Valentine One DIY Writeup - BMW Forums

tim330i · 11-21-2005, 01:14 PM

Thanks to Skippy330 from www.bimmerfest.com for the writeup -

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=120107

Quote:

First a quick tip:
It’s a good idea to make sure all the buttons and switches work in your car before you do this install. If you find a problem, take the car to your dealer first. You don’t want a dealer to think that the reason for the problem is because you modified the car.

Items you will need:-
A beautiful BMW e90.
- A Valentine 1 Radar Detector with a hardwire kit. All new V1’s ordered from their website come with this kit. If you buy your V1 used or from a 3rd party make sure you get this.
-A Dull tipped butter knife or cheese knife to pry the front light fixture down. Some have used plastic spatulas but I found them to be too flimsy. I suppose it’s all trial and error.
-A sharp knife.
-A lot of patience.
- A 10mm socket with at least a six inch handle – or – a 10mm extended socket with a small ratchet. If you decide not to obtain either one of these you will find yourself spending a lot more time than you have to.
- Some steel wool - a standard un-soaped brillo pad will do.

Step 1: Take The Light Fixture Down.
This first part is really the most difficult in my opinion. Nobody wants to mess up their new car doing this so be careful. It may take 20 minutes to an hour to do this if you have never done it before. It takes about 5 minutes after the first time (I had to do it twice).

What you need to do is take that butter knife / plastic putty knife / spatula, whatever you decided to use, and place it behind one of the little map lights on the right or left side of the light fixture. Slowly wedge it in there. Most likely you will hear a small pop and the frosted lens will become dislodged or fall down. Don’t think that you got lucky and completed this part in the first 30 seconds. You haven’t. Not by a long shot.

If the clear frosted part is hanging, gently pull it off and put it to the side. Now the hard part. There are two metal clips behind each of the map lights (Pic 1). Your job is to dislodge them while prying the fixture down. Do one at a time. Once you get one side down make sure to secure it so it doesn’t pop back in.

There is no real way of explaining the best way to pry this thing down. You just need to keep working at it. I found that it was a lot easier to lie down on my back flat across the driver and passenger seats so that I could see inside the small crevice I was creating. You must be forceful but use your judgment. If you see the chrome panel that holds the lights start to warp, then try a different angle. This is where patience comes in. Eventually you should get it.

Step 2: Remove the Hex Nut.
Congratulations on getting the fixture down. Now what you need to do is locate one of the two or three hex nuts in the corners of the cavity. Select one to remove. I choose to use the one in the top left corner.

If you obtained a 10mm socket and an extension handle, or an extended socket with a ratchet, than this should be a breeze. If not than this may be difficult.

Take the socket / handle combination and unscrew the nut. You will have to do this on a slight angle so it will take a bit more maneuvering, but it should be no problem to remove.

Once the nut is out clean it up with the brillo pad. By doing this you are creating a clean connection for the ground wire.

Now put the nut back in and tighten it about ¾ of the way.

* If you can’t get the nut out you will have to make an alternate ground. You may have to drill a new screw in yourself or you can take one of the torex screws out and remove any paint. Either way, I think it is more reliable to do it properly and get the hex nut out.

Step 3: Securing The Ground.
Take the black wire from your V1 Hardwire set and spread the metal tabs apart slightly until they are wide enough to fit around the threaded part of the hex nut. If you used a different screw for the ground you may not need to do this.

Be careful not to spread the tabs too far apart. If one of the delicate tabs snaps off you will be pretty much screwed.

Put the end of the black wire in the space between the nut and the bracket. Hold it in place and tighten the nut securely. You should have something that looks like Pic 2.

Step 4: Finding The Right Wire.
I have decided to use the green wire with the white stripe in the large bundle that connects to the light fixture. I did not use the green wire with the white stripe that leads to the Rear View Mirror. I chose this wire based on other members posts. If you choose an alternate wire, make sure you choose wisely.

Take the sharp knife and cut the fuzzy electrical tape holding the selected wire in the bundle. Peel away as much as you can and separate that wire from the rest. (It is not absolutely necessary to do this but I found it is easier to work with and puts less strain on the wire)

You may want to secure the bundle back up with the same electrical tape or a plastic tie wrap to avoid any potential rattling.

Now take the blue splice adapter and fasten it securely to the green / white wire. The manual says you should squeeze the adapter with pliers but I found that just squeezing it with my fingers worked fine.

Now take the red wire that is tied in with the black ground wire and connect it to the little tab on the splice adapter. You should have something that looks like Pic 3.

Step 5: Securing The Wires.
Find a good place to put the block with the “telephone” jacks. Wherever you choose just make sure that the light fixture will fit back in. Once you have chosen a good spot and are comfortable with it peel off the adhesive on the back of the jack and secure it. Do this to avoid any rattling.

Also tuck in any loose wires, especially the red wire you just installed. The wire contains a fuse so if you don’t secure it properly you may break the fuse when putting the light fixture back in.

Step 6: Installing The Power Cable / Testing.
Take the uncoiled “telephone cord” that came with the V1 and put it in the jack marked main. Then take the other end and stick it through the back of the headliner so it comes out near the rearview mirror. This isn’t too difficult to do. There is a decent amount of give in the top of the headliner for the cable to come through. Wrap up any excess slack and tuck the remaining wire in neatly.

Take the end of the wire and plug it into the V1 unit. Secure the V1 to the windshield via suction cups. Find a suitable location that you are comfortable with. Remember to adjust the rearview mirror to driving position before choosing the right spot. The spot you select is not permanent. You can always move the radar detector around to your liking. Just remember to give yourself a good amount of slack with the power cord so that you can move the unit without having to take down the entire fixture again.

Now the moment of truth. Turn on the accessory or the engine, turn on the V1 and see if that baby lights up. If it does – Congratulations! If not, plug the V1 into the cigarette lighter to make sure that the unit works properly. If it does than the V1 is fine and there must be a bad wiring connection somewhere. Check everything twice.

Test the sunroof. Make sure that the V1 does not cut out when opening or closing it. If it does it is most likely a bad ground connection. Although I have read on this post that this just seems to happen even with a good ground. In my case it did not happen.

Step 7: Putting The Fixture Back In.
Before you do anything, clean the chrome piece that holds the map lights. Make sure it dries then put the frosted lens back on. Make sure that it is completely in place. Check all around the fixture to make sure that all the trim has snapped in place properly. It can be a headache if you try to fix this after the fixture is back in place.

Bend those stiff metal tabs back in place (Pic 2) if they were warped upon removal of the fixture. This is important so that the lights do not sag down after you put them back in.

Double check to make sure everything is tucked in securely (Pic 4) Now, with THE ACCESORY / ENGINE STILL ON angle the fixture in place starting with the back. Keep an eye on the V1. It may cut out for a second or two and then turn back on. This is fine. Just make sure it turns back on. If not, you need to re-adjust some of the wires as they are becoming kinked.

Ease up the front end of the fixture until it snaps back into place. If the V1 cut out and stayed out as you snapped it back in place than you have terrible luck like me. Now you have to take the fixture back out and adjust the wire so it doesn’t kink.

Hopefully the V1 is on and will stay on. Pic 5 is my finished product. It is slightly flawed in that I can’t see the display when I put the visor down. I’ll probably get a concealed display to avoid this. But that’s for another day…

Good luck to you all.