Dashcam Installation Advice

[Kerpazm]

I'm looking at installing a dashcam in my 25 Premium. I previously had a cheap dashcam installed in my 2014 Fusion that I carried over into my previous 21 FE, until I got the windshield recall done, and I never bothered to reinstall the dashcam. Since I had issues with the previous one turning on/shutting off automatically when the car was off, I'm looking to do a hardwire installation to a fuse, but I'm a bit intimidated by all the information out there.

First of all, I'm looking at the VIOFO A229 Pro with a front and rear camera. It appears that the compatible hardwire kit is the HK4 kit. I'm thinking about just taking this to the local Best Buy to install it. I know there are DIY instructions out there to install a dashcam, but I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I'm not interested in DIY.

1. Is there anything I should be concerned with that dashcam/kit? I do see that the hardwire kit is flagged as "frequently returned," so that is concerning. However, I have seen generally pretty favorable reviews for the A229.
2. Do I need anything else? I have seen some stuff talking about fuse taps, but I have no idea if I need to provide them. If so, what would I need?
3. Do I need to give specific information to the installer? I'm not super interested in parking mode (I mostly park in the garage at home), does that change anything with the installation?
4. I have seen some people commenting about installing a dashcam to the battery can void the warranty. As long as I have it professionally installed, is that still a concern?

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[HuntingPudel]

The fuse box kit probably gets returned a lot because people don't realize that they need fuse taps. The picture only shows unterminated wire on the unswitched power and switched leads. The kit that I got had fuse taps, but they were of the wrong size/configuration so I had to buy fuse taps so that I could connect the right wire to the correct fuse location. The Mach-E uses a Micro-2 and a Micro-3, so you will need one of each. ??

See post 85 of the My Journey with FitcamX thread for some info on the wiring for the rear camera. See post 106 for the fuses to tap for power. The install isn't really that bad. I'd rather do it myself than trust some kid at Best Buy. I've had car electronics "profesisonally installed" exactly once. That resulted in a lot of smoke inside of the car and a fried 12V battery when over 150 miles from home. ??

 

[Kerpazm]

So taps like these?

Micro2
Micro3

Should I assume that I would need to provide them to the installer?

 

[garyd9]

I'm looking at installing a dashcam in my 25 Premium. I previously had a cheap dashcam installed in my 2014 Fusion that I carried over into my previous 21 FE, until I got the windshield recall done, and I never bothered to reinstall the dashcam. Since I had issues with the previous one turning on/shutting off automatically when the car was off, I'm looking to do a hardwire installation to a fuse, but I'm a bit intimidated by all the information out there.

First of all, I'm looking at the VIOFO A229 Pro with a front and rear camera. It appears that the compatible hardwire kit is the HK4 kit. I'm thinking about just taking this to the local Best Buy to install it. I know there are DIY instructions out there to install a dashcam, but I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I'm not interested in DIY.

1. Is there anything I should be concerned with that dashcam/kit? I do see that the hardwire kit is flagged as "frequently returned," so that is concerning. However, I have seen generally pretty favorable reviews for the A229.
2. Do I need anything else? I have seen some stuff talking about fuse taps, but I have no idea if I need to provide them. If so, what would I need?
3. Do I need to give specific information to the installer? I'm not super interested in parking mode (I mostly park in the garage at home), does that change anything with the installation?
4. I have seen some people commenting about installing a dashcam to the battery can void the warranty. As long as I have it professionally installed, is that still a concern?

If you don't care about parking mode, you might be better off getting power from the rear view mirror assembly. It's really easy with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1WSPCN2

I use that part along with the A229 Pro in my own car and it works great.

Getting the rear camera hooked up is more painful, but might be easier in a car with a non-glass roof.

As for Best Buy, I wouldn't trust them to do it properly without interfering with airbags...

 

[ChasingCoral]

If you don't care about parking mode, you might be better off getting power from the rear view mirror assembly. It's really easy with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1WSPCN2

I use that part along with the A229 Pro in my own car and it works great.

Getting the rear camera hooked up is more painful, but might be easier in a car with a non-glass roof.

As for Best Buy, I wouldn't trust them to do it properly without interfering with airbags...

I installed a FitcamX with rear camera in my Lightning. As you suggested, I tapped into the power on the mirror. Running the wire to the back camera was easy on the Lightning.

You won't void any warranties tapping into the 12v. However, you may start getting alerts of a power drain on your 12v battery.

 

[Kerpazm]

So yeah, that Dongar adapter does potentially look easy enough that I could do, but I would still need to run the cabling to the rear camera (I do have the glass roof, FWIW).

 

[moethelawn]

If you don't care about parking mode, you might be better off getting power from the rear view mirror assembly. It's really easy with something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1WSPCN2

I use that part along with the A229 Pro in my own car and it works great.

Getting the rear camera hooked up is more painful, but might be easier in a car with a non-glass roof.

As for Best Buy, I wouldn't trust them to do it properly without interfering with airbags...

I have this exact setup and model, and it works great! I didn't want to risk 12v drain issues, so I stuck with the dongar adapter.

You also have to make sure you take the a-pillar trim out so you can properly secure the wire to the rear camera and get around the airbag. It sucks getting that trim out and back on, but it's doable.

 

[HuntingPudel]

So taps like these?

Micro2
Micro3

Should I assume that I would need to provide them to the installer?

Those are the ones. The installer *should* have them, but you never know. ?‍?

So yeah, that Dongar adapter does potentially look easy enough that I could do, but I would still need to run the cabling to the rear camera (I do have the glass roof, FWIW).

