Dashcam installation

[maclarkk]

Hi all

Since joining PistonHeads (feel free to call me a paranoid sod) I’ve realised just how common 50/50 insurance claims are; people lying etc, and just how many gimps there are on the road generally. This has made me think that it’s about time I got one installed in my car (a dashcam, not a gimp).

I appreciate the subject of dashcams has been discussed at length, and I’m more than capable of doing some online research into finding the right model for me, but I’m somewhat stuck on finding someone to do the installation, that is professional “no cables on show” installation.

I’m relatively savvy in terms of electronics, but I’m not comfortable with ripping apart my dash (the car is new) trying to fit an £80 dashcam, so would rather burn a couple hundred quid (I assume?) on a pro to do it for me, and stop me from no doubt putting my fist through the nearest wall.

Feel free to delete/move/call me a tosser if this has already been posted, but I really want someone who is the dog’s nuts to do it, not someone who’s a bit of a handyman.

Based in South of England, prepared to travel for the best know-how.

[steveo3002]

theyre fairly simple to do ...most cars the wire will tuck under the headliner /door rubber , then you get a piggyback fuse to plug into an existing fuse

id say you will be fine ..worst case a couple of minor trims to remove

[InitialDave]

What may make your life easier is a dedicated USB power adaptor - they're available from Ebay for about a fiver, 12v +/- in, two standard female USB plugs on short leads out. Just wire it into an appropriate permanent or switched circuit as suits your needs and plug the camera's USB cable in - bit easier than trying to run a USB cable in a hidden manner halfway round the car from the normal choice of a lighter socket or similar.

[clockworks]

I've fitted them in 2 cars so far - a Galaxy and my current Touareg. Easy to do with the piggyback fuse and USB power supply as mentioned above. Hardest part was finding which fuse to connect to - needs to be a switched live that goes off when the car goes to sleep to avoid draining the battery. Took less than an hour in both cases.

The other thing to be aware of is the stupid things have a habit of falling off the windscreen in hot weather. I found a chap on eBay that sells "low profile" mounts that replace the standard suction cups. A much neater installation, and sticks to the screen with double sided tape. About £13 for my Nextbase

[NickGRhodes]

The piggy-back connector and USB adaptor route is neat and easy to do, no point is getting the soldering iron out.
I had issues with my dashcam falling off, I bought a "Sat Nav Mounting Disc" from Halfords, stuck that to my cleaned screen and then used the standard sucker that came with my Nextbase.

[A900ss]

I’ve looked at the piggyback fuse and that seems fine but my issue is finding an earth. In my car, all the area around the fuse box is plastic with no earth to connect to.

[steveo3002]

any metal part of the bodywork is earth , look enough and there will be a bolt or screw hole you can put the wire under , clean off the paint around the hole first

[Dash-Cam Man]

maclarkk said:

Hi all

Since joining PistonHeads (feel free to call me a paranoid sod) I’ve realised just how common 50/50 insurance claims are; people lying etc, and just how many gimps there are on the road generally. This has made me think that it’s about time I got one installed in my car (a dashcam, not a gimp).

I appreciate the subject of dashcams has been discussed at length, and I’m more than capable of doing some online research into finding the right model for me, but I’m somewhat stuck on finding someone to do the installation, that is professional “no cables on show” installation.

I’m relatively savvy in terms of electronics, but I’m not comfortable with ripping apart my dash (the car is new) trying to fit an £80 dashcam, so would rather burn a couple hundred quid (I assume?) on a pro to do it for me, and stop me from no doubt putting my fist through the nearest wall.

Feel free to delete/move/call me a tosser if this has already been posted, but I really want someone who is the dog’s nuts to do it, not someone who’s a bit of a handyman.

Based in South of England, prepared to travel for the best know-how.

Hi there,

Up your neck of the woods, there is a company called TTW installations, they will be the best option for the ultimate professional discrete installation.

There's a massive difference between a DIY quick google install that some people will opt & suggest, and one that's done by someone who is capable of removing trim, securing cables to the existing wiring loom and concealing cables the correct way. Running cables down the rubber seal on your A Pillar is like securing a roof tile with blue-tack, it will temporarily look good, however should you ever encounter a moment where that thing is meant to do it's job by it's designed specification, you will find it will not work as it should. Putting a cable in front of the A Pillar (behind the rubber) will almost definitely cause that cable to snag should the airbag ever pop, subsequently pulling off the dash camera from the window, causing it to be a moving bullet inside your vehicle.

There's a reason manufactures tie & secure to the chassis all cabling away from the airbag units within the A pillars.

That said, the A pillar is not hard to remove. We have a 'how to guide' on how to fit a full dash camera install on youtube, including removal of the A Pillars.

Thanks, Jay

[maclarkk]

Dash-Cam Man said:

maclarkk said:

Hi all

Since joining PistonHeads (feel free to call me a paranoid sod) I’ve realised just how common 50/50 insurance claims are; people lying etc, and just how many gimps there are on the road generally. This has made me think that it’s about time I got one installed in my car (a dashcam, not a gimp).

I appreciate the subject of dashcams has been discussed at length, and I’m more than capable of doing some online research into finding the right model for me, but I’m somewhat stuck on finding someone to do the installation, that is professional “no cables on show” installation.

I’m relatively savvy in terms of electronics, but I’m not comfortable with ripping apart my dash (the car is new) trying to fit an £80 dashcam, so would rather burn a couple hundred quid (I assume?) on a pro to do it for me, and stop me from no doubt putting my fist through the nearest wall.

Feel free to delete/move/call me a tosser if this has already been posted, but I really want someone who is the dog’s nuts to do it, not someone who’s a bit of a handyman.

Based in South of England, prepared to travel for the best know-how.

Hi there,

Up your neck of the woods, there is a company called TTW installations, they will be the best option for the ultimate professional discrete installation.

There's a massive difference between a DIY quick google install that some people will opt & suggest, and one that's done by someone who is capable of removing trim, securing cables to the existing wiring loom and concealing cables the correct way. Running cables down the rubber seal on your A Pillar is like securing a roof tile with blue-tack, it will temporarily look good, however should you ever encounter a moment where that thing is meant to do it's job by it's designed specification, you will find it will not work as it should. Putting a cable in front of the A Pillar (behind the rubber) will almost definitely cause that cable to snag should the airbag ever pop, subsequently pulling off the dash camera from the window, causing it to be a moving bullet inside your vehicle.

There's a reason manufactures tie & secure to the chassis all cabling away from the airbag units within the A pillars.

That said, the A pillar is not hard to remove. We have a 'how to guide' on how to fit a full dash camera install on youtube, including removal of the A Pillars.

Thanks, Jay

Hi Jay

Just what I was looking for. Thanks for the information, I will give them a call.

Thanks to everyone else who put their 2 pence in. Good to know for the future.

Cheers