Dashcam cable routing

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phileep
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Dashcam cable routing

Post by phileep »

Has anyone hardwired a dashcam/satnav around from the USB ports to the windscreen/rear mirror? Or anything similar?

I have a dashcam and would love to leave it permanently wired in and avoid the faff of plugging and unplugging and having dangling cables.

Thanks in advance


Since then, i have done a guide.

See thread here

https://www.uk-polos.net/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=72583
Last edited by phileep on Sat Feb 02, 2019 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
silverhairs
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by silverhairs »

Ask "Alexperkins" which fuse to use in the fuse box to piggy back off as he has done a survey of different fuse boxes. You can purchase a power lead from your dash cam to run down to your fuse box.
phileep
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by phileep »

silverhairs wrote: Fri Sep 28, 2018 8:21 pm Ask "Alexperkins" which fuse to use in the fuse box to piggy back off as he has done a survey of different fuse boxes. You can purchase a power lead from your dash cam to run down to your fuse box.

Hey Silverhairs

Thanks for the heads-up. Ill ask Alex.

Tarr
monkeyhanger
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

I hardwired dashcams into my current Golf and the A1 which is now swapped out for the Polo GTI+.

Is yours front snd back, or just front? Does it have battery management built in or a parking monitoring function?

If it has parking monitoring but no battery management function the you'll need a "magic box" which is about £30, that'll shut the system down when the car battery voltage drops below a predetermined level.

You'll need a hardwire variant of your power lead. If you don't want or have parking monitoring function then you'll need that lead to have a positive that you can tap into a fuse that is only on with the ignition (with a jumper lead that has its own fuse), and an earthing point - you should find one on the dash underpinnings or on the back of the head unit. If you have parking monitoring then you'll also need to tap into a fuse that is for a system which is on independently of the ignition (alarm perhaps?).

Best fitment is the front camera on the left of the rear view mirror positioned so that you won't see it from the driving position, power lead out and up (or into the rear view mirror housing (cut a groove for the lead - about £8 to replace the housing part when you come to sell the car and remove the dashcam) tucked into the front edge of the roof lining where it meets the top of the windscreen. Feed along that edge of roof lining until you get down to the A-Pillar. Tuck in to where A-Pillar meets rubber door seal, tucking behind the folds of the seal. Nip in on the side panel for the dashboard (it should pop off with a trim tool - accessible/visible with the front door open then in to the fuse box. If you have rear cam, run connection lead from front camera along the roof panel the opposite side and along the seam where roof lining meets door seal (tucking in as you go), along seam of B-pillar then along top door seal of rear door, then tuck in where roof lining meets trim behind rear doors and pop through rubber gaiter that takes boot electric into the tailgate (will need a wire coathanger with blunted end, taoe lead to it and feedthrough gaiter - it will be a tight fit). Run lead thrugh tailgate and remove tailgate inner trim (a few torx screws and a series of spring clips to pop off). Wrap up and tape the lead slack.in the tailgate to the exisying wiring so it won't rattle, have rear camera sit just up from rear wiper, refit tailgate trim.

I aim to be reinstating the A1's front/rear Thinkware F770 dashcam this weekend or next. If I do manage to get it done, I will take pics and do a guide.
phileep
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by phileep »

monkeyhanger wrote: Fri Sep 28, 2018 9:34 pm I hardwired dashcams into my current Golf and the A1 which is now swapped out for the Polo GTI+.

Is yours front snd back, or just front? Does it have battery management built in or a parking monitoring function?

If it has parking monitoring but no battery management function the you'll need a "magic box" which is about £30, that'll shut the system down when the car battery voltage drops below a predetermined level.

You'll need a hardwire variant of your power lead. If you don't want or have parking monitoring function then you'll need that lead to have a positive that you can tap into a fuse that is only on with the ignition (with a jumper lead that has its own fuse), and an earthing point - you should find one on the dash underpinnings or on the back of the head unit. If you have parking monitoring then you'll also need to tap into a fuse that is for a system which is on independently of the ignition (alarm perhaps?).

