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      06-23-2025, 09:06 AM   #1
25_F95Competition
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Radar Detector Mirror Tap

Apologies if this was discussed before. I tried searching and found similar threads on general posts but haven't see anything more updated.

Recently did a mirror tap of a Uniden R8 on my F95 LCI. Black went into the ground (black/brown wire) and the Red went red/green wire. I thought it was the correct one, however, it never shuts off even after 10 plus minutes shutting off the car and locking the doors. I've seen different threads/videos say to plug/not plug into the red wire but I didn't want to start poking around and short something.

Anyone can confirm which wire to tap into where it'll automatically shut after the car is shut off?

Thanks
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      06-23-2025, 09:31 AM   #2
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I cannot remember the wire color I used, but I followed this video from Brian at Kies Motorsports with great success.

My radar detector does not turn off immediately when the engine stops, but it does power off completely a few minutes after I exit the vehicle and it goes into sleep mode.


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      06-23-2025, 09:38 AM   #3
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Thanks. I used this video too but it's really hard to tell visually where he plugged it into bc he just says "plug it into this end wire" and then its a really blurry image before he plugs it back in. It seems like it's an all red wire but I think the LCI wire color may have changed.

I might just give it a go and try the all red wire since I do remember there was one in addition to the red/green one I currently am tapped into.

Appreciate the help!
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      06-24-2025, 09:40 AM   #4
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When in doubt, I always refer to the M5 forum. They always be up to something over there and it usually translates to our minivan body style because of the similarities of the CLAR platform.
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      06-24-2025, 12:57 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandt51 View Post
https://f90.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1556366


When in doubt, I always refer to the M5 forum. They always be up to something over there and it usually translates to our minivan body style because of the similarities of the CLAR platform.
Thanks. Will give this another go this weekend.
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      06-24-2025, 04:52 PM   #6
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I don’t know how long it takes the Escort to shut off after I turn the car off, but it hasn’t killed the battery and it’s off after several hours when I return to the car, so that’s good enough for me. You’re in an LCI? Im in a pre LCI and it has two batteries, so I suspect the LCIs have plenty of battery life, so it will probably be ok regardless.
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      06-24-2025, 05:51 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 25_F95Competition View Post
Thanks. Will give this another go this weekend.
Might be beneficial if you post pics of the mirror assy and wiring after you pull the covers off. Your car is newer than some of ours and it might be quite a bit different than what we are used to. I looked up the wiring diagram in ISTA for a 2026 and it looks like it should have a 6 pin connector. Pin 1 Power and Pin 4 GND. Power is Red/Green and the GND is Brown or Brown/Black.
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      06-24-2025, 09:11 PM   #8
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This is what I used. Works for me. Takes a few minutes to turn off, but I know it does because I can hear it turn back on as I open the door. Mine is pre-lci, but I doubt that makes a difference.
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Last edited by JATTAWAY; 06-24-2025 at 09:13 PM..
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      06-25-2025, 11:58 AM   #9
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Thanks guys. I have the same understanding as @weinerbarn and @JATTAWAY..black went into black/brown (ground) and the red went into green/red (power). I literally sat there and shut the car off and locked it and timed it to almost 12 mins before I said to myself "wrong power tap".

Could be user error but I'll report back after I confirm the power tap this weened. Live in NYC so I don't touch it until weekends usually.

The black/brown ground hasn't changed in the LCI, that I can confirm.
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      06-25-2025, 05:24 PM   #10
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This may seem obvious, but it wasn’t to me. If you lock your doors, take the keys inside or far away. Then walk back out and wait, my comfort access kept it on for me.

I waited to make sure everything worked right before I drilled into my mirror housing lol.
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      06-25-2025, 11:17 PM   #11
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Drill? Whoa cowboy, what are you drilling for?
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      06-26-2025, 10:31 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JATTAWAY View Post
This may seem obvious, but it wasn’t to me. If you lock your doors, take the keys inside or far away. Then walk back out and wait, my comfort access kept it on for me.

I waited to make sure everything worked right before I drilled into my mirror housing lol.
Hmm..I did lock it and stand there staring thru the window with a timer on. Ha. I disable the comfort access where it would unlock the doors for me walking to the car. Not sure if that's why yours does that?

Sounds like I should test it with the key not near the car first before I pry apart the pain in the ass mirror housing.
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      06-26-2025, 10:50 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandt51 View Post
Drill? Whoa cowboy, what are you drilling for?
Haha, yeah. It gives it a better “look” to me than just stuck behind a panel. If need be, the hole Is the same size as an ink pen back. So I can just plug the hole and you’ll never notice.
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Last edited by JATTAWAY; 06-26-2025 at 11:40 AM..
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      06-26-2025, 11:53 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JATTAWAY View Post
Haha, yeah. It gives it a better “look” to me than just stuck behind a panel. If need be, the hole Is the same size as an ink pen back. So I can just plug the hole and you’ll never notice.
Nice touch. The blendmount already is a great clean look, that extra drill makes it seamless.
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      06-26-2025, 07:59 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JATTAWAY View Post
Haha, yeah. It gives it a better “look” to me than just stuck behind a panel. If need be, the hole Is the same size as an ink pen back. So I can just plug the hole and you’ll never notice.
Oh snap, that does look clean af. Nice!
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      06-27-2025, 12:02 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 25_F95Competition View Post
Hmm..I did lock it and stand there staring thru the window with a timer on. Ha. I disable the comfort access where it would unlock the doors for me walking to the car. Not sure if that's why yours does that?

