dt911

Ok here's my take on installing a Lidatek LE-30 (single transponder) in my '01 A6 2.7T. Of course, all of the usual disclaimers apply and I can't be held responsible for you breaking your car, burning it up, etc. I have tried to give credit to every AW-er with relevant posts, but I'm sure that I left a few out. The pictures aren't great, but they'll give you an idea. If
you need more details, I have them all at 2x the resolution and some rejects too. I did this project at a relaxed pace of 12 hours over 3 days, there's no reason why it can't be done in one day. So here goes:

Pour yourself a frosty pint of Newcastle (ala Chipchase) and start doing some planning.

Send girlfriend to store for another half-dozen pints.

Begin by removing the plenum chamber cover (back of engine bay, over the battery) by pulling off the weather stripping and lifting off the cover. This is a great time to shop-vac out the leaves and pine needles, and get a good look at your pollen filter... <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0029.jpg">
Locate the grommet to the right of the master cylinder. This is where I chose to route my transponder cable through the firewall. There is another grommet visible from the cabin side, but I think it's behind the battery and I'm just lazy. The grommet has a little nipple in the middle that I just snipped off with a pair of diagonal cutters. This pic shows the grommet with the wire already started. (white arrow) <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0018.jpg">
and here's the view from inside the cabin, after removing the knee bolster. (red arrow) <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0019.jpg">
I was lucky enough to find a 3/8" piece of PTFE tubing in the garage which made for a slick and easy pull through the grommet. Once I got the tubing through, I just stuck the molex connector end of the transponder cable in the tubing and pulled it into the cabin. Quick and easy routing.<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0021.jpg">
Instructions for removing the knee bolster can be found <a href="https://www.audiworld.com/tech/elec35.shtml">by clicking here.</a>
Begin planning your transponder location, doing your best to stay close to the license plate and centerline of the car. I've chosen a location low in the grille, just to the right of the rings.<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0040.jpg">
Configure your Lidatek Erector set brackets to hold your transponder in the position you have chosen. I used some green electrical tape and zip ties until I was happy with the final location, then I took a couple of swigs, a deep breath and fired in a few 1/2" self-drilling/ self-tapping screws.<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0028.jpg">&lt;br&gt;

<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0039.jpg">
For my installation, I had to cut a few pieces of the supplied bracketry so before I put everything together with copious amounts of Loctite, I gave everything (including the bolt heads) a good coat of chassis-black paint. I stuck the Transponder unit onto the bracket with the supplied tape, but I took an extra few minutes to clean both sides with alcohol and hit them with a heat gun to ensure proper adhesion.
After building the bracket, I checked the alignment of the transponder with my marks one last time, then went to town on the backside of one of the horizontal members of the grille. This was necessary to expose the transponder at the right depth. I eventually had to make the cut a little wider than I had initially planned in order to aim the transponder straight ahead. This is a case where a little better planning would have made for a neater job, but it's still not bad. <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0041.jpg">
For the interior, I chose to use the power taps and common grounds under the dash. 75X is the post which comes on with the ignition key and can be found in <a href="https://forums.audiworld.com/a6/msgs/555291.phtml">NSX JR's post here</a>
You may choose to mount your switch and LED wherever you like it. You can change the illumination of the Lidatek LED to constant red with a green flash (as opposed to constant green) by simply reversing the wires in the connector. I went a little further and built a custom switch, complete with illumination, and mounted it in the empty hole next to the ESP switch. On a side note... while my car was in for service some a$$hole at my local dealership was undoubtedly investigating my creation and broke it. If you're reading this, you know who you are. Way to own up to it buddy... How long did you think your electrical tape repair would hold? Switch #2 will soon be created, just waiting on parts. <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/laserbuttonclose.jpg">
After you've done your preliminary wiring, it's time to test fire the beast before you button everything up. If you've got all of the right beeps and flashes (according to your Lidatek instructions), go ahead and clean things up. I chose to route my transponder wires under the hood liner and through the wiring cover at bottom/back of the hood, then give things a little of the factory look with some split loom that I had laying around. The bulge in the split loom inside the white circle is where my transponder connection is made, and the red circle/ arrow shows where the wire was routed.

<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0048.jpg">
I did have to dremel out a small area of the wiring cover to allow the transponder cable to pass through <img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/24update.jpg">
<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0047.jpg">
One more round of leveling and everything seems to be good. I even had a friend hold the level with my fat *** in the car, thankfully it didn't really change.
<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/dscf0044.jpg">

77'911

Great job. I was thinking of installing one of those on our 986 but I'm not totally convinced about it yet.

dt911

Thanks, haven't been hit with laser yet, but I'll let you know when it happens.

77'911

I found in our drive across the US last summer that counties or areas that used laser, used it heavily(read:V1 installed). Someones got to pay for those enormously pricey machines.

RLG

Ha! I like your style! Sweet writeup, dt -install looks clean!

neilm

I am getting ready to install a LE30 into my new allroad and may just take this route.

Check out the link for how I installed the LE20 on my old allroad.<ul><li><a href="https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/lidatek/content.shtml">https://www.audiworld.com/news/03/lidatek/content.shtml</a</li></ul>

OCDboy

And I'll make sure and use the proper lubrication for the job...maybe a pale ale!

Wood

I'd be interested in parts and technique (if anything special is needed) sucks that some bastage broke it, but I understand why they were interested.

Thanks!

Matt

NSX JR

Thanks for the credit...but the picture is actually TeddyBGame's. Love the custom light.

dt911

Just Kidding, here ya go...

I don't have any pictures of it beyond what you've seen, but I can give you a quick overview. The key to the whole operation is having the right dummy faceplate. The old ones are made of translucent white plastic and painted black on the front. The new ones are molded from black plastic and just won't work. If you've got the old one, it's simply a matter of masking off your design and sandblasting the paint away. Took me all of about 35 seconds with 220 grit medium to get what I wanted. I later found that, in order to transmit the right amount of light, I had to carve away some more material from the back of the dummy plate.

With the gratifying part done, I moved on to the internals. The switch itself is nothing more than a radio-shack SPST "soft feel" pushbutton switch. The "soft feel" switch actually feels alot like the ESP switch. I fashioned a plate out of plexi glass to cover the hole, and simply added another perpendicular piece which slid down into the hole and held the whole apparatus at the desired height. I mounted the switch on the plexi "shelf" and epoxied a cut up piece of resin golf tee to it in order to get the necessary protrusion. I also mounted the LED from the Lidatek kit right behind the faceplate. After a couple of adjustments to the length of my golf tee, I velcro-ed the body of the switch into the hole and epoxied the face plate to the tee (let's call it the extension shaft...?) and was good to go, until the moron at my "friendly Audi dealer..." undoubtedly tried to pry it off and have a look without knowing to break the velcro bond first. It was the carefully crafted faceplate that broke, right in half... epoxy and velcro held like a charm

Now that I am forced to rebuild, I have reconsidered my means of attachment. First of all I did have some red light leaking out around the switch and it was enough to annoy me. I also figured that I should have a slightly easier means for removal. I happened upon a foam headphone cover and had my epiphany. I will stuff the cavity around the switch with a cut up piece of the foam and just tack the switch to the foam with a little super glue. The foam will pack in tightly enough to hold the button in place and block the light leaks but it will also compress enough to allow the switch to move, and not do any harm if pulled out.

I just spent 5 minutes playing with MS Paint to give you an idea at least. Let me know what kind of ideas you guys might have before I build the next version.
<img src="http://mysite.verizon.net/vze3gjri/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/button.jpg">