Power cord length limit?

[rp911]

I have a gen 1 Valentine One ... looking for a longer flat cable to route through the car back to the accessory outlet. Bought a 15-foot flat 4-conductor cord on Amazon, did not work. Probably need about 10 feet but didn't want to waste time ordering a different one if there's some sort of length limit, or can anyone recommend a longer flat cord that works?

I was using a 6-foot flat cord that worked fine to power the V1 but it only had 2 wired pins so the Bluetooth V1 Connection module would not communicate with the detector, although I'm not sure why that is, the LE was powered and the phone could see it. Noticed the car that it does work with (I move the same detector from car to car) had the factory coiled 4-conductor cable and it worked fine with both the modules.

 

[thanks]

honestly, I've had issues with the same manufacturer/packaging of the same length of cable. Try to keep it to just what you need, and roll your own connectors. If it's just the V1, OK, once you start adding accessories, YMMV! My setup was great, then I added RA, and i had issues. Found that the segment that was powering the V1 was too long. Shortened it, and had no issues. THen when I added the V1LE, still worked without issue. This is with V1, CD, RA, LE and a custom mute button....

 

[sdrawkcaB]

The longer the cable, the more resistant it will be, and the more the voltage will drop. You can compensate for longer cables by using a slightly larger gauge cable. The larger the gauge, then the less resistant the cable is to electricity, and thus the less the voltage will drop.

 

[LouG]

Can you not wire it to a closer power source?

 

[thanks]

I just wanted to add, my V1 worked great with my original setup. The issue came up when trying to program and PUSH the profile to the V1, it would hang! I thought I bricked it and called V1. They suggested using a standard cord and plug to see if it made a difference. Then I tried it with a simple lighter plug and cord, and realized that it was my too long cord that was causing it. The voltage at the V1 was around 11, and that was enough to run it, but not good enough to push a profile!

 

[GolNat]

Did the cable from Amazon have the ends reversed?

The factory hard wire cable from Valentine is pretty long. I didn't measure it but longer then 6ft maybe 10?

 

[Bloovy One]

Older factory cables were 6 feet. Newer factory cables are 8 feet.

Post automatically merged: Jun 2, 2020

All cables should be official bell-standard type where the colors reverse from one end to the other.

Blame the phone company for starting that in the early 70s.

 

[rp911]

Thanks, guys. Amazon initially said the cable was not returnable, but after I got in touch with customer service they refunded and told me to throw it away. It's in a pretty high end car so I don't really want to start digging into door pillars and wiring, just looking for something a little longer. Maybe the 8-footer from Valentine will work if they are shipping parts again.

 

[Bloovy One]

I was using a 6-foot flat cord that worked fine to power the V1 but it only had 2 wired pins so the Bluetooth V1 Connection module would not communicate with the detector, although I'm not sure why that is, the LE was powered and the phone could see it.

I meant to respond to this part earlier.
The two center conductors are power only. the next two outward from the center are for mute and data+. The Bluetooth device communicates with the detector over the data+ line and the common power ground. That's why the 4-conductor bell-standard cord is important.

 

[thanks]

Thanks, guys. Amazon initially said the cable was not returnable, but after I got in touch with customer service they refunded and told me to throw it away. It's in a pretty high end car so I don't really want to start digging into door pillars and wiring, just looking for something a little longer. Maybe the 8-footer from Valentine will work if they are shipping parts again.

try your local hardware store or even walmart...

 

[Bloovy One]

^^^ Just be sure that it's a reversing cable.

 

[bigbore]

I've been making my own cables for years. It's really easy and sometimes makes running the wiring easier because I don't terminate the ends until everything is in place. You can get a good crimping tool on Amazon for under $20. Also if you're doing longer runs try and get the thickest gauge 4 conductor you can find. I used black 26 AWG from ShowMe Cables that cost all of $0.12/ft. Make sure you use a good quality RJ11 connector. The one's from Monoprice didn't work at all. I ended up using the ones from Klein Tools (RJ11-6P4C), also available on Amazon.

I have a long run, guessing it's about 10 feet, with the detector to the right of my rear view mirror and the cabling running across the top of the windshield, down the driver's side pillar, back across the base of the dashboard and then back through the console to my remote audio adapter. Everything has worked fine so far first with my V1G1 and now my V1G2.

 

[Bloovy One]

^^^ Totally agree!

 

[Deacon]

I've been making my own cables for years. It's really easy and sometimes makes running the wiring easier because I don't terminate the ends until everything is in place. You can get a good crimping tool on Amazon for under $20. Also if you're doing longer runs try and get the thickest gauge 4 conductor you can find. I used black 26 AWG from ShowMe Cables that cost all of $0.12/ft. Make sure you use a good quality RJ11 connector. The one's from Monoprice didn't work at all. I ended up using the ones from Klein Tools (RJ11-6P4C), also available on Amazon.

I have a long run, guessing it's about 10 feet, with the detector to the right of my rear view mirror and the cabling running across the top of the windshield, down the driver's side pillar, back across the base of the dashboard and then back through the console to my remote audio adapter. Everything has worked fine so far first with my V1G1 and now my V1G2.

Yep! Sounds familiar

Making your own power cord

From Page 15 of the V1 Owner's Manual (PDF), read to the end... Making your own Power Cord Valentine One uses standard RJ-11 (modular) telephone connectors. You can use any telephone cable (the one that runs from the wall jack to the phone) for a power cord. Complete cables are available in...

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