Escort 79-000041-01 Direct Wire SmartCord (Red)

by Escort

Product Details

• Item Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0003NN83K
• Item model number: Direct Wire SmartCord
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The direct wire SmartCord accessory is a unique power cord with a power-on indicator, an alert LED lamp that warns you of radar and laser, and a convenient mute button. Users wire the cord directly into the vehicle fuse panel, and then mount the display module within arm's reach. It's the perfect addition for any driver who might have trouble reaching the detector's mute button on the windshield. The SmartCord also features a dark mode for discreet night driving, so other drivers won't know you have a detector. The direct wire SmartCord is compatible with contemporary Escort Passport 8500 X50, Solo S2, and Passport 7500S models, along with earlier Passport 8500, 7500, and 6800 detectors.

Product Description

The Direct Wire SmartCord provides a more discrete and more permanent mounting option for your Escort radar detector. It includes a built-in alert lamp, pilot light and convenient mute button. Ideal for matching your blue light or red light Escort 8500 X50 radar detector.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Accessory for the Passport 8500 X50, January 22, 2007

By 

Norman E. Wood IV "Tad Wood" (Lawrenceville, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Escort 79-000041-01 Direct Wire SmartCord (Red) (Electronics)

I bought this accessory to use with my Escort Passport 8500 X50 radar/laser detector. It allows you to hardwire the power for your detector to the vehicle's fuse box so you don't have a power cord dangling down from the dash and plugged into a cigarette lighter socket. It also provides the same SmartCord remote control module that is on the Passport's included cigarette lighter socket power cord. The remote module has a power LED, an alert LED that flashes when the detector picks up a radar or laser signal, and a mute button. You can mount this module in a convenient location in your vehicle so you can easily mute the detector when it gets a false alert. It also provides you a concealed visual alert so that if you put the detector into "dark mode" (so that others around you can't see you have a detector when driving at night) you will still have a visual alert.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well designed, but not quite "one size fits all"., March 22, 2009

By 

Kevin Nicholls "jaded, aging hipster" (Milford, MI) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Escort 79-000041-01 Direct Wire SmartCord (Red) (Electronics)

If you have an Escort or Bel radar detector with a SmartCord, this is really your only option to hardwire your detector without losing your remote display and mute button.

The wires are long enough to route across the headliner, down the A pillar, and to your fuse panel. I was planning to put this in my center console, but the wires weren't quite long enough for that.

Escort makes two very big assumptions with this cord:
1) You want to splice one of your 12V wires
2) You know how and where to locate a 12V wire in your vehicle's electrical system

In my case, #1 wasn't true, so I opted to use a fuse tap instead of the included wire splice. If this is what you want to do, too, you'll need either the Wirthco 30001 Fuse Tap Kit, or if your car uses mini fuses (like mine does), the Wirthco 30800 Mini Fuse Tap Kit. Using a fuse tap, you don't need to locate or splice any wires -- just a switched fuse in your fuse panel (many owners manuals will list which ones are switched).

Escort ships this with a ring attached to the ground wire, which may or may not fit the location you plan to use as a ground. In my case, it didn't fit. So, clipping off a bit of the ring was necessary. Alternatively, you can just remove the ring and crimp on one that's the proper size.

The part of the the cord that makes it "smart" is where things can get tricky. The power cords all originate in the back, which can make installation difficult if you're planning on integrating this with a knockout in your dashboard. Escort includes some Velcro for mounting it, but it takes a fair amount of trimming to get it mounted without looking cheap.

All said, if you're willing to put in a half hour or so to make everything look nice, and have a very basic understanding of vehicle wiring, this is pretty decent. A bit overpriced for what it is, though.

A word of warning... there are loads of people selling simple power kits (basically phone jacks with two wires) as the same thing. Make sure you buy from Amazon to be 100% sure you're getting a genuine Escort product.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smart cord is smart idea, August 26, 2005

By 

PDA Instructor (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Escort 79-000041-01 Direct Wire SmartCord (Red) (Electronics)

If you've placed your Passport in the proper location on the windshield, the mute buttom is out of reach. Put the Smart Cord control in reach of the steering wheel and you're good to go. A must have.