Hey all,<br>I just bought a V1 last week so I could use it driving to the NC mountains and back for my wedding last saturday. It worked great, I was warned of every speed trap between Orlando and Asheville, and got away without a ticket!<p>Now, the strange behavior part: I have the V1 plugged into my cigarette lighter (until I get around to hard wiring it), and mounted it high center of the windshield. When ever I hit the horn on the A4, the V1 goes into a "siren" like mode where all the lights come on blinking and it sounds a 2 tone siren. It also did this once when I used the windshield washers. Has this happened to you guys? This is pretty weird, any ideas?<br>Thanks!<br>Also, if any of you hard wired the V1 into your fusebox, will you fill me in on where you spliced it in and how you did it? Thanks again!<p>Christian<br>

Mine did this as well but only when I used the washers. I was using the washers heading into a low, bright sun and I had thought that some how the light refracting through the drops hit the laser sensor. Maybe this wasn't the exact cause though.<p>Mine is hardwired and I posted about it awhile ago. If you can't find it in the archives, send me an email.

can you try it out in another car? I read somewhere that in some bmws it will 'reset itself'<br>when flashing the highbeams..................

nt<br>

<br>Christian 'ol buddy, only YOU could manage to get into this sort of trouble. ;-) No speeding tickets? I believe it... next time let Breeze drive! Oh... and CONGRATS on the wedding, your new S4 will be arriving soon. ;-)<p><ul><li><a href="http://www.audi-s-cars.com">Audi-S-Cars Online</a></li></ul>

This happened to me a while back, so I called Valentine about it. They said that the A4 (among other cars) will have a slight power fluctuation that will cause the low power/laser warning to sound. <br>I've hardwired my V1 into my A4, and haven't had a problem since. I just tapped into the "rear wiper" slot in the fuse panel. I forget what number it is, but that is a switched power lead, so when you turn off the key, the V1 goes off.<br>JohnS<br>

We can start with Ohm's law, V = iR. The cig lighter converts current (Coulombs/s) into heat, like a hair dryer, iron, or toatser oven. It probably has a high amp fuse too. I don't know about the V1, does it send as well as receive in the GHz range? If it like the sophisticated jammers, it needs substantial power to generate the GHz EM at a moments notice. Thus, it is probably very sensitive to a drop in voltage/current, turning on headlights etc probably causes a little voltage spike. Voltage is the potential and the device resistance is probably a constant, therefore, current must drop. I'd look to two things, the voltage regulator and the fuse - does the A4 share either with the 540i? Or, perhaps the same mfg. of the cig. lighter?

All of my 20VCQ friends are slowly becoming A4 owners....so when are you getting your A4 Darin? I'll be up to visit you in December.<p>Christian

You help worked great, thanks guys! I have it wired through the #27 fuse (rear wiper), and wired up now, you guys make my life so easy! Thanks.<p>One more quick question....how do you "pop" off the A pillar cover so I can hide the V1 wire in there? I found some info in the archives, but it just said they pulled it off. I tried this, and it didn't want to come off without a fight. So, I thought you guys could give me a little more info here so I don't break off my A pillar by accident.<p>Thanks again<p>Christian

I hard wired my Rad detector to the module that controls the power roof in my Passat and routed the wire out the front of the headliner to the windshield--I mount the det just below the tint strip with the suck cups on the strip. The det only gets power when the ign is on and the unit cannot been seen through the windshield. Pull the hearliner/module panel off to expose the board and poke around till you find a hot line and solder into it.

I doubt it will break. It helps if you wiggle it side to side and up and down as you pull.<p>I'm assuming you're going to run the wire under the headliner to above the mirror. If you wrap electrical tape around the wire to form a collar, it will help to keep the wire from pulling out of the headliner completely.

All this talk about the V1. I want one too. Where is a good place to buy one in Los Angeles, CA?<p>Thanks,<br>Howard Kim<br>A4 1.8tms(neu)

funny thing, when I put the wire up in the headliner last week, it kept falling out...so i did what you just recommended. I wrapped electrical tape around it, sticky side out so that it sticks to something up there. We must think alike!<p>Christian

You can only buy them directly from Valentine (www.valentine1.com). They are $400 new, but I bought one that was returned to them (30 day money back guarantee) for only $359. You save $40 and still get the full warranty and all the supplies...you'll never know it was a returned one.<br>It works great, everyone talks about how cool the V1 is, and once you have one, you will see what they mean. Mike Valentine is a clever guy....for example, the wires for the V1 are regular phone wire, so if you want to rewire it, or need a longer wire, you just buy a phone cord! It has a great mounting system with a neat little lever that makes it easier to remove the suction cups from the window. I am very impressed with it's design and performance, so is every car magazine.<p>Christian

I see that you have already found the hardwire fix but here is another potential solution for those that do not wish to hard wire. <p>Pop open the power adapter from Valentine and add a capacitor and a diode or two. This way the cap. will "smooth" out the power and the diode will prevent the cap's energy from being used up by the vehicle. <p>BTW: This is just an idea, I have not tried this out becuase I have had no such problems with my V1. So experiment at your own risk!<p>Eric

Christian, mine has been totally quiet. Performance has been great. is your problem similar to the note it takes on inital power-up? Wonder if Audi cuts off poer to cig lighter under the aboe conditions; but seems weird. <p>I hard-wired it into the fuse panel;; there are descriptions in the archives - search. Can't remember exactly what fuse I tied into.

Doug,<p>This sounds like a great idea, but the v1 needs a clear view out the rear window. Do you have a V1? Did you mount it on the drivers side?<p>Eric