Hard-wiring a Dash Cam
- Thread starter cemerson
- Start date
Cheers all. I've positioned mine now, though made the mistake of trying to line the lens up with the centre, rather than the mounting point, for the rear camera. Because the glass is curved it makes it point slightly to one side. I'm going to have another go at positioning them at the weekend when I get a bit more time (and wiring them in), luckily they give you a spare sticky pad for each!
Driven to Newcastle and back over the past couple of days with both the cameras in position - wanted to see if they were distracting or not - absolutely fine. You can see the corner of the front one poking out under the mirror, but only just - but it wasn't a distraction at all, quite good really.
Just pulled apart the trim around my rear view mirror, and it came apart and put back together really easily. I've ordered a couple more bits that I want to get before I wire it all in, so I'm hoping they arrive tomorrow or Friday so I can do it at the weekend. I'll try and remember to take lots of photos and try and do a how-to guide for it if I can!
I'm watching your efforts with great interest. Looking to do the same in the next few weeks. Good luck with the install.
I have the lane assist and rain sensor pack on mine, but there are loads of combinations of options that give different rear view mirror styles... so while I can guide people for mine, I can't help much with the other styles, and I think the people who have the same style as mine are probably in the minority!
I have the drivers assistance pack, which includes lane assist etc so I suspect that your experiences will indeed be very relevant in my case. The lane assist camera/rear view mirror arrangement takes up quite a bit of room so I guess that our cars will be most restrictive in terms of positioning for the front camera.
I've already positioned the cameras and stuck them to the screen, and it actually works fine. I was thinking that I'd have it high up to one side or the other of the mirror, but it actually fits fine with the mount directly under the middle of the mirror mount, and the camera is pretty much hidden. I didn't get it quite close enough to the mirror for my liking though (I was worried about having 2 heating vents close to each other as the mirror has one there too, and the camera has one, but actually there's still a fair amount of room around them), so I'm going to reposition it at the weekend, which should give an even better result.
I've seen it before, but not looked recently. I'll take a look there at some point but I have my plan for installation pretty much figured out now.
Is there not a light sensor on the rear of the mirror, for the dim function? Does the camera block this?
No, it sits under that, has a pretty good view. It's only a sensor for ambient light so the mirror doesn't try and dim during the day because of the extra light it gets, for example, so if it's blocked a small amount it won't matter too much.
Well I've put the ferrite cable clips on and the DAB reception is better again. Still getting the odd drop out but I am living in a hilly area and the drop outs are now only between a few hills.
Also installed a power magic pro today. With my last car, a Ford Focus diesel, the power socket was always on which meant I could leave the Blackvue powered on as and when I wanted. The S3 turns off the power socket which had taken away my choice of leaving the Blackvue on, hence the power magic pro!
Cool, sounds like pretty much the same setup as I'm intending to use. Where did you get the ferrite clips from and where on the cable did you install them? Is your cable routed inside the trim panels or did you just run it around the interior of the car?
The ferrite clips were from ebay, TDK ZCAT 5mm and I installed them about 2" from the ends of the cable. Placed a third on the front camera cable too.
As for routing the cables, the power magic is in the glove box with the yellow and red cables on suitable fuses. The socket is in the net storage in the passenger footwell, but I intend to move it into the glovebox as well. The front camera cable pushed into gaps in the trim around the front cup holders, over the gap around the steering wheel and dash, and then into the rubber seal of the drivers door. From there it's pushed into the trim between the pillar and roof, then I have used the cable clips across the top of the windscreen.
The rear cable is now route across the windscreen over the passenger side, pushed between the pillar and roof trim, before going into the passenger door rubber seal. It follows the rubber seal down to the floor before coming out buy the cup holders of the rear seats. I have a 3 door so may be more difficult for a sportback. From here it is loosely pressed between the back seat and the trim before entering the rubber seal of the hatch. It then pops out of the seal to the camera mounted in the centre of the back window. I do have a small loop when the hatch is shut, but this seems unavoidable.
