The Escort Passport 9500ci is a radar/laser detector with GPS capabilities. It is designed to be as discreet as possible. There are ten separate components that have to be installed and wired back to the eleventh component, the interface module. It's a long install. Working with a friend who is an experienced installer, it took over 8 hours.

The wiring is all routed along factory harnesses. We removed the front bumper, grille, headlight assemblies, left side A-pillar cover, vent, left rear seat, and most of the interior cover pieces on the left hand side of the car.

Here is a list of the components, and a description of where they ended up. Where possible, I will provide photos. Sorry, I didn't shoot the whole process.

1) Display
2) Bi-Color Display
The display was mounted near the rear view mirror, and the bi-color display (LED) was mounted in the rear view mirror cover. The LED is used when you want to turn off the display and just have a red/green indication of radar.
Required removal of rear view mirror cover, upper switch cover, upper switch assembly, left A-pillar cover, left vent, and various covers. This is a good time to reposition the microphone as well.
A mounting bracket for the display was fabricated from thin metal, painted black. The bracket is held in place with the pop rivet that is located behind the mirror underneath the rear view mirror cover.
The LED was mounted in a hole drilled in the rear view mirror cover.
Both wires were routed over the headliner, down the A-pillar (following factory wiring), and to the interface.
You can see the display and the LED in this photo:


3) GPS Antenna
The GPS antenna was mounted underneath the plastic cover that hides the battery. Required removal of the entire plastic cover and windshield wipers.
A bracket was fabricated from metal, bent to position the antenna as close to the cover as possible. The antenna is not visible through the battery access door unless you look inside at an angle.
The wire was routed directly across the vehicle and penetrates the firewall along with the other wires coming from the front sensors.

4) Front Radar Receiver
5, 6) Front Laser Receiver/Shifter
These sensors were mounted behind/inside the front grilles. The radar receiver is mounted behind the lower grille, and the wire follows factory wiring to penetrate the firewall.
The laser receivers are mounted inside the upper grille. The laser receivers fit perfectly in the holes in the grille, and are set back just enough that they are not obvious. The wires route along natural channels in the grille, then follow factory wiring to penetrate the firewall.
Required removal of the front bumper, headlight assemblies, and the front upper grille. The rivets that hold the front bumper together are tricky. We managed to save all of them, but I suggest ordering some spares just in case.
The sensors are visible in this photo:


7) Rear Laser Receiver/Shifter
The rear receiver was mounted just under the license plate. The wire was routed through the black plastic cover behind the receiver, then followed factory wiring along the inside of the bumper, then up behind the wheel well to penetrate the body of the car. It was then routed underneath the trim pieces, again following factory wiring, to the interface.
Installation required removal of the trim pieces, weatherstripping, and rear seat. Be very careful with the large trim piece that goes along the back seat. it has a pillar molded into it that breaks very easily. Recommend fishing the wire through this piece as much as possible to avoid breaking things. Also, if you remove the left rear wheel and the wheel well cover, you can easily see the grommet that the factory wiring uses. This avoids having to remove the rear bumper.
The rear receiver is visible here:


8) Amplified Speaker
The speaker was mounted behind the lower cover on the driver's side. Required removal of the lower cover panel pieces, which holds the key slot and button. Remove/unplug at your own risk. :-)

9) Control Module
The control module was mounted on the surface of the lower cover. It is easily within reach of the driver. Visible here:


10) USB Interface
The USB interface is used to update the firmware and camera database. It was mounted next to the light that illuminates the left footwell, so it is easily accessible but completely out of sight:


11) Interface
The brain of the detector. Every other piece has a wire that routes back to this module. It was mounted underneath the cover that has the hood release lever.
Required removal of the cover with the hood release lever.

Power was obtained from the brake switch. This has +12v when the ignition is switched on, so the detector powers up when the vehicle is started.

This install is long, complex, and fun. Definitely not for a beginner, and much easier with a friend helping. The end result is a great radar/laser detector that is not obvious to most observers. We used this detector in our previous MINI as well, and it definitely saved us several trips to traffic school and has paid for itself.

Happy motoring!

 

Well done. Definitely have to consider doing this at some point! Maybe I'll do it to my next MINI since there is so much work involved.

 

i have to remove the front bumper cover on my CM. can you explain how you did that?