What is this..?

[Patrick A]

I've never come up with much of an explanation for this. It looks like a phone jack wired into the dash, with two ports: "mainline" and "accessory." it has velcro tape backing that appears to have never been used. Would someone have put a car phone in a 2003? Is there anything useful I can do with this? I'd like to rip it out because it makes my console here pretty worthless...

 

[gaterose]

Maybe better pics would help but I don't think I have anything like that behind my dash so I'm guessing it's some kinda accessory installed by the PO

 

[superman3043]

yeah you can pull that tray out pretty easily to snap a better pic. Just grab the sides and pull straight up. Are they USB jacks? If so that's sort of useful.

Once you get the tray out, you may have a better idea of the purpose by tracing it back to see what it's wired to. Pretty sure you'll see a drilled hole that the installer put in to get it there though. You may need to pull out the dash bezel to trace it further though, but it isn't that hard either. Just a few bolts.

 

[aha2988]

I've never come up with much of an explanation for this. It looks like a phone jack wired into the dash, with two ports: "mainline" and "accessory." it has velcro tape backing that appears to have never been used. Would someone have put a car phone in a 2003? Is there anything useful I can do with this? I'd like to rip it out because it makes my console here pretty worthless...

just taking a guess looking at the wires it looks like a power converter of some sort. I know the 2003's didnt have an AUX port in there glove boxes for mp3 players or iphone or ipod to play through the radio. it was eather the 04's or 05's that came standard. when they came out with it i think alot of people wanted it installed in there 03's and since the head unit in the 03's doesnt have an AUX button there fix was a similar plug that just ran to a FM transmitter that would lay up in that same area that your finding this random electronic. but phone ports? no clue man its certainly not somethings thats required to be there for anything standard on the truck to operate. :ybrick:

 

[Patrick A]

I'll have the dash apart this weekend while I upgrade the radio and install a spec usa unit, so I'll see what it's connected to then if it helps solve the mystery. I'll try and get a better picture(s) this afternoon, but it's not a USB...it's the same type of jack you'd plug a phone or internet land line into in a house, and there are two, labeled "mainline" and "accessory." Any clue what I could use it for? It has to be some kind of port installed item by the original owner...but like I said, it appeared to be unused and it just doesn't make sense to me. Weird.

 

[alreadybeenused]

Right away when you mentioned a phone line I thought of the Valentine One Radar Detector/Locator I used to have.
I don't know if any other brands use a phone line like the Valentine one does but it's pretty cool.
I think what you have is a hard wire adapter for the detector/locator.
One plug is for the main unit while the other one is for a concealed display.
When I had it in my car, I ran the phone line from the dash to the A pillar and into the headliner and mounted the detector/locator right under the rear view mirror.

Yours may be an older unit compared to this one on their website.

https://store.valentine1.com/store/closeup_00040.asp

This might be the one you have.

Direct-Wire Power Adapter Hardwire kit for the Valentine One 1 V1 Radar Detector | eBay

 

[gaterose]

it's the same type of jack you'd plug a phone or internet land line into in a house, and there are two, labeled "mainline" and "accessory."

I think some of my old remote start/alarm system as included those phone type plugs. Some amplifier remotes also have them, so they're not necessarily just for phones.

 

[Patrick A]

Right away when you mentioned a phone line I thought of the Valentine One Radar Detector/Locator I used to have.
I don't know if any other brands use a phone line like the Valentine one does but it's pretty cool.
I think what you have is a hard wire adapter for the detector/locator.
One plug is for the main unit while the other one is for a concealed display.
When I had it in my car, I ran the phone line from the dash to the A pillar and into the headliner and mounted the detector/locator right under the rear view mirror.

Yours may be an older unit compared to this one on their website.

https://store.valentine1.com/store/closeup_00040.asp

This might be the one you have.

Direct-Wire Power Adapter Hardwire kit for the Valentine One 1 V1 Radar Detector | eBay

Bingo, alreadybeenused. That's exactly what it is. Thanks for the insight! Are these radars worth looking into? Obviously the radar itself is not there, but I'm assuming if I got one if would still work with the old fashioned adaptor I have. Would you recommend it?

 

[alreadybeenused]

Glad to be of help!

Firstly, these detectors are $400 brand new. That's alot.

Secondly, I got rid of it because it became consuming for me.
To use it well, you have to be on your toes on the type of alerts the detector is giving out.
Sure I didn't want to get pulled over but it just became a burden
focusing so much on the alerts and the awareness of possible speed traps rather than driving.
Now, I just use cruise control to maintain a reasonable speed, even off of the highways.

Lastly, this was almost 10 years ago when I had the detector.
I don't know how much law enforcement use stuff like LIDAR/laser and how the effective the use of detectors are these days.
Detectors are also illegal in some states.

