Hardwiring a Dashcam

[AndrewTi]

Well, that was fun!

Not!!!

Used a Nextbase kit in the end, as the wife bought them along with the camera, so seemed rude not to!

First error was assuming the fuse box was in the passenger footwell, as per the diagram in the handbook, rather than the text description of the drivers footwell.

Stripped off the passenger a pillar trim, routed the cables beautifully, all nicely hidden, then realise that I should have trusted the book after all. Remove all wiring, replace the pillar trim again....

Start again on the proper side. Fiddle the wire around the mirror / rain sensor housing, run the wire, remove drivers pillar trim.

Route the cable nicely - ought to look good, as it's the second time I've done it, route wires into drivers footwell.

Snap trim clip.

Decide eventually after much swearing to buy another one later.

Look for an earth. Wonder if behind the bonnet handle is a good idea. Unbolt it and have a look. It isn't. Panic that the bonnet will never open again.

Find Earth on the transmission tunnel, having removed more trim.

Decide to use the horn fuse for the switched live.

Camera is on constantly.

Scratch head.

Decide to try the horn with the ignition off. I jump, next doors dog goes berserk. Turns out it was a constant live and I should have checked.....

Eventually decide the heated seat fuse would be an idea, so go for it.

Camera now works as it should.

Feel a bit relieved and happy that one clip aside, I've not lost my temper and destroyed anything and there are no sparks or burning smells.

Put car back together, no screws left over, things are looking up!

Slam door, camera falls off windscreen.....

Go inside, pour a large Rum and Coke.

[Borgi]

You are my hero of the month.
Well done.
Pictures of finished job would be nice.

[Dedders]

Having never done anything like this before, how easy is it to get the pieces of trim off and what’s the best way of doing it?

Thanks Adam

[bokabil]

Originally Posted by Dedders

Having never done anything like this before, how easy is it to get the pieces of trim off and what’s the best way of doing it?

Thanks Adam

In my experience, the A-pillar trim comes off easy, but putting it back on was a bit more difficult as you need to make sure the rubber is not stuck in.

Another difficulty for me was the humungous rain sensor! Putting the cam on it messes the viewing angle and below it just too low, I wanted a discrete solution. Only options left were to the sides of it, as high up the windscreen as possible. On the driver's side, I was worried it interferes with the sunvisor, so passenger side it is. There is a small gap under the sensor at the top of the windscreen, I barely managed to squeeze through the mini usb cable for the cam.

I used Fuse 11 on driver's footwell. Power is off when the ignition is off, so perfect for dashcam use. Plus, this fuse powers the 12V sockets, I wanted to select the most "non-safety" relevant fuse just in case I screw up.

For earth or ground, there is another fuse box at the end of the dashboard (driver's side on my LHD car). Open the box and you will see a nice bolt grounded to the chassis, I used this.

[Dedders]

Originally Posted by bokabil

In my experience, the A-pillar trim comes off easy, but putting it back on was a bit more difficult as you need to make sure the rubber is not stuck in.

Another difficulty for me was the humungous rain sensor! Putting the cam on it messes the viewing angle and below it just too low, I wanted a discrete solution. Only options left were to the sides of it, as high up the windscreen as possible. On the driver's side, I was worried it interferes with the sunvisor, so passenger side it is. There is a small gap under the sensor at the top of the windscreen, I barely managed to squeeze through the mini usb cable for the cam.

I used Fuse 11 on driver's footwell. Power is off when the ignition is off, so perfect for dashcam use. Plus, this fuse powers the 12V sockets, I wanted to select the most "non-safety" relevant fuse just in case I screw up.

For earth or ground, there is another fuse box at the end of the dashboard (driver's side on my LHD car). Open the box and you will see a nice bolt grounded to the chassis, I used this.

That’s great thank you I’ll give it a go.