I noticed that there were quite a few posts asking about hard wiring a dash cam. I have just done mine and I thought I'd post a brief guide with pics of how I did it and how straight forward it was so that others won't be put off doing it.
I ordered a 12v to 5v converter and one of those piggy back fuse holders for the power. Both were inexpensive.
1 - Took the door pillar trim off and ran the cable up from the fuse board next to the existing wiring and cable tied it. The trim panel is held on with clips and can be fairly easily prized off.
2 - I took the sun visor off - two clips with two screws in one and one in the other, all Torx T25. This allowed the headlining to drop slightly to hide the cable.
3 - Fed the Dash Cam wire into the lining and ran it across from the door pillar to the rear view mirror and down to the cam.
4 - Took the cigarette lighter fuse out and replaced it with the piggy back holder (the original fuse was 15amp so I replaced it with a 10amp and gave the dashcam feed a 5amp).
5 - Found a suitable earth point, I used a bolt just under the fuse board.
6 - Connected the live up and tidied up the cables in the fuse board area, re-fitted the visor and trim.
Job done - Cam now turns on and off with the ignition and all wires hidden apart from the bit to the cam. Cigarette lighter socket also free (but only 10 amp max now).
I know a lot of you will have no difficulty in doing something like this but I have found that guides with pics are very helpful if you're not too confident. If you are thinking of having a go, don't be put off, it's quite straight forward and doesn't take very long.
I ordered a 12v to 5v converter and one of those piggy back fuse holders for the power. Both were inexpensive.
1 - Took the door pillar trim off and ran the cable up from the fuse board next to the existing wiring and cable tied it. The trim panel is held on with clips and can be fairly easily prized off.
2 - I took the sun visor off - two clips with two screws in one and one in the other, all Torx T25. This allowed the headlining to drop slightly to hide the cable.
3 - Fed the Dash Cam wire into the lining and ran it across from the door pillar to the rear view mirror and down to the cam.
4 - Took the cigarette lighter fuse out and replaced it with the piggy back holder (the original fuse was 15amp so I replaced it with a 10amp and gave the dashcam feed a 5amp).
5 - Found a suitable earth point, I used a bolt just under the fuse board.
6 - Connected the live up and tidied up the cables in the fuse board area, re-fitted the visor and trim.
Job done - Cam now turns on and off with the ignition and all wires hidden apart from the bit to the cam. Cigarette lighter socket also free (but only 10 amp max now).
I know a lot of you will have no difficulty in doing something like this but I have found that guides with pics are very helpful if you're not too confident. If you are thinking of having a go, don't be put off, it's quite straight forward and doesn't take very long.
