Euro Option? Dash "Tray"...Valentine 1 hookup
 

Hi gang. I'm a newbie to this forum but not to automotive forums in general.

I'm an owner of a new, factory ordered 2010 A3. Took me about 5 months of waiting to get it. We're still breaking it in.

I was reading the owner's manual and noticed a small sliding tray "option" next to Hazard button on the dash. The tray replaces the three blank switch plates to the right of the Hazard button.

My last car was a MINI Cooper S, and the car was able to be upgraded with some Euro options (like an under the steering wheel tray instead of a solid cover) if you knew the appropriate part numbers.

I asked my local Audi dealer about acquiring this tray (actually showed him the page in the owner's manual). He claims his US counterparts know nothing.

Does anyone have this tray, know of the tray, have the part numbers to the tray, so I can educate my local parts guy and find out how much it is going to cost to get here?

Second, I have not done a thorough scouring of the archives. Is there a post someone can link me to on the best power takeoff location for a Valentine 1 radar detector?

Thanks a million.

Bruce

You could check out these guys
http://oemplus.com
they don't have the tray in their on line catalog but I'd e-mail them to see if they can hook you up. My '08 has that tray and I saw it was taken out on the 09.

That sliding tray is pretty small. It's sized for business cards, and only about 3/8" deep. I use it for a small and thin box of breath mints - unfortunately it is too small for the prevalent Altoids tins.

Thanks!
 

Thank you for this link. I've taken up the question with them.

Thanks for the info on the tray. I'm actually looking for a place to put change, and it seems to be useful for that. I may add an Euro cup holder there in place of the tray. Just waiting for some feedback from the supplier.

How many cup holders does Americans need? There are 2 already by the handbrakes. Anyway, the card holder could hold enough change. Some people says the change they put gets stuck in the opened geared slot, but I never had an issue with that. I only put quarters in there though, and don't stuff it to the max.

People usually tap off the power from the interior light cluster and hook up the valentine right above the rear view mirror. Or tap off the a fuse in the fusebox and fit the remote display into where you want to put the card holder.

Link for Card Tray Installation & Options
 

Check out this thread for some info on what it takes to do the install and some links to other options (i.e. other buttons in place of the card tray):

http://www.audi-sport.net/vb/showthr...459#post852459

or the following link (has the 2009 button and tray part numbers):

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=3978749

I remember someone replacing it with a radar detector. Sorry I couldn't find the link.

Thanks for the link. Very useful.

I'll probably regret not buying the cup holder after reading the comments.

Bruce

i powered the V1 from the fuse box, looking for a good concealed display install in A3... advice?