Hiding wires on a dash-cam - how easy?

stockhausen

stockhausen

stockhausen

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I would like to fit a dash-camera but don't want wires trailing all over the place. Typically, how easy is it to hide the wires, ideally in the roof lining and the pillar? I am not too bothered about a wire running across the dash to the 12v socket. How have other people approached this issue?
 
I ran mine over the roof lining and down the A-pillar. How easy this is depends entirely on what the car is.
 
Depends on the car but it's generally pretty easy to run your cabling along the top of the windscreen and down the A pillar. Then just run it behind the dash and pop it out somewhere suitable.
 
I had the same issue a while ago.

It was actually easier than I thought, especially around the a-pillar as you, if you're careful, push the wires behind the rubber.

Hussman
 
Easy Peasy

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On the Smart I wasn't as lucky as the pillar doesn't have any rubber edging, was still only 2-3 bolts holding some of the trim in place, popped a couple of panels off and ran the cable to drop down by the rear view mirror and then ran under the dash - even worst case is still very simple :)
 
I put mine behind the mirror and tucked the wire between the headlining and top of windscreen. Then soldered the wires onto 12 pins on a PCB in the overhead console that has various lights and a microphone.
 
in my civic i found there is a nice little gap and sort of well behind the roof lining by the top of the window then i used a old plastic points card to push the cable behind the rubber on the A pillar all the way down the side, i just have a small amount of cable showing at the bottom of the a pillar then it goes inside the glove box where i have wired up an additional lighter socket, all in it took me about 30 minutes to get it all squared away.
 
scratch said:
Depends on the car but it's generally pretty easy to run your cabling along the top of the windscreen and down the A pillar. Then just run it behind the dash and pop it out somewhere suitable.
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What concerns me is how you securely and inconspicuously fix it along the top of the windscreen and down the "a-pillar"? Did you use some sort of contact adhesive? I had hoped that there was some trick to placing it under the headlining where the windscreen joins the roof and down the A-pillar.
 
stockhausen said:
What concerns me is how you securely and inconspicuously fix it along the top of the windscreen and down the "a-pillar"? Did you use some sort of contact adhesive? I had hoped that there was some trick to placing it under the headlining where the windscreen joins the roof and down the A-pillar.
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I just pushed mine under with as people say, a credit card or a key will do the job. The wire itself is visible for a couple of inches between the cam and the trim, and a few inches between the trim at the passenger windscreen base and the side of the dashboard, but you'd have to be looking out for it to see it and if you're looking that hard you'd see the dashcam itself anyway.
 
stockhausen said:
What concerns me is how you securely and inconspicuously fix it along the top of the windscreen and down the "a-pillar"? Did you use some sort of contact adhesive? I had hoped that there was some trick to placing it under the headlining where the windscreen joins the roof and down the A-pillar.
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Just carefully pull down the headlining at the edge and push the wires under. Same with the A-pillar trim.
 
It was a piece of cake with the Punto, my MX5 is going to require more thought.

As for robbing power from a dimming mirror or other accessories, my latest one needs a 2.1A supply :eek:
 
I thought I'd bump this, as I've just installed my dash cam (Lukas LK-7900 ACE)

I have an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, so couldn't position the cam where I'd like, but hiding it was pretty easy. All wires tucked in to headliner pretty easily, and the door pillar can be removed carefully with a bit of force.

15 mins to do :cool:

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Apologies for bumping an old post. Ive been looking into dashcams today and the Lukas 7900 seems like the best bet from what Ive read. I am look for a discreet cam, and this seems to be as good as any, with motion detection for parking.

EVH, I don't know if you can elaborate on how it works? By your pics it looks like you plug it straight into the cig socket, which I assume is only powered when the ignition is on? If so, does the motion sensor for parking work?

I thought for it to work it would need a permanent feed, but goes into a hibernation mode when the car is stopped, so as not to drain batter, only to "wake" and record if impact is detected. Is that the case?

Other then eBay at risk of import tax, I cant see anywhere to source these from, which is a shame as a UK seller would be good.
 
Think you'll find a lot of 12V sockets stay live even with the ignition off, may then shutdown after a period of time or just stays on full-time. Stays on full time in my Focus.
 
MrM said:
Apologies for bumping an old post. Ive been looking into dashcams today and the Lukas 7900 seems like the best bet from what Ive read. I am look for a discreet cam, and this seems to be as good as any, with motion detection for parking.

EVH, I don't know if you can elaborate on how it works? By your pics it looks like you plug it straight into the cig socket, which I assume is only powered when the ignition is on? If so, does the motion sensor for parking work?

I thought for it to work it would need a permanent feed, but goes into a hibernation mode when the car is stopped, so as not to drain batter, only to "wake" and record if impact is detected. Is that the case?

Other then eBay at risk of import tax, I cant see anywhere to source these from, which is a shame as a UK seller would be good.
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To enable operation in parking mode you'll need something like a smart power kit which feeds a live to the camera whne in parking mode, it's basically a battery powered backup.

tl45 said:
Think you'll find a lot of 12V sockets stay live even with the ignition off, may then shutdown after a period of time or just stays on full-time. Stays on full time in my Focus.
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I think most sockets in the front are usually on the ignition, sockets to the rear are usually live all the time, not sure why your focus is different, depends on the year I guess.
 
tl45 said:
Think you'll find a lot of 12V sockets stay live even with the ignition off, may then shutdown after a period of time or just stays on full-time. Stays on full time in my Focus.
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The opposite actually, the are all switched to stop possible battery drain. The new Fords are live for 30minutes before powering down. If you want permanent live it is a case of hard wiring it or in the case of some of the VW/Audis swapping a fuse around in the fuse box.
 
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