foam seal (detector,) then behind the edges of the RH A-pillar cover (if you pull it, it pops off just enough to run the wiring along - no need to remove it) and into the fuse box compartment to connect to the two piggyback taps. There are plenty of grounding screw available near the RH door. I assume everything will be reversed on RH drive vehicles, of course. I used this video I found on YouTube as a "template", since removing the side panel of the dash as shown in the video makes installation a relative breeze:
Some photos of the finished project and the fuse box with piggyback taps:
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Also popped the aftermarket covers sold by PowerfulUK on accelerator and brake pedals, it's a nice little upgrade for not a lot of money (especially compared to the genuine article), and the covers felt high quality when I installed them, they should last a long time hopefully.
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Any questions, feel free to ask.
Umberto
27th Sep 2020 4:57pm
Leo
Member Since: 25 Apr 2009
Location: under an acacia
Posts: 22
Awesome. I remember when you got your RRS back on rangerovers.net. You inspired me to take mine offroad! Must have been back in 2006/7?
17th Oct 2020 12:20pm
Tim in Scotland
Member Since: 23 May 2007
Location: The Land that time forgot
Posts: 3753
Umbertob - Did you find them really tight to fit as I have the same aftermarket ones from Powerful and it was a huge struggle to fit them.Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come
2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed!
17th Oct 2020 2:29pm
umbertob
Member Since: 21 Jun 2020
Location: Altadena, CA
Posts: 133
Hi Tim, if you are talking about the pedals, I thought they were a pretty tight fit for sure (which is a good thing I guess), although I wouldn't call it a struggle... Took maybe a minute or two to remove the original rubber cover from the brake pedal and fit both new ones after watching their video to understand which way to fit first, where to pull, etc.2020 NAS Defender 110 HSE 5-seater / Silver / Khaki / Black Pack / Black Roof / Satin Film / Cold Pack / Off-Road Pack / Advanced OR Pack / Comfort + Convenience Pack / Sirius + HD radio / HUD / Meridian Surround
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17th Oct 2020 12:20pm
