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Tools Needed:
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Screwdrivers
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10mm 1/4 inch drive socket
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Torx t10 t20 t25 t45
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Wire Cutters
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Wire Strippers
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Soldering Iron
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Heat Gun
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Resin Core Solder
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¼ inch drive ratchet
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7' Split convoluted tubing
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Liquid Electrical Tape
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Normal Electrical Tape
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Heat shrink tubing
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K40 makes one of the most technically advanced and versatile undetectable radar detectors on the market. Since it is a premium system and it is undetectable both to police radar detector detectors and visually undetectable, we felt it would be the perfect choice on a 2000 Volvo S70. The K40 system was obtained from Suncoast Motorsports, a K40 Dealer.
The main objective of this installation is to provide radar detector coverage both at the front and rear of the vehicle, laser detection at the front and with the K40 Laser DefuserPlus, make it impossible for Police Laser to clock your vehicle. The secondary but no less important objective is to provide an installation that will not deface the Volvo S70's distinguished looks or compromise the integrity of the vehicle in any way.
I suggest before deciding to tackle this installation yourself, download the installation instructions from K40 and read this article. This article should only be used as a supplement to the K40 installation instructions as K40 doesn't have any data that is specific to the Volvo S70. They can be downloaded in .pdf format from K40 at http://www.k40.com/guides.htm . You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them.
This is the plan I used in performing this installation.
If you are going to deviate from the plan I would suggest completely verifying
any alternate plan before actually performing the installation to minimize
the risk of drilling something that won't work and will as a result need to
be replaced. I made one such mistake when I opened up a nice hole in a blank
switch near the turn signal stalk on the dash. (You'll see the picture later
in this article…) It will need to be replaced as a result of my lack
of foresight. Fortunately, it will be a cheap fix. It would have been real
bad if it had been an instrument cluster face or something else expensive.
BEFORE YOU START WORKING ON THE CAR, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE YOUR RADIO CODE AND
DISCONNECT THE BATTERY. IT WOULD BE REALLY BAD IF YOU DETONATED AN AIR BAG
(OR ALL OF THEM) BY ACCIDENT.
Step 1: Decide on mounting areas for the front and
rear radar pods and the laser detector/ diffuser pod.
Step 2: Find ways of routing wiring harnesses for the devices.
Step 3: Perform the installation
This installation is utilizing K40's K40-2000P and their Laser DefuserPlus.
In the front, I decided to use the lower grill assembly as a mounting for
both the front radar pod and the laser pod. The laser pod needs to be in the
front with an unobstructed view of the road ahead for proper function from
both the detector and the diffuser. The top part of the lower radiator grill
is a perfect spot for the laser pod mounting.
NOTE: If you have a front license plate holder you can use the front tag bracket
supplied with the laser diffuser plus to mount the laser pod. If you don't
just remove the pod from the tag bracket with the two Phillips head screws
and discard the bracket.
The front radar pod doesn't need to have an unobstructed shot at the road ahead to do its job. The two rules are facing forward with no metal in front of it. It can easily detect the radar through things like plastic bumpers, grills and trim. I chose a place on the lower grill/splash shield assembly since we had it out to install the laser pod and it provided the perfect hidden mounting location. The grill/splash shield assembly is easily removed with two 10mm screws (one on each side) and then sliding it out from under the car.
Mounting the Laser pod required drilling two 5/16" holes behind where the pod would mount and tie strapping it to the grill assembly. I also used Elmer's Stix All which is both a good bonding agent on plastic and flexible when cured. Making sure the tie straps didn't interfere with the laser diffuser or detector windows I tightened them up and routed the wires along the left edge toward the radar pod.
Mounting the radar pod was easily accomplished with 6 self tapping Phillips head sheet metal screws. Once in place, I connected the radar harness and covered both harnesses in a ½ inch convoluted tube that I purchased at a local parts store to protect them from the elements and provide a cleaner installation look.