Running the cable to the lift gate isn't all that much of a big deal. You just need to pull up the passenger side sill plates, remove the passenger side cargo area interior side panel, and run the cable. If you're running the cable up the A-pillar, you might as well run the hardwire kit's cable up at the same time, as that's no extra work. ??

 

[kamorela]

I installed a FitcamX with rear camera in my Lightning. As you suggested, I tapped into the power on the mirror. Running the wire to the back camera was easy on the Lightning.

You won't void any warranties tapping into the 12v. However, you may start getting alerts of a power drain on your 12v battery.

I keep reading about rearview mirror power, i.e. you said "I tapped into the power on the mirror", but I can't find this elusive rearview mirror power point. Can somebody please illustrate for me where exactly that is located?

 

[Kerpazm]

I keep reading about rearview mirror power, i.e. you said "I tapped into the power on the mirror", but I can't find this elusive rearview mirror power point. Can somebody please illustrate for me where exactly that is located?

This video from the Amazon page helped me to understand.

 

[kamorela]

I'm looking at installing a dashcam in my 25 Premium. I previously had a cheap dashcam installed in my 2014 Fusion that I carried over into my previous 21 FE, until I got the windshield recall done, and I never bothered to reinstall the dashcam. Since I had issues with the previous one turning on/shutting off automatically when the car was off, I'm looking to do a hardwire installation to a fuse, but I'm a bit intimidated by all the information out there.

First of all, I'm looking at the VIOFO A229 Pro with a front and rear camera. It appears that the compatible hardwire kit is the HK4 kit. I'm thinking about just taking this to the local Best Buy to install it. I know there are DIY instructions out there to install a dashcam, but I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I'm not interested in DIY.

1. Is there anything I should be concerned with that dashcam/kit? I do see that the hardwire kit is flagged as "frequently returned," so that is concerning. However, I have seen generally pretty favorable reviews for the A229.
2. Do I need anything else? I have seen some stuff talking about fuse taps, but I have no idea if I need to provide them. If so, what would I need?
3. Do I need to give specific information to the installer? I'm not super interested in parking mode (I mostly park in the garage at home), does that change anything with the installation?
4. I have seen some people commenting about installing a dashcam to the battery can void the warranty. As long as I have it professionally installed, is that still a concern?

This video from the Amazon page helped me to understand.

Ah...the old 'connector-hidden-under-the-plastic-cover' routine, eh? Thanks, that was a great video.

 

[jmcbrew]

I keep reading about rearview mirror power, i.e. you said "I tapped into the power on the mirror", but I can't find this elusive rearview mirror power point. Can somebody please illustrate for me where exactly that is located?

The rear view power access is behind the plastic cover on the windshield. I installed this one from Dongar, and it has been flawlessly working for about 8 months.

Here’s the YouTube I followed for the installation.

 

[kamorela]

I'm looking at installing a dashcam in my 25 Premium. I previously had a cheap dashcam installed in my 2014 Fusion that I carried over into my previous 21 FE, until I got the windshield recall done, and I never bothered to reinstall the dashcam. Since I had issues with the previous one turning on/shutting off automatically when the car was off, I'm looking to do a hardwire installation to a fuse, but I'm a bit intimidated by all the information out there.

First of all, I'm looking at the VIOFO A229 Pro with a front and rear camera. It appears that the compatible hardwire kit is the HK4 kit. I'm thinking about just taking this to the local Best Buy to install it. I know there are DIY instructions out there to install a dashcam, but I don't feel comfortable doing that, so I'm not interested in DIY.

1. Is there anything I should be concerned with that dashcam/kit? I do see that the hardwire kit is flagged as "frequently returned," so that is concerning. However, I have seen generally pretty favorable reviews for the A229.
2. Do I need anything else? I have seen some stuff talking about fuse taps, but I have no idea if I need to provide them. If so, what would I need?
3. Do I need to give specific information to the installer? I'm not super interested in parking mode (I mostly park in the garage at home), does that change anything with the installation?
4. I have seen some people commenting about installing a dashcam to the battery can void the warranty. As long as I have it professionally installed, is that still a concern?

I have that same dash cam and I love it! Over the years I've had 3 other dash cams and the Viofo is by far the best one yet.

I installed it with the HK4 hardwire kit, and set the cutoff voltage to 12.2V (living dangerously, but 12.4V is also available). I like to use parking mode when I'm out and about but don't need to video the inside of my garage for hours on end, so in that case I simply reach up and turn the camera off. But for daily driving/parking I like having the parking mode active, and I haven't encountered any issues after 3 months.

IMHO, if you have the chops to DIY the hardwire kit I'd recommend going that route, otherwise you're at the mercy of an installer's skill-level and experience which may not be to your expectations.

Whichever camera you go with, whether with or without hardwire kit, good luck! I'll never have a car without one.

 

[Kerpazm]

So, I got the Viofo A229 installed this weekend using the Dongar adapter, and everything was pretty seamless. However, last night, I got the “Electrical system drain. Service Required.” message in FordPass and on the dash this morning. I confirmed that the dash cam turns off when the car turns off, so parking mode should not be running (since you have to hardwire for that). Is it possible that I got something wrong in the install? I can’t imagine it’s normal to get that message, and I’m almost certain the dealer would just insist it’s the dash cam and not look further.

 

[HuntingPudel]

Do something to charge up the 12V battery like taking the car for a half hour or longer drive. Monitor the notifications for a while. The car sometimes gives the drain notice after work has been performed due to the 12V being low. My 2024 griped at me a day after I installed my dashcam and hasn’t done it again. ??

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