I have a Bel Vector 985 (one of the top three, other two are escort and v1).. and was wondering how I can hardwire it.. I read people doing it to the v1 and the escort, but both have hardwire kits whereas the bel985 doesn't.. anyone has this detector and have hardwired it? any help? thanks.

 

yup i got the same one (see sig, haha).

For a "hardwire kit", you can just use one of the two supplied cords. There's the curly cord, and the straight cord. Take the straight one, cut it, and splice hte wires into the dome light area, as the escort guy does in teh FAQ/DIY section.

If you don't have those cords, or don't want to cut them, go to radio shack or some similar place, and get a plug that'll fit. To determine which one fits, bring your 985 and do some trial and error.. and of course buy the wire.

If you go the radio shack route, you're probably looking to spend ~$8 on that plug and wire. Those bastards rip you off like crazy.

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2004 Twlight Blue/Willow 6mt Coupe.
Bel Vector 985 Hardwired.
Grounding Kit.
Splash Guards.
Carputer. (Thanks GOC,G35Pimp, and others for their ideas)

 

Do you guys like your Bels? I had a 980 and it messed up twice, sent in once under warranty because there was some error on the display, then shortly after the speaker went out... They wanted $70 just to look at it so I got an Escort and it has been much more solid so far. Just wondering how the (slightly) newer BELs are holding up.

 

I had an old bel (bought like 7 years ago) that died like 4 years after purchase.

I bought this one in october 2003, and so far has worked just fine. I *believe* BEL owns Escort now (or other way around?), so their quality should be similar.

My roommate owns the 980, and has owned for a while now... I think 2 or so years maybe? I know he hasn't had any problems whatsoever.

Sorry to hear the bad luck with the 980 you had.

As for the Escort choice, yeah that was my 2nd choice, I just got the 985 for a damn good deal. If I found the Escort for $240 (which I did a couple of months after I got my BEL), I would have purchased it. But I didn't think the $300 MSRP price tag was worth it.

---
2004 Twlight Blue/Willow 6mt Coupe.
Bel Vector 985 Hardwired.
Grounding Kit.
Splash Guards.
Carputer. (Thanks GOC,G35Pimp, and others for their ideas)

 

would you need to add a fuse to it or just tap it directly?

 

i just tapped directly. The thing uses up relatively little current, plus it's fused at the fuse box (I blew that one once by mistake), so it should be good.

---
2004 Twlight Blue/Willow 6mt Coupe.
Bel Vector 985 Hardwired.
Grounding Kit.
Splash Guards.
Carputer. (Thanks GOC,G35Pimp, and others for their ideas)