Best fitment is the front camera on the left of the rear view mirror positioned so that you won't see it from the driving position, power lead out and up (or into the rear view mirror housing (cut a groove for the lead - about £8 to replace the housing part when you come to sell the car and remove the dashcam) tucked into the front edge of the roof lining where it meets the top of the windscreen. Feed along that edge of roof lining until you get down to the A-Pillar. Tuck in to where A-Pillar meets rubber door seal, tucking behind the folds of the seal. Nip in on the side panel for the dashboard (it should pop off with a trim tool - accessible/visible with the front door open then in to the fuse box. If you have rear cam, run connection lead from front camera along the roof panel the opposite side and along the seam where roof lining meets door seal (tucking in as you go), along seam of B-pillar then along top door seal of rear door, then tuck in where roof lining meets trim behind rear doors and pop through rubber gaiter that takes boot electric into the tailgate (will need a wire coathanger with blunted end, taoe lead to it and feedthrough gaiter - it will be a tight fit). Run lead thrugh tailgate and remove tailgate inner trim (a few torx screws and a series of spring clips to pop off). Wrap up and tape the lead slack.in the tailgate to the exisying wiring so it won't rattle, have rear camera sit just up from rear wiper, refit tailgate trim.

I aim to be reinstating the A1's front/rear Thinkware F770 dashcam this weekend or next. If I do manage to get it done, I will take pics and do a guide.
Hey Monkey

Thank you for the in-depth guide. I'm keen to see your guide if you get round to it!

Thank you
monkeyhanger
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

It's based on the experience of fitting to 2 recent VAG cars, they're all screwed together similarly. The only real difference is that on the Golf and A1, the tailgate had trim that framed the rear window, so I was ok to come from behind the trim at the top of the tailgate and not expose any wiring. On the Polo, there is no upper framing trim on the tailgate, so will have to feed wiring right through tailgate and come out at the upper edge of the trim by the bottom of the window where the rear wiper sits. You can get a basic set of trim tools from ebay for coppers for levering and poking/prying trim for lead feed.
S_94
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by S_94 »

Did you ever get around to fitting your dashcam monkey? Would be interested to find out how it's done for when the car eventually arrives.

With my current 2006 Golf TDI I have to unplug the dashcam after every trip. Would be keen to avoid this for the GTI.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

S_94 wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:37 pm Did you ever get around to fitting your dashcam monkey? Would be interested to find out how it's done for when the car eventually arrives.

With my current 2006 Golf TDI I have to unplug the dashcam after every trip. Would be keen to avoid this for the GTI.
Yep, all done and working correctly - front and rear cam set-up permanent hardwire, piggybacked off fuses, all trace of wiring hidden in the edges of seals/headlining/tailgate. About 2 hours work all in doing it blind (with differences between Golf and Polo unknown. Next go I reckon I could do it in 90 mins.

Was more fiddly on the Polo than our Golf R (which still has one fitted) or our old A1 that the Polo replaced (and whose dashcam the Polo inherited). Front is easy, getting from main body into tailgate is where it becomes frustratingly fiddly. I really need to get that guide done. I'll be fitting the Golf's dashcam into the 2nd Polo GTI we have on order.

How long until your delivery? Are you getting a front/back dual cam set-up or just front?
S_94
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by S_94 »

monkeyhanger wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:50 pm
S_94 wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:37 pm Did you ever get around to fitting your dashcam monkey? Would be interested to find out how it's done for when the car eventually arrives.

With my current 2006 Golf TDI I have to unplug the dashcam after every trip. Would be keen to avoid this for the GTI.
Yep, all done and working correctly - front and rear cam set-up permanent hardwire, piggybacked off fuses, all trace of wiring hidden in the edges of seals/headlining/tailgate. About 2 hours work all in doing it blind (with differences between Golf and Polo unknown. Next go I reckon I could do it in 90 mins.

Was more fiddly on the Polo than our Golf R (which still has one fitted) or our old A1 that the Polo replaced (and whose dashcam the Polo inherited). Front is easy, getting from main body into tailgate is where it becomes frustratingly fiddly. I really need to get that guide done. I'll be fitting the Golf's dashcam into the 2nd Polo GTI we have on order.

How long until your delivery? Are you getting a front/back dual cam set-up or just front?
Brilliant. Would love to see a guide if you ever put one together.

Currently the build week is scheduled for 04/03/2019 so I'm hoping for a delivery in May. Ideally I would love to have a front and back setup, just the question of what dashcams to actually go for. There are so many to choose from I have no idea what ones are actually good.

Definitely not carrying my current one over as it's pretty old now, so buying one (possibly two) is the plan at the moment.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

I'd go for Thinkware F770 (what I have) or above or Lukas. My first dabble in dashcams was a Blackvue 650 front and back set-up. The tiny form factor does not do well sure to propensity to overheat. Mine fried within a week, in the cool temps of early May. In high Summer I'm sure they wouldn't last half as long. Almost got a replacement but found out it was a common issue, although footage was good day and night while it worked.

