Dashcam cable routing

scotty76

Registered User
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
3,826
Reaction score
2,829
Points
113
Location
Berkshire
Hoping to get a dashcam soon. I'm not going to hard wire it, just plug it into one of the 12V sockets. I'm going to locate it in the rear view mirror area. I'm led to believe it should be possible to just push the cable into the edge of the headlining. I really don't want to start pulling things apart as I'm an idiot and break things!

Anyone done this and can tell me how you routed the cable and where you plugged it in?

My neighbour did this on his Volvo and managed to route it down the pillar, along the door trim, under the passenger seat and plugged into the rear 12V socket.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kanecullen89, Bristle Hound and Rich M
  • Like
Reactions: Bristle Hound and scotty76
Hi, Scotty

I have a Blackvue mounted on the windscreen, just behind the mirror. This in on the B7, but I imagine a B8 is the same. Using a small plastic gapping tool, I was able to push the cable behind the headlining along the roof, and then down the offside windscreen pillar. From there, with the side panel pulled off the end of the dash, I was able to route the cable in behind the dash to its eventual destination. in this case, that destination was a concealed 4-gang 12V socket box, wired into the fusebox.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76
Two minute job put one in mine the other day, have them in all my cars.

Buy these you will use them time and time again... Amazon product

Cable will run under roof lining, then tuck under a piller cover, then in the rubber door seal down the a piller, ( do not remove rubber run on the inside ) then tuck it in the small panel joint half way down dash panel, under the dash with lock ties. But a spare cigar lighter and wire it up under the dash from the back of the other lighter is easy plug it in lock tie it job done.

Just use these tools to push the cable in, you will have to pry the a piller a little to push the cable in, once you get the hang of it you can just run the tool with the cable in front and tuck and run in one motion.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76
I would suggest everyone gets a dashcam, under £40 on Amazon with a 32g card. Mine has been used by the police in an inquest, saved me from a false claim where a car hit me when I was parked and said I pulled out onto them. Then a guy in a x5 backed out of a parking space into my ml righting it off, then tried to claim I ran into him. My footage showed I was stationary and beeping my horn to warn him.

There is no arguing with video, no lying witnesses from nowhere. My wife is a personally injury lawyer and these things are a godsend to proving fault
 
  • Like
Reactions: jdp1962
I would suggest everyone gets a dashcam, under £40 on Amazon with a 32g card. Mine has been used by the police in an inquest, saved me from a false claim where a car hit me when I was parked and said I pulled out onto them. Then a guy in a x5 backed out of a parking space into my ml righting it off, then tried to claim I ran into him. My footage showed I was stationary and beeping my horn to warn him.

There is no arguing with video, no lying witnesses from nowhere. My wife is a personally injury lawyer and these things are a godsend to proving fault
The very reason I installed mine. Thankfully, I haven't had to call on it.
 
Interesting, do these continue to record when the car is switched off and parked?

I have a android phone app called AutoGuard which is a dash cam, records speed, detects crashs and saves, takes pictures if required etc and roles on whatever memory you set so it wont fill your phone.
Is great but not ideal if i want to use my phone sat nav
 
Interesting, do these continue to record when the car is switched off and parked?

I have a android phone app called AutoGuard which is a dash cam, records speed, detects crashs and saves, takes pictures if required etc and roles on whatever memory you set so it wont fill your phone.
Is great but not ideal if i want to use my phone sat nav
I can only speak for the Blackvue here. Mine is wired to an ignition live, so it's only active when the key is in the ignition. However, the camera does have a "park" mode which is activated by a knock sensor. The camera is dormant until alerted by a knock, when it then starts recording. To make use of the park mode, the camera needs to be wired to a permanent live, in which case it's recommended you use a power management gizmo called a power magic pro.
 
Having an epic linking fail here! :) It's a "Transcend 16GB DrivePro 200 Car Video Recorder with Built-In Wi-Fi" on Amazon.

Edit: sorted now. Note to self Adblock Plus is sometimes a little too good at blocking. Lots of missing links now appearing. :)
 
I can only speak for the Blackvue here. Mine is wired to an ignition live, so it's only active when the key is in the ignition. However, the camera does have a "park" mode which is activated by a knock sensor. The camera is dormant until alerted by a knock, when it then starts recording. To make use of the park mode, the camera needs to be wired to a permanent live, in which case it's recommended you use a power management gizmo called a power magic pro.
OOO I like the sound of the knock sensor, the power management is needed to stop it draining the battery? I suspect dash cams will be pretty standard on cars from the factory in the next few years.

I realise after what I said before my dash cam app actually can run in the background so I can use my phone as satnav at the same time, is in the settings, but means I have to upgrade to pro. However speed and crash detection comes with the free app which I do rate. If you dont have money or effort for dash cam fitting the app is the lazy boy 3000 for it :p
 
I have two in my porker on front one back, both run 24 hrs a day, They will record a bump or any movement. Just wire them to a perm live
 
  • Like
Reactions: Meemo
I have two in my porker on front one back, both run 24 hrs a day, They will record a bump or any movement. Just wire them to a perm live

Do they record the speed and date stamp for that price? good idea have one in the back and the front, cover your butt! (Literally :)).
Dont suppose you have a video of it working on youtube or anything to show the quality?
 
