[MT-RED]

I want to start by saying a massive thank you to all of you on there for the advise and assistance.

Dashcam
I decided to go for the Viofo A119 v2 (front only cam) as it seemed a really good camera for the funds I had available to invest at this time. I decided on the one with GPS and the Anti-glare filter.

Memory Card
I went with the VIOFO 64GB High Speed MLC Micro SDXC U3 Memory Card (lets hope this is ok long term). I purchased this card from Amazon UK. ( VIOFO 64GB High Speed MLC Micro SDXC U3 Memory Card: Amazon.co.uk: Camera & Photo)

Hardwire Kit
I went with a kit in the end to hard wire as it had everything I needed in one purchase, wasn't too expensive and I am an amateur so wanted the easy route  - this kit I personally went with was also from Amazon UK ( SHISHUO Dash Cam Hardwire Kit - Mini USB and Micro USB: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics)

My Installation

1) Checking the Camera & Card

So first thing first I wanted to test the camera and memory card itself and upgrade the firmware on the device if required.

Having checked the firmware of my device I was happy that I didn't need to do anything further here as it was already on the latest firmware version.

Next to test the camera functionality and memory card all I did was simply by insert the memory card and then plug it into a USB charger in the house and then let it record for a while. Having done this I then removed the micro SD card and checked the video playback on my PC.

All was fine therefore I was happy the camera & card worked so I could move ahead with the install to the car.

2) Connecting hardwire kit to fuse box

Now a few of the guides I have seen online start with the camera positioning and then running the cable down to the fuse box and connecting up.

I was nervous that if I went to all this hassle and then the hardwire kit I had purchased did not work I would be both fuming and frustrated. I therefore decided to start with connecting it at the fuse box and checking it functionally worked before proceeding with running all the wires in properly.

2.1 - Find an ignition switched fuse to piggy back.

This was my first step so I got my multimeter out and began testing the fuses for one which was not permanent live (as I didn't want the camera on when the car was off - I am not using a parking mode). Using the multimeter I found a number of fuses which are not switched live by testing voltage with and without the engine running.

I decided to piggy back onto the 15A fuse which which is used for the rear windscreen wiper on my car. The location of this is shown in the images below:




2.2 - Check for hot side

I then wanted to confirm which side of fuse box was the hot side in order to ensure I inserted the piggy back correctly. To do this I removed the chosen 15A fuse (engine off) and I then started the engine. Just in case I first checked everything worked apart from the rear wiper and once happy that was the case I used my multimeter to test and find the hot side.

On my car this was the right hand side and therefore I was happy I now knew which way to connect the fuse once ready. See below showing hot side



2.3 - Find ground location & connect ground cable

There was a really obvious ground location actually to the left of the fuse box but as I didn't have any spare bolts to be able to make use of it.

Therefore I looked around and spotted a good point high up under the drivers footwell which was easy to get to from the footwell, out of the way so you wouldn't catch it and also very easy to tun the cable to from the fuse box area. I therefore opted to connect to this location in the in the top right corner.

Please see image below for reference.



2.4 - Insert fuse piggyback

Having connected the ground, figured out the fuse I was going to piggy back on to and identified the hot side of the fuse board it was time to connect the piggy back to the board (engine off).

I made sure the fuse which came in the pack was in line with the connected cable to the fuse tap used to piggy back onto the Dashcam (location can be seen below with green arrow - as you can see inline with cable). I then also needed to ensure the feed side of the fuse tap was plugged in correctly so it was aligned to the hot side of the fuse board (feed side of tap show with blue arrow)



On my fuse board this means the piggy back cable is pointing to the left once connected to the fuse board - as can be seen in the image below



3) Test hardwire kit with cam

Having connected everything up I then tested the hardwire kit with the cam. It powered on as expected then I started the ignition and turned off when the engine was turned off. Happy it was all working as expected I could then begin to run the cable in

4) Running the cable

I had decided I wanted the camera high up to the right hand side of the rear view mirror, behind it. My main considerations were that I wanted it to be as stealth as possible from both the inside and out, but still easily reachable.

4.1 Given I knew the position I taped the cable in place at the top of the screen and then ran the cabling from the rear view mirror to the right hand side pillar in the roof lining (this is very easy and can be just pushed up there with your fingers).