If you're genuinely a real speeder, you need all the help you can get but I don't know if it's worth it anymore.
The Valentine One was considered one of the best 10 years ago and I believe it's still well regarded but it doesn't do all the work for you.
It still takes some sharpness on part of the user to pick up on what the detector is "detecting".
It worked well when I had it but I got burned a few times when I wasn't paying attention
and later on, it just became a cool gadget.

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Love my Valentine one, I won't drive without it. I normally set the cruise and rarely go 5+mph over the limit, but it has saved me multiple times, no doubt enough to pay for the detector. I've had mine for about four years now. I see it as a tool to help avoid getting stopped, but I never fully rely on it either.

 

[Patrick A]

Eesh, I don't know if that money is worth it. I'm not a serial speeder (unless you consider 5 over speeding)...but I hadn't had a speeding ticket in 7 years of driving before last month...they got me in a passing zone on the way up to the mountains, trying to get in front of a clump of 5 drivers before the lane ended. I can't stand drivers who incessantly break and accelerate for no reason instead of using the cruise control on an open highway. Anyway, it's just stuff like that on road trips where I'd like to have an extra heads up when I might be headed for a tourist snare. I don't know much anything about radars, but I'm assuming I'd be OK with something closer to the $100 range though.

 

[gaterose]

I can't stand drivers who incessantly break and accelerate for no reason instead of using the cruise control on an open highway.

[threadjack]
The worst is when they brake during the double lines and accelerate during the dashed or in passing zones.
[/threadjack]

 

[BlackWorksInc]

[threadjack]
The worst is when they brake during the double lines and accelerate during the dashed or in passing zones.
[/threadjack]

Ugh, can't stand that... drives me nuts. Now that I have the SW bumper I have to remind myself that it would not be nice to just bump the stupid people off the road. Where do these people get their lisences!? Sears catalog? :gun4:

 

[ARK_SWAMP_RIDER]

Eesh, I don't know if that money is worth it. I'm not a serial speeder (unless you consider 5 over speeding)...but I hadn't had a speeding ticket in 7 years of driving before last month...they got me in a passing zone on the way up to the mountains, trying to get in front of a clump of 5 drivers before the lane ended. I can't stand drivers who incessantly break and accelerate for no reason instead of using the cruise control on an open highway. Anyway, it's just stuff like that on road trips where I'd like to have an extra heads up when I might be headed for a tourist snare. I don't know much anything about radars, but I'm assuming I'd be OK with something closer to the $100 range though.

Cheap radars aren't worth it, they do nothing but alert you that you're getting a ticket. I've had four at various price ranges (from $50 up to $400 for the V1). The V1 is the only one worth having. All the others wouldn't pick up far enough to be useful. I've had the V1 pick up 1-2 miles before seeing the cop on flat/open ground. The v1 also does an excellent job at picking up from the rear and sides, something most low end units don't do (or if they do, it's not far enough to be useful). Also, I get far fewer false alarms with the V1 as compared to the others I have had.

Somewhat dated now, but this was a helpful site I used in my search.
Radar Detector Tests and Reviews by Guys of LIDAR

 

[Patrick A]

Hey ARK or alreadybeenused, do you have any idea how these power adapters are wired in? I'm in the process of changing out my radio and I thought would be self explanatory once I got it all apart...but now that I'm here it's not. The red cord goes under my ignition swith and is all tied up in a cluster of wires...and the black one? I cannot tell where the heck it goes without taking apart a lot more than I'd want to. I wanted to take it out for now so it's out of the way in case I wanted to use it in the future, but now I'm leaning towards cutting it off where it's threaded through my console thing so I can use the console for other things. Will cutting it have adverse electrical effects to the car?

 

[Patrick A]

Nevermind, I just cut the ground and found a joint where I unscrewed the 12V cord and took out the fuse, and a diagram that told me the black was ground so I just cut and capped it for now. Thanks!

 

[Victor_inox]

Eesh, I don't know if that money is worth it. I'm not a serial speeder (unless you consider 5 over speeding)...but I hadn't had a speeding ticket in 7 years of driving before last month...they got me in a passing zone on the way up to the mountains, trying to get in front of a clump of 5 drivers before the lane ended. I can't stand drivers who incessantly break and accelerate for no reason instead of using the cruise control on an open highway. Anyway, it's just stuff like that on road trips where I'd like to have an extra heads up when I might be headed for a tourist snare. I don't know much anything about radars, but I'm assuming I'd be OK with something closer to the $100 range though.

your assumption is incorrect, cheap radar detector will give you many false alert and you will stop paying attention to it. passport, valentine one bells professional series. others simply doesn`t work. One avoided ticket is enough for justifiing 400 investment in good detector. I`ve got no ticket since I bought passport8500 7years ago and i usually speed 10 over or more. I ride fastest production motorcycle on the face of damn planet. doing 0-60 in 2.4 seconds, freaking radar safed my azz from reckless driving many times. now looking on 9500 passport.I will not drive without one ever again.