The Thinkware is excellent in night and day, has its own car battery management (to shut off on parking monitoring at a programmed setpoint so as not to flatten your battery). Multiple modes of parking footage (time lapse/motion activation etc).

The cheaper ones have sub-par night (low light) footage, no battery management, and usually no parking monitoring mode.
kmm249
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by kmm249 »

Hi everyone,

Just saw this, I’ve currently got my car in the garage for front assist issue they currently blaming my hardwired dash cam. Saying this is causing low voltage but I’ve never had a problem with the battery. This is causing it to go into protect mode especially after being left for 2-3 days (my car left on drive during the weekend, we use the other half car at weekends) and this causes it to fault.

We know this isn’t the problem we had front assist problems when the dash cam hasn’t been connected as it hasn’t been picked up on previous visits for the same problem but it is something to think about if you are planning to hard wire a dashcam in.
monkeyhanger
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

kmm249 wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 6:57 pm Hi everyone,

Just saw this, I’ve currently got my car in the garage for front assist issue they currently blaming my hardwired dash cam. Saying this is causing low voltage but I’ve never had a problem with the battery. This is causing it to go into protect mode especially after being left for 2-3 days (my car left on drive during the weekend, we use the other half car at weekends) and this causes it to fault.

We know this isn’t the problem we had front assist problems when the dash cam hasn’t been connected as it hasn’t been picked up on previous visits for the same problem but it is something to think about if you are planning to hard wire a dashcam in.
I've had no such issues on either my Polo GTI+ or Golf R - both have front assist, although the Golf does have the earlier version of the system, with the sensor in the bottom front grill rather than behind front badge.

Both cars running a Thinkware F770 right now, both systems 3 years old - the Polo's having been on the car 3 months and previously on the A1 that the Polo replaced.

No front assist issues in either car. The Thinkware does have battery monitoring and auto shut-off at 12.3v.

Like yourself,, only 1 of the cars gets used at the weekend.
phileep
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by phileep »

I have now hard wired my dash cam in to the fuse box and taken photos for a guide!

I will upload a guide soon for people who are also wanting to do this :D
roywolfey
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by roywolfey »

phileep wrote: Sat Jan 26, 2019 4:24 pm I have now hard wired my dash cam in to the fuse box and taken photos for a guide!

I will upload a guide soon for people who are also wanting to do this :D
I have a dash cam and hardwire kit and need to get round to fitting so your guide would be useful. :)
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Re: Dashcam cable routing

Post by monkeyhanger »

OK Here is my guide. This might not be finished by the time I post, i'm doing this from scratch, having uploaded my pics from my phone to my laptop, and then Photobucket...

Here's the main body of the dashcam, the mounting bracket sticks to the windscreen and it slots about 7 mm to the right for the main body to unlatch, so you have to mount it at least 7mm to the left of the rear view camera casing if you want to dismount it! Your design of chosen dashcam may differ, but you have to take these things into consideration.

Image

First thing I do is get a thin permanent marker and offer up the main body of the dashcam(complete with bracket) to the windscreen, from your favoured driving position. Try to get the dashcam as close to centre of the windscreen as you can, in line and left of the rear view mirror, in a position where you see least of it from behind the wheel, and the rear view mirror hiding it. Then draw a line. Check from the outside that it looks straight, then stick it on.

Image

Uncouple the main unit from the stuck on mounting bracket, and you'll have plenty of room to wipe the permanent marker away with a solvent (I used ethanol). plug in the unit to its power lead and (if you have rear cam too, the front to back connecting cable.

Next, for a neat and hidden finish, I recommend notching the rear view mirror casing cap to accommodate the dashcam wiring, and have the wiring going into it), up inside the tube-like shroud that the cap fits into - spread that tube with a trim tool and poke the wiring in all the way up to the window (and to the front edge of the headlining). For the cap, you'll need 1 notch if you just have a front cam (for the hard-wiring power lead), and 2 if you have a rear too (for the front to back connection lead.



To get the cap off, you need to get a trim tool along the vertical seam between cap (at the bottom of the mounting of mirror to screen and jam it into spread the rim of the cap, do this both sides and then pull the cap down to remove - it slides up and down a channel with slots on the cap, you can see the channels that these slots fit into on the alloy mounting body:-

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Notching - it looks a little scruffy, but I smoothed it up as soon as I realised I had taken enough for the cabling diameter (and then didn't take another picture!):-


Image

Cap goes back on by sliding it upwards in the channels of the alloy mounting body and clicking into place so it meets with the tube-like cover adjacent to the mirror itself. See notched cap back in place:-


Image

Take the power wiring lead up and into the headlining, then follow the front edge of the headlining to the driver's side A-Pillar (because the fusebox is on the drivers side, accessed by a pop-out panel near the exterior lights switch). As you're working along, poke the wire beyond the lip of the headlining, or the weight of the cable will simply pull it back out.

