Each day I get tons of emails, from people just like you, who are
considering installing their laser jammer into their car or truck but have questions such as these:
• Why do the heads need to be installed in the grill? • How hard is it to install a laser jammer? • Will the laser jammer work with my radar detector?
Because of this, I’ve created this handy step-by-step install guide that
will answer these questions and more, which you can print out to
supplement your installment manual.
Why Do the Laser Jammer Heads Need to Be Installed in the Grill?
The beam of light emitted from a police lidar gun is only 18” wide at 500 feet and the officer is trained to aim at the most reflective areas of your vehicle, which is typically your front license plate or your headlights.
As a result. if the jammer head is not installed within the area the officer is targeting, it may never activate, or if it did it would not provide enough of it’s own light to jam the officer's lidar gun.
How Hard is it to Install a Laser Jammer?
This depends on your vehicle, your background, and how custom you want your install to be.
The two most difficult areas of install for most people are running the cables of the jammer heads through the firewall to the controller module and tapping into the power supply of your fuse box.
Many vehicles have rubber plugs on the firewall that separate the engine and passenger compartment, which you could push a screw driver and then your cables through.
If you don’t have one of these rubber plugs, then you will need to drill a hole through your firewall. Just make sure before you do that you’re not going to drill into something you don’t want to on the other side.
After you run your cables be sure to seal the hole with silicone.
A typical install will take me, or a member of my team, about an hour.
What tools and supplies do I need?
For a basic install you will need a screwdriver and a pair of wire cutters.
If you’re doing a more custom install and want to have an LED light installed or a power switch installed in your dash you would also need a drill and/or a Dremel tool.
I also recommend stopping by your local automotive shop and picking up an Add-A-Circuit fuse tap and a small roll of 3M’s acrylic double sided tape (3M06384).
Do You Know of a Good Installer in my area?
A lot of my competitors will try to up-sell you one of their Installer Cards, which they get paid a commission on.
One of the problems with these cards is that once you get to the installer they tack on a few extras to make up my competitor's commission.
Because of this, I don’t offer them and feel you’ll get a more competitive price if you call around.
The first place I would call is your nearest Best Buy store, most have automotive 12-volt installers.
I’ve seen them charge anywhere from $125 to $500 and again this depends on the vehicle make and how custom the customer wants the install.
Then, try calling a few custom install automotive stereo shops in your area.
Will My Laser Jammer Interface with my Radar Detector?
No, none of the newer ones do, these are totally separate devices.
However, your laser jammer will work fine with your detector as a stand-alone.
Do I need 2 heads, 3 heads or 4?
This again all depends on your vehicle and if you want both front and rear protection.
Frontal Laser Jammer Protection
It’s estimated that across the US that 90% of all laser attacks target the front of the car. However, in areas where police use overpasses for laser enforcement such as the DFW area, the most common are rear.
A larger SUV or truck would require 4 heads for full frontal protection.
For a mid size passenger car 2 heads for full frontal protection.
Rear Laser Jammer Protection
The rear of your car/truck is typically harder to protect than the front, but because officers are taught to “shoot toward the center of mass,” you typically can get by with one head installed on your rear license plate if the officer's in your area primarily shoot toward the rear.
However, if you want to totally cover your butt, install two heads.
Motorcycle Laser Jammer Installs
If you want to install a laser jammer to the front of your motorcycle, you can purchase our single head HP-905 Blinder Laser Jammer.
How can I test my Laser Jammer to Make sure it’s working?
Police lidar guns are the best way to test your install, but they are expensive.
This device emulates 8 different police lidar guns.
9-Step Laser Jammer Install Guide
Step 1 – Locate the best locations for your laser jammer heads
The first thing I do when installing a laser jammer is that I step back from the front of the vehicle to identify the most reflective areas of the front grill area.
I then take a tape measure and make sure that the placement
location I preselected for each head is within 18” of these places in order to provide coverage for these reflective areas.
Step 2 - Install your jammer heads
I seldom use the brackets that come with the laser jammer, instead I prefer to use 3M double-sided tape.
I then use the leveler that comes with the jammer to ensure that each head is level.
Step 3 – Run the cabling through the firewall
Check to see if you have a rubber plug on your firewall which you can punch a hole in, if not then you will have to drill a hole.
Step 4 – Install a Power Switch and/or LED light into Dash (Optional)
If your laser jammer came with an optional power switch and you want to install it into the dash this would be your next step.
(Note: This image shows the Blinder power selector installed in an ashtray)
Take the cables you ran through the firewall and connect them to the laser jammer CPU.
Step 6 – Connect the Power Cable to fuse box
(Be sure that your keys are out of the ignition)
Open up your car's service manual to locate your fuse box and identify an accessory fuse that will power up only when your car is running, such as the fuse to your radio.
Remove this fuse, place it into the correct position in your Add-A-Circuit.
Install a second 2 amp fuse and place it into the slot with the wire dongle.
Take the red power wire from the laser jammer power cable and crimp it into place (Do NOT remove the inline fuse).
Now take the black wire and find a bolt/screw under your dash that attaches to the frame to connect as your ground.
Attach the power cable to your laser jammer.
Step 7 – Program
Each laser jammer has different programming options, so please refer to the manual to select the one best for you.
Step 8 – Test
Before you put everything back together this is a good time to test your laser jammer.
Turn
on your ignition, turn on your laser jammer and you should hear a voice
or tone that indicates it is performing a self-test and has activated.
If
you purchased the hand-held laser tester, aim it at each head and press a
button. You should hear your jammer activating (note: because of the
low power of the tester, your jammer may not alert to the Laser Atlanta.
This is an issue with the tester, not your jammer).
Step 9 – Tie Up Lose Ends
Your laser jammer came with nylon zip ties, use these to secure your cables.
Secure your CPU in a location under your dash.
How to Use Your Laser Jammer Effectively
Don’t Jam to Gun!
Just because your laser jammer can jam to gun please don’t! (Jamming the police laser gun to point where the officer is shooting you from)
You should program your laser jammer so it deactivates within 4 to 5 seconds after it’s first alert and/or have a switch within easy access to power the jammer down after you slow down.
By doing this you’re reducing the officer’s suspicions that you’re jamming him.
Download/Install Updates
Each of the jammer manufacturers update their firmware on a regular basis, adding new laser guns after the jammer manufacturers release their new guns to police agencies.
So be sure to download and install these updates to your jammer
Drive Responsibly and Defensively
Your laser jammer is only as good as the driver behind the wheel!
So even though you can jam police laser guns now, you still need to be aware of what is going on around you at all times and drive accordingly.
This site is family owned and founded by "Radar Roy," a retired police officer and certified traffic radar instructor, who is considered a leading expert in the speed counter measurement industry.
To learn more about Roy, read our radar detector reviews, or download our free radar detector eBook click here.
This site is family owned and founded by "Radar Roy," a retired police officer and certified traffic radar instructor, who is considered a leading expert in the speed counter measurement industry.