DIY: Inexpensive Mirror Mount for GPS, Radar Detector, etc

[Ostrichsak]

10th post!

I made a bracket for my radar detector to mount to the rear view mirror rather than the stupid windshield brackets w/suction cups. This same device can be used for a wide variety of things such as GPS devices or engine monitor readouts. The cost is anywhere from free to $2.50 depending on if you ride bicycles or not. It's a simple seat post reflector with the reflector removed. There are a couple sizes so pick based on the thickness of your mirror stem then use padded tape to make up the difference. Pretty simple actually. Just gives you a base to mount whatever you need to it and angles perfectly towards the driver which could be a negative for a radar detector since you want them straight but so far I haven't noticed a decrease in sensitivity to distance radar sources in several cars for about a year or so now that I've had these in all of them.

It seems to work best if you remove the plastic wire loom keeper that's on the bottom of the stem, right where the
bracket is. I tried going around the entire thing but it ended up being harder than just popping it off and throwing it in the glovebox since this bracket does plenty good holding that wire loom you see in place. When you go to attach one of these you will see what I'm talking about.

Enjoy!

Here's a picture of the bracket from near the driver's view. This was after I did the mirror relocate bracket so it's higher than stock location but gives you an idea. I also bent the bracket slightly so that the radar detector points front to back better (like it would if it were suction cupped to the windshield) rather than being pointed right at the driver for better detection:

Here's a pic of where I mounted the mute button module. Not as masterful as most of my mute button installs but it works.

I usually take the mute button install much more serious but this time around I took the easy way out since it was just a quick & dirty install in the driveway. Here's a couple others I've done:

Toyota Camry Hyrbid

Kia Optima SX Turbo

Silverado SS

MKIV Supra

I'll give someone a gold star if they can spot the mute button in my A4:

 

[Coupe]

Nice write up.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Nice write up.

Thanks! I prefer saving money and making my own stuff to paying top dollar for commercial options whenever possible.

 

[STONER-X]

Did you mount it near the ESP button...does that button say on the far right in the same row as the ESP say punk? that install on the truck is really nice and simple..

 

[cwatt]

Did you mount it near the ESP button...does that button say on the far right in the same row as the ESP say punk? that install on the truck is really nice and simple..

I was just thinking the same thing. At first glance I thought 'trunk' knowing it's an A4, but then realized there were too few letters.

 

[Sproulesxrunner]

It says FUNK. Some German thing.

Haha... I can't give away the answer already!

Ok, I will because it's not likely anyone would have guessed it anyway.



[spoiler alert] ROFL



See that button that says FUNK to the left of the hazard button? That's it. It's a momentary switch available for the German cars and I'm told it's for a radio on German police cars or something. Anyway, I had to brush up on my German and order it from a dealership in Germany and then wire in a resistor and some other secret squirrel things to get it to work. End result was that the little LED on it behaved like the LED indicator on the usual mute button and the FUNK button itself behaved like the Mute button. It was actually a lot of effort to make it look stock which is how most of my installs are. It would be MUCH easier to have things look aftermarket but I prefer things to look like the factory installed them.

I knew I seen this thread before. Those installs are clean OP. I gotta do something with my radar detector too. I bought a mount for mine before I seen your thread and it looks pretty much identical to yours. Could have saved me some money:thumbdown:

 

[Ostrichsak]

Did you mount it near the ESP button...does that button say on the far right in the same row as the ESP say punk? that install on the truck is really nice and simple..

I was just thinking the same thing. At first glance I thought 'trunk' knowing it's an A4, but then realized there were too few letters.

You guys are both pretty warm so I'll just come out with it. That buttons says FUNK which is radio in German. It's a momentary switch that is used in police versions of these cars. I was able to wire it using a resistor so that the LED on the face of the switch (you can see the small rectangle) would act like the indicator LED on the remote smartcord. So when the radar detector would alert the LED would flash and then you could use the button to mute or three presses to lockout. Worked pretty slick. Took a little bit of effort and cost me over $50USD after shipping but I prefer putting in extra work to have things look like they came from the factory.

It says FUNK. Some German thing.




I knew I seen this thread before. Those installs are clean OP. I gotta do something with my radar detector too. I bought a mount for mine before I seen your thread and it looks pretty much identical to yours. Could have saved me some money:thumbdown:

Ha! You blew the surprise! lol :argh:

 

[Sleepy]

Nice! Looks good:top:

 

[Ostrichsak]

Nice! Looks good:top:

Thanks! :crinklehair:

 

[GR6RR]

any write ups on those stealth mute button installs? Quality work you did there!

 

[Ostrichsak]

any write ups on those stealth mute button installs? Quality work you did there!

I don't have anything as it's relatively straight forward when you start taking things apart and with a basic knowledge of 12v. I may do a small write-up with tips when I get some more time.