I'm going to be trying to hide it all away behind trim parts if possible, with the excess cable behind the D pillar being the plan. I can pull the rear view mirror trim apart easily, so plan to put the cables in through there and then push up into the headliner around the car. I'm going to take the bits of trim off from the boot lid and route the cable through the rubber hoses that all the other cables for the car go through, and hope that it emerges somewhere behind the D pillar trim!
I'm not brave enough to start taking the trim apart! Good luck with doing a proper job, I'm afraid I've taken the easy option!
I wonder if the magnets in the ferrite clips would have an effect on the equipment behind the mirror? eg Lane assist, rain sensor etc. Not sure about using them there.
Don't have lane assist, but the rain sensor worked fine on my trip out this evening. I have two ferrite clips which are literally resting against the back of the mirror.
OK, I was thinking of hiding it inside the mirror. The rain sensor is just an IR sensor so don't think it'd be affected too much by magnets, but the camera might be. Do you know if it makes a difference how far along the cable you put them? Could I hide it in the top of the A pillar for example? Or does it have to be near the ends? Not had much experience using them I'm afraid!
I'm afraid I don't have any knowledge of ferrite clips other that placing them about 2" from the plugs the same as manufactures do on commercial electronic goods.
I'll try and read up a bit then and see if I can move them a bit. The back one shouldn't be a problem though.
Hey chaps,
Just stumbled across this thread... As we sell a boat load of these cameras and install them mainly into Audi's and VWs we have a lot of experience.
The new DR550 cable helps but still causes issues so ferrites are a must and they help a lot. Don't know how Pittasoft missed this during tests but hey ho.
Now I took some pics of mine and my mates cars when we installed.
My A3
Audi TT
In both cases they are in the same position and we take off the trim of the rain / light sensor and file out a hole big enough for the cable to fit through. With the DR550 you will need to make it slightly bigger.
Now you should cable tie the wiring to the wiring in that collar and pull out the light cluster. Cable tie to a point there to prevent vibration. Now it's up to you where you route the AV cable but the power should go drivers side a-pillar. Take the pillar out and cable tie to the wiring loom behind it. This should be behind your airbag curtain. Once you get down to the fusebox then you can make your connections. Make sure you double and triple check your Power, IGN and ground.
The AV cable should be pulled tight and cable tied where possible.
If possible, try and cloth tape all cables to keep that OEM look!
Hope that helps a little...
Just stumbled across this thread... As we sell a boat load of these cameras and install them mainly into Audi's and VWs we have a lot of experience.
The new DR550 cable helps but still causes issues so ferrites are a must and they help a lot. Don't know how Pittasoft missed this during tests but hey ho.
Now I took some pics of mine and my mates cars when we installed.
My A3
Audi TT
In both cases they are in the same position and we take off the trim of the rain / light sensor and file out a hole big enough for the cable to fit through. With the DR550 you will need to make it slightly bigger.
Now you should cable tie the wiring to the wiring in that collar and pull out the light cluster. Cable tie to a point there to prevent vibration. Now it's up to you where you route the AV cable but the power should go drivers side a-pillar. Take the pillar out and cable tie to the wiring loom behind it. This should be behind your airbag curtain. Once you get down to the fusebox then you can make your connections. Make sure you double and triple check your Power, IGN and ground.
The AV cable should be pulled tight and cable tied where possible.
If possible, try and cloth tape all cables to keep that OEM look!
Hope that helps a little...
Are you talking RHD or LHD? Because the fusebox is on the passenger's side in mine...
Thanks for the guidance though, pretty much what I'm planning to do anyway! I have some rubber grommets to surround the cables as they disappear into bits of trim as well to make it look nice and tidy. I'll try and take lots of photos!
I also bought an ATX power extender which I intend to chop in half and use to replace the ridiculous cigarette lighter socket, which has got to rank as one of the stupidest, bulkiest and least reliable connectors ever made! I then have some add-a-circuit things to piggyback on to different fuses that I'm planning to solder/crimp on to the power magic connections.
Will be off to Maplin at lunch to get some ferrite clips then...
