I know with some of the newer radar detectors you have to leave the cigarette plug on it, because it has a fuse and/or a trasformer inside it. So a guy from work was telling me I just put a positive wire around the metal tip of the cig plug. and the negative end around the side metal clip. Is this true?

 

yes, you can do that although it will slip off. I have never had a radar detector that ran off of anything but 12v so they do not have a transformer.

 

if you are trying to use the cig adapter for power, you could go to Wal Mart nd get a new lighter pug to wire into the car. just tuck it in behind the dash out of sight. that is how I did my XM Radio, since the lighter plug on it drops voltage to 5V.