Blackvue DR380 here. There are other models available with extra features, including a two-camera (front and back) setup if you want it.

Power Magic Pro here.

When the S4 arrives, I'll be swapping the Blackvue over to it, and this time, I will have it installed to a permanent live so I can use the Park mode.
 
Under headlining, down pillar, into fuse box and connect up to a spare location (either ignition switched or constant depending on your requirements) with one of these (using a 3A fuse) :

Amazon product

Earth wire to metal bolt using a ring or spade terminal (also in fuse box).

piece of p*** :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76
The quality is really good tbh, the police used my footage as proof in an inquest and I have just setteled a claim with other footage so it does the job. they are cheap enough not to give a stuff about. Got nothing uploaded sorry, the card will work in 99% of them so the most you will lose is the 15 for the camera.
 
Hoping to get a dashcam soon. I'm not going to hard wire it, just plug it into one of the 12V sockets. I'm going to locate it in the rear view mirror area. I'm led to believe it should be possible to just push the cable into the edge of the headlining. I really don't want to start pulling things apart as I'm an idiot and break things!

Anyone done this and can tell me how you routed the cable and where you plugged it in?

My neighbour did this on his Volvo and managed to route it down the pillar, along the door trim, under the passenger seat and plugged into the rear 12V socket.
@scotty76 - I'm like you as I will be investing in a dash cam in the near future

After much time spent trawling 'tinterweb, this is my front runner, at the mo
http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/mini-0806.html

Found a direct supplier on ebay which is quite a bit cheaper than the advertised price in the link
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76
@scotty76 - I'm like you as I will be investing in a dash cam in the near future

After much time spent trawling 'tinterweb, this is my front runner, at the mo
http://www.carcamerashop.co.uk/mini-0806.html

Found a direct supplier on ebay which is quite a bit cheaper than the advertised price in the link

Good choice BH. I have a mini 0806, great little camera and very discreet. Tucks away behind the rear view mirror nicely. I have to say, through personal experience, the guys at car camera shop are excellent. Admittedly, they are only based about 15 miles from me, but they drove my camera out and personally delivered on a Sunday over a bank holiday weekend so I got it quicker. Can't grumble at that !
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76 and Bristle Hound
I have an 0803 which is wired to the interior dimming mirror's power cables using a hard wire kit so it starts recording when the ignition is switched on and turns itself off
 
The 0806 is an amazing little camera. I have the older 0803 which I bought when it was new... With full 1080p and excellent night view plus the capability to record to a massive as card with no gaps between video segments all for a whooping cheap £50 it is the best in its price. The 0806 is more money but still one of the best in its range, with a viewfinder and onboard settings that makes it easy to use I would highly recommend it as an excellent cheap camera.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76 and Bristle Hound
Thanks BH why did you decide on that one? There's so many choices out there.
@scotty76 - My choice was born out of size, price and hours of research on 'tinterweb. Drove me nuts! Lol

What @Ash187 says below probably sums it up better than I can

The 0806 is an amazing little camera. I have the older 0803 which I bought when it was new... With full 1080p and excellent night view plus the capability to record to a massive as card with no gaps between video segments all for a whooping cheap £50 it is the best in its price. The 0806 is more money but still one of the best in its range, with a viewfinder and onboard settings that makes it easy to use I would highly recommend it as an excellent cheap camera.
 
  • Like
Reactions: scotty76
Under headlining, down pillar, into fuse box and connect up to a spare location (either ignition switched or constant depending on your requirements) with one of these (using a 3A fuse) :

Amazon product

Earth wire to metal bolt using a ring or spade terminal (also in fuse box).

piece of p*** :)


x2, it's the best way to go. Put a ciggy lighter socket tucked inside the headlining near the interior light.
 
I have a Mini 806.. I used to have it in old car but haven't put it in th Audi at the moment. Luckily haven't had to use it in anger but you capture all sorts of strange things and bad driving. Interesting when your car is getting serviced as well ;)
 
Here's a snap of how the mini sits in my S4 :

Dashcam


The hard wire cable runs neatly up the passenger side of the rear view mirror mount and into the headlining.
From my driving position I can't really see it (which is nice) as it is hidden by the rear view mirror.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bristle Hound and scotty76
  • Like
Reactions: V6 Quatt and scotty76
  • Like
Reactions: Bells
  • Like
Reactions: RS5 JON, Bristle Hound, elpeterol and 2 others
@scotty76 - Saw that Scotty. Doesn't worry me too much as it appears it was the earlier models of the 0806

Still the ones before this the, 0805, 0804, 0803 etc seem to be really good without breaking the bank :thumbs up:
No worries. Just wanted to make sure you had seen it. No disrespect intended.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bristle Hound
So got a Transcend 200 from Amazon as the price dipped on Friday (and went back up on Saturday). :) Set it up, routed the cable via the headlining, rubber door seal, under the rear mat and plugged into rear 12v socket. Only realised taking it for a test drive that I'd blocked the sensor for the auto dimming rear view mirror. Doh! So will need to move it. Here's a sample, be warned it's 280Mb and I'm sat at the lights for the first 35 seconds...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/c8lwcuxoin03mxd/TS_N0011.MOV?dl=0
 
  • Like
Reactions: Keef
You might want to download the clip as it looked very grainy when it played in the Dropbox web player. Was much clearer if you view the original.