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Well, I've begun the installation today, going pretty well so far. I have the cables from the camera disappearing into the rear view mirror trim now, the power cable re-emerges in the glove box currently ready for wiring in to the power magic pro. I've soldered on a better connector than the cigarette lighter socket (ATX power from a computer) which is a lot easier to feed into different places! The AV cable for the rear camera currently goes along just inside the headliner as far as the back seats and is loose on the back seats. Hopefully do some more / finish it off tomorrow! Have taken some photos.
I now have both cables routed and hidden away, and the rear camera connected, but don't yet have the power wired in. It's a relatively easy job to do that bit, but just ran out of time today (had a very busy day!)
Might start the 'tutorial' thread now about routing the cables around the car, and then add the power bit later on when I do it.
Might start the 'tutorial' thread now about routing the cables around the car, and then add the power bit later on when I do it.
I'm looking into hard wiring a dashcam. Do you know if the A3s fuse box takes micro, mini or standard sized fuses?
Also would anyone know what amp power I should go for? I'm thinking 4 amp.
Thanks
It takes a mixture, annoyingly! Depends where you are looking. I can't remember what I used in the end (I think 2 mini) but I have a tutorial thread somewhere that I wrote up when I installed mine. I'm using 5A fuses for mine. Could probably go lower though.
Just seen ur tutorial cemerson. Looks like u were going to eventually go for 3A fuses.
I'm going to see how easy it is for me to get into the A pillar to hide the cable.
Any issues so far with dash cam being plugged into the 'always on' fuse?
I'm going to see how easy it is for me to get into the A pillar to hide the cable.
Any issues so far with dash cam being plugged into the 'always on' fuse?
No, none. I have the 'Power Magic Pro' device that they do, which handles all that stuff anyway. I think the original dashcam power cable has a 3A fuse inline, but not sure how much the power magic pro would add to that. I still have to get hold of some and give it a go.
The A pillar was tricky for me, I only managed to open the top part, but that was enough to be able to route the cables behind the curtain airbags. I've had no problems with rattles or anything from the cables, all still works perfectly. One thing I've realised is that the light on the rear camera serves as a good check of everything - both the power cable and the between-camera cable, and you can easily check on it in the rear view mirror.
The A pillar was tricky for me, I only managed to open the top part, but that was enough to be able to route the cables behind the curtain airbags. I've had no problems with rattles or anything from the cables, all still works perfectly. One thing I've realised is that the light on the rear camera serves as a good check of everything - both the power cable and the between-camera cable, and you can easily check on it in the rear view mirror.
Hi Cemerson - I am thinking of having a Blackvue DR 650 fitted. How have you got on with your DR550? Any issues and are you pleased with it? Would welcome your views!
I do have an issue at the moment where it just keeps not responding, and you have to unplug the power to reset it. I'm fairly sure it could be the SD card though as I'm using a 64GB card which isn't technically supported - and you are supposed to format it regularly (it gets a LOT of use being recorded on constantly) - I'm gonig to be trying a lower capacity card to see if it sorts it out. Other than that, it's really good!
Liquidfusion-S3
I fall to peer pressure!
Plenty of issues with the 550 and 650,
- The wire they use to connect front and rear together causes the car radio not to work.
- Bad connectors which come loose after a while for the front camera
- Bit rate is low and can become blocky at times (550 is exact same as 650 except they upped the bit rate an extra 1000)
- Rear camera isn't Full HD and poor video at night time
Hugely over priced for what it is, if you want a good basic high bit rate camera go for the Mobius
I initially wanted to invest in the Blackvue but after watching some video samples and finding out about the problems, I went back to Mobius
You shouldn't be paying £330 and still have the above problems.
I've not have any problems that you describe LiquidFusion. The early 550s came with a different cable and bitrate, but these were fixed by the time I got mine. The rear camera on mine is HD (720p), and have used footage from it before without an issue - everything was very clear.
Liquidfusion-S3
I fall to peer pressure!
Apologies, I should of mentioned it's poor quality in low light, especially if you have rear tints at night time