Sounds like I should test it with the key not near the car first before I pry apart the pain in the ass mirror housing.
We actually had to relocate our key storage. We have a drop zone area right inside the house from the garage and if the keys were on the hook in there, it was wearing the batteries down really fast. It was far enough away to make the car lock automatically but still within 20 feet and the car was still talking to the keys. I'd try moving them further away at least for a verification test. The other thing is, I installed the detector and mirror tap on my daughter's M340iX and not my F95. There is a sensor and led in the mirror for the alarm function so even though parts of the mirror are inactive while in sleep mode ... like the garage door buttons, the main 12 volt leads might still have power which is probably why Kies Motorpsorts video shows him splitting the leads between 2 connectors (top and bottom).
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      06-27-2025, 09:03 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by weinerbarn View Post
We actually had to relocate our key storage. We have a drop zone area right inside the house from the garage and if the keys were on the hook in there, it was wearing the batteries down really fast. It was far enough away to make the car lock automatically but still within 20 feet and the car was still talking to the keys. I'd try moving them further away at least for a verification test. The other thing is, I installed the detector and mirror tap on my daughter's M340iX and not my F95. There is a sensor and led in the mirror for the alarm function so even though parts of the mirror are inactive while in sleep mode ... like the garage door buttons, the main 12 volt leads might still have power which is probably why Kies Motorpsorts video shows him splitting the leads between 2 connectors (top and bottom).
If this is true, then that might be my ultimate issue bc I park in a parking garage in NYC and they tend to leave the key in the car so that would mean the radar will never shut off or i'll do some serious battery draining on some level. I'm currently unplugging it before i pass the car for parking to the attendant. This might have to be my way of life moving forward then. Not the worst thing in the world.

I'll report back after the weekend on what the results are after checking the taps again.
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      06-27-2025, 09:44 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 25_F95Competition View Post
If this is true, then that might be my ultimate issue bc I park in a parking garage in NYC and they tend to leave the key in the car so that would mean the radar will never shut off or i'll do some serious battery draining on some level. I'm currently unplugging it before i pass the car for parking to the attendant. This might have to be my way of life moving forward then. Not the worst thing in the world.

I'll report back after the weekend on what the results are after checking the taps again.
I think you are onto something as the key fob must be away from your X5M before the mirror tap power will "go to sleep". I have comfort access setup to lock when I leave the car, but do not have auto unlock enabled when I approach my car and the vehicle will still "wake up" again if I walk too closely to it in the garage with the fob in my pocket. This causes the radar to also wake up so I got in the habit of moving the fob out of my pocket and away from my X5M if I want the electronics to sleep while I detail the paint or say apply tire shine.

Good luck!
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      06-28-2025, 05:34 PM   #19
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I've tested and confirmed that the key fob being near the car will keep the power "on" and the radar doesn't turn off....

First thing I did was lock the car and put the key far away. The radar did indeed shut off after about 5 mins. As soon as I walked close to the car it turned it back on. This confirmed for me that I did tap into the right red/green wire.

My comfort mode settings dont have the car being unlocked when I walk to the door so I guess the car still senses the key and powers something within even though it doesn't unlock.

Bummer.. but not the end of the world to have to unplug it in certain situations when I know the key will be in close proximity
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      06-30-2025, 11:27 PM   #20
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Thanks for confirming our X5M will wake up (power at the mirror tap) if your key fob gets too close and the vehicle will not sleep until the fob is far enough away from it, even with comfort access/
approach turned off.

If my wife's purse (with her GMC key fob) is too close to our garage, the GMC logo stays illuminated on the ground under the rear of her SUV just waiting for you to trigger the "kick to open" feature of the rear hatch. It doesn't sleep until she moves her purse farther away inside our house.
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      10-11-2025, 10:31 PM   #21
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please see attached pics. i just placed the black to brown and red to red on the larger black wire harness. the video shows him using the maroon/purple harness. i tried that but the radar detector did not turn off after more than 5 minutes. maybe it would have taken longer i’m not sure. but, i can confirm that the radar detector will turn off if you hook up as described and pictured. this is for a 2026 X5M Comp.

thanks!
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      10-12-2025, 01:57 AM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rac_daddy View Post
please see attached pics. i just placed the black to brown and red to red on the larger black wire harness. the video shows him using the maroon/purple harness. i tried that but the radar detector did not turn off after more than 5 minutes. maybe it would have taken longer i’m not sure. but, i can confirm that the radar detector will turn off if you hook up as described and pictured. this is for a 2026 X5M Comp.

thanks!
I also have a ‘26 X5MC. I actually did just as the “KIES” video and it definitely takes way longer than 5 minutes for the radar detector to shut off. It’s a bit strange since only the ground is plugged into the maroon/purple harness, which shouldn’t matter, right? I’m too lazy to redo this but thanks for posting!
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