When you get to the drivers side A-Pillar, where it meets the headlining, tuck the cabling in (it's awkward on the corner of the windscreen to tuck in the bend of the cabling), following the top edge of the A-Pillar lining to the door frame edge, and then peel back the lip of the seal on the door frame and you can tuck the wiring down the inside of the A-Pillar trim vertical edge, following it down until you et to the removable panel on the end of the dashboard. Lever that trim off and there's a thin edge piece that you can tuck the wiring into (you can see it is sitting proud of the rubber door seal lip in the picture below, everything tucks back in to the lip afterwards). The power wiring is now tucked into the cavity that houses the fusebox:-


Image

You should be able to see that the wire in the picture above meets the upper nut on the metal bracket - that's the earthing wire from the hardwiring cable. Slacken that nut off enough to get the "crab-claw" spade of the earthing wire around the thread that the nut tightens up around, then tighten the nut back up to give a secure earthing point.

You could pop that dash end cover back on, at this point, but it is handy to leave it off to let a bit of light in for when we pop the cover off that allows direct access to the fuse box. So we now pop the fuse box cover off with a trim tool and look in:-

It's the welly shaped trip piece by the steering column.

Image

Trim off, to show the mounting pegs.

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The exposed fuse box

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Depending on whether you have the ability to have parking monitoring or not, you have 1 or 2 positive leads to go with the earth that you already fitted. If you don't have parking monitoring, the unit will only be on if the ignition is on so you'll need a switched live - I picked fuse F55 (cigarette lighter and sockets).

If you have parking monitoring, in addition to the switched earth lead, you'll have a permanent live to provide power while doing parking monitoring, with the ignition off - I picked fuse F6 (central locking). For both leads, I used fuse piggy backs and plugged in. On my dashcam, permanent live is a yellow lead (top left wire in picture below), and the switched live is a read lead (bottom right wire and tap in picture below) - note that the taps are both red wiring, but see the leads they are attached to with a terminal block wrapped in electrical tape:-


Image

You can also see the skinny black earth lead leading away from the cabling in the bottom left of the pic above to where you connected it earlier.


Here's the fusebox layout so you can correctly identify F6 and F55:-


Image

Pop the cover back on, and if you only had a front camera, you're done.

If you have a rear camera, then you have another lead to feed from the top of the rear view mirror casing where it meets the headlining - this lead is going to feed along the passenger side though. Again, tuck cabling beyond the lip of the headlining running across the top of the windscreen, to the passenger side A-Pillar, where it meets the headlining, tuck the cabling in (it's awkward on the corner of the windscreen to tuck in the bend of the cabling), following the top edge of the A-Pillar lining to the top of the door frame edge.
This time though, we're going to follow the headlining to the back of the car.

Again, we peel back the rubber door frame seal and tuck the cabling behind the lip of the headlining edge then sort the lip out to overlap the headlining edge again, until we get to the B-Pillar between the 2 door frames. The cable can simply tuck into the gap where the 2 edges are with a trim tool, following along the length of the B pillar until you hit the rear door frame and you are once again peeling back the rubber lip of the door frame and tucking cabling behind the headlining lip before reinstating the rubber lip to overlap that headlining edge. You work your way back to the C-Pillar (the last corner that meets the boot lid), then tuck into the gap between headlining and C-Pillar. At that point you're left with about 1.8 metres of slack cable poking out the rear of the headlining that'll plug in to the rear camera.

B-Pillar tucking:-

Image

C-Pillar tucking:-

Image

Putting this together, I realise I could have taken more pics, specifically to demonstrate poking in the cabling around corners of the windscreen and under the door frame rubber seals.

The top edge of this pic shows the exposed edges of the headlining and door frame seals, so you can imagine how things tuck back in:-

Image

Beyond the point of where the cabling is at the back of the car is where it gets awkward/fiddly, feeding the rest of that cabling through the bodywork cavities and into the tailgate...I've ran out of time, I will have to continue the guide another day - but I do have plenty of pics for this bit as there's an easy(ish) way of doing this, and probably multiple nigh-on impossible ways to thread the wiring through some barely accessible holes that are difficult to line up with the cable.


Always use trim tools and not the blunt end of a piece of cutlery - to avoid scratching trims and piercing or crushing the cables. trim tools cost coppers per set on ebay.
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