458 spider V1 instalation question.

Resurrecting this thread. I'm thinking about hard-wiring my Uniden R7 using the MirrorTap from Blendmount. Does anyone know which color wires to use from the dome light?

https://blendmount.com/power-cord-mtx-series-patented-15-inches-long-rj-11-2-amp-inline-fuse-with-military-grade-taps/

 

The factory service manual isn't super helpful when it comes to electrical stuff. I don't have any wiring schematics for the 458. You should be able to use a volt meter and trace it back from the light bulb fixture pretty easily and find the hot wire.

On my 458, it has a radar detector installed when I purchased it. I removed the wiring myself, but what they had done was run a wire along the windshield and then threaded it through the gasket on the driver's side door.. then down along the weather stripping. Then there was a panel back there, which they ducked under and went to the right and found a hot lead over to the center control (and I presume the cigarette lighter port or something). It was a pretty nice wiring job and also easy to reverse. I thought their little trick of threading it through the door gasket and up along the A pillar was pretty slick.

Ray

 

Thanks Ray! I'm going to pop off the dome light later this week. I will take some pictures and post it up for anyone that is curious. If I cannot figure out the dome light route, I will do what you suggested. The MirrorTap solution seems pretty slick if i can figure out the wiring. I have the WSM but have not found it helpful on wiring (as you had mentioned).

 

You're most welcome John.

My advice would be to tap into the cigarette lighter, as it probably has a slightly higher amperage fuse.

I have removed the center console area of my 458 before; it's not fun but it's not too bad either. As mentioned, on my 458, they had run a long RJ11 type cable over across the top seam of the headliner, jumped across the A-pillar area / door sealing gasket and then run down along the gasket (might have been actually under the gasket) and then crossed over back behind the seat where that one trim panel is screwed into place. Then they went over to the middle (at the very back of the console area) and were able to run a power lead out from the cigarette wiring I guess. That is probably the approach I would use as well, if I were going to do it myself.

You might want to check and see what the fuse rating is for the cigarette lighter, but it should be plenty high enough amps, given that you can plug in a USB charger no problem. Also, tapping into the cigarette lighter sort of eliminates the need for your own inline fuse, as the fuse for the cigarette lighter electrical circuit should suffice.

If you do wish to bridge into an existing connector, it's usually pretty easy to back out the push in pins and gang the wires together. I recently re-wired a lot of my Toyota Pickup truck and I had to do a lot of wiring in the fuse box like that (tapping into existing wires in order to power relays and whatnot).

Anyway, if you have any other questions, just let me know.

Ray

 

Ray, I think I may try your original method (going right to the fuse box). Looked at the WSM and saw the fusebox location. I think I will try to tap into F-33 since it is not in use (hope that it is switched). Otherwise I will try F-44 (15 amps) which is the passenger seat heater and cigarette lighter (20 amps). I am going to try and use a fuse piggyback. What do you think? Thank you so much for your insights.

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Yeah, that should work okay. I have used these fuse box taps before for testing and also for tapping power:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0146EB8EM/

You can use them to test with.

You know how to use a voltage meter to see what is switched and also to check current draw also?

Ray

 

They also make a fuse blade that can slide down into the fuse box. I'll see if I can find the link when i'm in my office later.

Ray

 

Thanks Ray, that is exactly what I ordered.

 

Here is the other option I mentioned. It piggy backs along side the existing fuse and allows you to tap into the circuit:

https://www.amazon.com/FUSE-250-MALE-DISCONNECT-TERMINAL/dp/B00GWS4YLA/

This is for ATC/ATO size fuses, so be sure to double check what size Ferrari is using in that fuse box as sometimes they like to use these gigantic size fuses (I'm not even sure what the technical designation of the size they use is actually).

Ray

 

Ray, big thank you shout out for helping me with this DIY project. I hardwired the radar detector today and went the fuse box route (as you had recommended) instead of the dome light. The hardest part of the job was getting the headliner to snap back in at the rear window glass. I had to remove the side pillar trim to properly hide the wires. I snapped some pictures for anyone who want to give this a try.

Drivers side fuse box. Taking off the trim panel was a little harder than I thought to access the fuse box. Only one screw holding the panel with 4 snap fastener holding the rest. You need to pull really hard but carefully. I pigtailed off the yellow fuse that is second from the left. It is the cigarette lighter and passenger side seat heater fuse. It’s a switched circuit and 20 amps.
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Here is the pigtail attached
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This is the ground attachment. You can see the red tab of the ground wire towards the middle of the picture. There is a screw there that was easy to remove and attach the ground wire to.
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Here is wider view of the fuse box area. Blue tape there so not to scratch the carbon fiber when prying out the panel. Also you can see the radar detector hard wire on the left side coming out of the weather stripping.
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Looks good!

Also easy to reverse if needed.

Ray

 

Wow does not look to bad, TY for the pics and description. I will try my F8 Spider next week. I always install my detector bottom left of dash behind reg stickers. Looks simple enough!

 

I use the V1 Savvy which plugs into the OBDII port. No splicing or cutting