4.2 Once at the pillar I needed to come across the top edge of it towards the door. I was rightly or wrongly nervous about removing this given airbag's etc so I just used a trim tool to ease the top edge away and then tucked the cable down, as show below (once in it is invisible and was actually easier than I thought it would be)



4.3 With that in place I then teased the inner side of door weather seal upwards and pushed the cable into it (the hardest part here was the part where the seal is almost flush with the dash). No need to remove the seal as shown below:



This runs tucked into the seal all the way to the bottom of the dash at which point I could bring it over and up under the dash into the fuse box area. This bit of a return is the only visible part of the cable on the run (apart from the actual connection to the dashcam itself at the top of the windscreen). See below for what I mean (think ill try and tidy it up a little when I get a min)



All I did then was cable tie spare cable and tidy it up in the fuse box area to make it as neat as possible.

5) Position and connect the camera

Finally, all I now needed to do is stick the camera in place based on where I chose earlier, connect the cable and retest. Pleased to say all was working as expected.

Here you can see the camera location:


This is the only other part of the cable you can see (quite well hidden):


This is my driver side view (but can still be reached):


This is the passenger side view so hidden really well from that perspective also:


Finally this is the outside views. No easy to see sticky on the windscreen thanks to the location, can be seen if you look closely but as well hidden as I think it could be:




I know there are various approaches and I am not saying by any means I did everything correctly, as I say I am a complete amateur. But I wanted to share my details and experience with fitting this, just incase it helps anyone else out!


I am happy with it anyway and once again thanks to you all for all your advise ahead of my buying and installing this. 

[CraigB]

Well done  I would have recommended a high endurance (dashcam specific) memory card for the longer 40,000 hour life span though the Viofo card should give you a year or two depending on how much use it receives.

[MT-RED]

Well done  I would have recommended a high endurance (dashcam specific) memory card for the longer 40,000 hour life span though the Viofo card should give you a year or two depending on how much use it receives.

Cheers, I'll see how it holds up. Was looking at transcend high endurance but couldn't stomach the price of that currently as it was nearly double the price and I was in a relatively tight budget. See how this one goes 

[tla]

Great job, and very clearly described! 

[MT-RED]

Great job, and very clearly described! 

Haha thanks, apart from the various spelling mistakes and grammar errors 

[Dazzler]

Thanks for that! To be honest, it's only 4.50am where I am at the moment and I'm lazy and not intending to fit another dashcam, so I didn't read it! But, always a fair bit of work in posting that many pictures and text!

[Blazorax]

I decided to go for the Viofo A119 v2

That was what I got too, great budget dashcam.  Actually I got that for all the family cars, all 5 of them

[ziggy]

I did notice one thing that really you should not have done and that is at the top of the A pillar where the trim was just eased out and the cable tucked in,  the cable is laying over the top of the airbag. The trim needs to be pulled out a fair way at the top so that you can tuck the cable under the airbag. Easy to do and a lot safer if that airbag ever went off.
 As for the Viofo's all I will say is I have had 3 in the past and the longest they have lasted is 14 months, they didn't like the heat. The newer ones may be better but that was my experience with the A119 and A119S.  Also the video went blurry when it was hot. I now have a Street Guardian SGGCX2 PRO and it was 45C here yesterday and it was left  in parked  car all day and worked fine.  As for the SD card it should be fine but be sure to format it in the camera every 4-6 weeks. Pull the card out now and then and check it is saving your videos. Cheers

[MT-RED]

hahaha - at 4:50 my eyes dont event work to read anything

Cheers, just figured it might be useful for someone in the future - even if only a bit of use it all helps 

[MT-RED]

Thanks Ziggy, I may have to revisit the cable run in due course then.

As for the heat issue, I live in the UK the chance of heat here is minimal  - but appreciate the heads up.

[TerryT]

MT-RED, thank you for going to this much effort to document and post up this project for the benefit of forum members.

I have a dash cam which needs to be hardwired so found your post interesting along with the subsequent comments added by others.  However, I will likely go to an auto electrician because me and car electrics do not have a happy relationship. 

At least I know now what's involved so can avoid being charged at rocket science rates.

[MT-RED]

MT-RED, thank you for going to this much effort to document and post up this project for the benefit of forum members.

I have a dash cam which needs to be hardwired so found your post interesting along with the subsequent comments added by others.  However, I will likely go to an auto electrician because me and car electrics do not have a happy relationship. 

At least I know now what's involved so can avoid being charged at rocket science rates.

Glad it was useful for you Terry - as I say I am a complete amateur myself with electrics in a car but I did find it quite straight forward, although I will likely tweak the a pillar as per the advise from Ziggy. Equally, I doubt it would be expensive for a trusted auto electrician to fit it for you either, it took me 30 min to do mine so I expect an expert would have it sorted in 10 to 15 min