Dashcam installation

[Gladbach]

Has anyone installed a USB cable to the top of the windscreen to plug into a dashcam? I've ordered a new dashcam (the one I had in my Jetta stopped working last week) and I don't want the cables exposed.

[Guest001]

Have installed several including a Passat and a Polo I use Blackvue cameras which are neater and dont have bulky USB cable end. I hardwire them into the fusebox and run the cable up the A pillar and across behind the front of the roof lining and just leave enough wire out to reach the camera. I also use 3 M Dual Lock tape to attach the cameras to the screen so that i can remove them and use in a different car

Attached pics of the front and rear cameras in the Passat Also where the cable goes up to the A pillar from the fusebox

[Gladbach]

Have installed several including a Passat and a Polo I use Blackvue cameras which are neater and dont have bulky USB cable end. I hardwire them into the fusebox and run the cable up the A pillar and across behind the front of the roof lining and just leave enogh wire out to reach the camera. I also use 3 M Dual Lock tape to attach the cameras to the screen so that i can remove them and use in a different car

Attached pics of the front and rear cameras in the Passat Also where the cable goes up to the A pillar from the fusebox

Fantastic, thanks Hillbilly. How hard is it to thread the cable up the A pillar? Just trying to work out if I should do it myself or not. Also, I've seen some USB kits for plugging into the fusebox, do you have any recommendations on which one to purchase?

[Guest001]

You just need a an addafuse and an extra ciggy socket as usually the USB ones are 5V and if you plug it straight into a 12v fuse you will fry it. Just buy some trim tools like these and work it into the front of the A pillar between the trim and the screen so it doesnt get hooked by the airbag. I spread the join at the end of the dash beside the pillar trim and threaded it along there up the front of the pillar and it slid into the front of the roof lining in the Passat The Polo had the lining stuck up so just used some bluetack in dabs along the front edge. The ciggy socket is wrapped in the bubble wrap to stop rattles. Took about 30 mins to do it . The rear one is a bit of a mission though

Lastly start at the camera and work down so the left over cable goes in the dash. Dont ask how I know to do it that way LOL

[Gladbach]

haha. Thanks mate.

[theresanothersteve]

I've installed a dashcam in my 205 Jetta. (Well 2 actually, the Mini 0806 failed so has been replaced with a Blackvue.)

The Jetta has a gap between the roof lining and the windscreen. It's a bit tight in the centre by the rear view mirror but after a couple of inches is rust the right size to roll the dashcam power cable into.

I run the wire around the A pillar, where the roof lining meets the A pillar cover. Then I roll back the door seal and run the cables down the seal before rolling it back. The tension from the roof lining gap and door seals keeps the cable in the groove where the roof lining and pillar cover meet.

The Blackvue cable is long enough to use the rear cigarette lighter socket, which is a bonus because it leaves the front socket for phone charging, something that may or may not happen so I like to be able to access a charge point easily.

HTH

[Guest001]

I've installed a dashcam in my 205 Jetta. (Well 2 actually, the Mini 0806 failed so has been replaced with a Blackvue.)

The Jetta has a gap between the roof lining and the windscreen. It's a bit tight in the centre by the rear view mirror but after a couple of inches is rust the right size to roll the dashcam power cable into.

I run the wire around the A pillar, where the roof lining meets the A pillar cover. Then I roll back the door seal and run the cables down the seal before rolling it back. The tension from the roof lining gap and door seals keeps the cable in the groove where the roof lining and pillar cover meet.

The Blackvue cable is long enough to use the rear cigarette lighter socket, which is a bonus because it leaves the front socket for phone charging, something that may or may not happen so I like to be able to access a charge point easily.

HTH

The reason the cable should run up the front of the A pillar is because of the curtain airbag that blows the A pillar trim off when it activates.
If the cable runs across the face of it you could end up wearing the dashcam or the cable Far safer to run it along the edge of the dash at the bottom of the A pillar and up the windscreen edge of it.

[theresanothersteve]

The reason the cable should run up the front of the A pillar is because of the curtain airbag that blows the A pillar trim off when it activates.
If the cable runs across the face of it you could end up wearing the dashcam or the cable Far safer to run it along the edge of the dash at the bottom of the A pillar and up the windscreen edge of it.

At that point the A pillar cover goes under the roof lining.The cover will hinge at this point if the airbag activates. The dash cam is also behind (in front of?) the rear vision mirror. I think it is designed this way to lift the A pillar cover out of the way if it activates...

[Guest001]

At that point the A pillar cover goes under the roof lining.The cover will hinge at this point if the airbag activates. The dash cam is also behind (in front of?) the rear vision mirror. I think it is designed this way to lift the A pillar cover out of the way if it activates...

Maybe the Tig is different but in both my cars the A Pillar trim is OVER the headlining at the top and fits down between the dash and the side of the car. It therefore will pivot from the bottom
Therefore if you run the cable along the headlining and across the top of the trim it will be in the front of the curtain airbag, if the airbag blows it will fire the trim and the cable outwards The way I run it the airbag can inflate and the cable wont get caught.
I have checked this in the descriptive manual I downloaded from ERWIN


Care must be taken never to impede the action of the airbags and may be a cause for an insurance claim being refused should what an owner has done contribute to the problem. EG fixing your phone to centre of the steering wheel. Yes its been done and you would look good with the imprint of an Iphone hitting your face at 200kph

[DV52]

You just need a an addafuse and an extra ciggy socket as usually the USB ones are 5V and if you plug it straight into a 12v fuse you will fry it. Just buy some trim tools like these and work it into the front of the A pillar between the trim and the screen so it doesnt get hooked by the airbag. I spread the join at the end of the dash beside the pillar trim and threaded it along there up the front of the pillar and it slid into the front of the roof lining in the Passat The Polo had the lining stuck up so just used some bluetack in dabs along the front edge. The ciggy socket is wrapped in the bubble wrap to stop rattles. Took about 30 mins to do it . The rear one is a bit of a mission though

Lastly start at the camera and work down so the left over cable goes in the dash. Dont ask how I know to do it that way LOL

Hillbilly: Why go the expense of buying an in-line power socket? I know that they aren't that expensive, but the 12v-5v converter becomes so big and unnecessarily cumbersome. Allow me to suggest that you think about what value the USB case provides to the exercise.

I normally discard the USB power supply housing entirely and I don't use an in-line socket. It depends on the USB power unit that you are using, but when the case is removed, they nearly all end-up being a small PC board with the USB connector soldered to the board together with a few components. I just solder a small connector to the 12V end (so that I can remove the unit if needed- then I enclose the assembly in a piece of heat shrink tubing. The result is as shown in the picture below - reduced size and less likely to rattle (I usually wrap the device with foam tape)

Don