Dashcam- U3000 - Fitting

[Rjs104]

Hi gang,

I've just bought a U3000 to fit to my Mach E. I know that some in these forums have done the same, and I'm curious where you mounted them and how it's worked out for you.

Any photos gratefully received!

Many thanks!

Richard.

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[Mrn]

The main unit should probably go on the right side of your rear view mirror, just outside of all the black dots. The wires can be pushed under the edges of all the windshield and door trim pieces for neatness. The power wire can continue under the glove box and connect to one of the USB outlets at the front of the center console.

The cameras will loose USB power after the car shuts down.

 

[intensifi]

The main unit should probably go on the right side of your rear view mirror, just outside of all the black dots. The wires can be pushed under the edges of all the windshield and door trim pieces for neatness. The power wire can continue under the glove box and connect to one of the USB outlets at the front of the center console.

The cameras will loose USB power after the car shuts down.

My installer suggested it go inside the black dots as much as possible to allow the radar to have a chance of working.

To the OP: I have a whole thread on this topic. Search for U3000

 

[odrivero1]

I have one on my F150 Lightning. From my experience, I don't know if I'd recommend that model. I was considering buying another one for my MME, but here are a couple of deal breakers for me:

1. The U3000 is a great camera that suffers from a crapulous app experience. You need at least 2 apps from Thinkware; 1 for the dashcam connectivity, and another if you want notifications real-time in parking mode. Both of these apps absolutely suck. Their WiFi is spotty at best, and their bluetooth sputters at any distance longer than inside the vehicle. The worst part is that parking mode has a minimum time to power off of 3 hours. You do have battery protection for 12v and 24v, but otherwise, it still takes 3 hours minimum to shut down. No point in camera mode when it sits in my garage.

2. My MME battery is really not designed to handle the draw of the U3000, especially if you use both front and rear cams at 4K and 2K, respectively. Don't even think of using the OBD2 adapter on the MME, it will drain that battery. I use OBD on my Lighning with a lot more power, and even then I have to dial back the parking mode settings.

3. It is a HUGE pain to try and install a rear camera on the hatchback. That boot that connects to the body is tough to route a cable through without doing the fishing line method, and even that takes forever.

I'm instead going with a Viofo A139 and using the mirror to power it. The current draw is within spec, I don't really need a rear camera, the interface is A LOT simpler, since it doesn't really have cloud capability, and the image quality in 4k is slightly better than the U3000.

Good luck!

 

[MyLittlePony2022]

The main unit should probably go on the right side of your rear view mirror, just outside of all the black dots. The wires can be pushed under the edges of all the windshield and door trim pieces for neatness. The power wire can continue under the glove box and connect to one of the USB outlets at the front of the center console.

The cameras will loose USB power after the car shuts down.

Exactly what he said. This is what I did when I installed my unit. I connected mine to the fuse block on a always powered on fuse. I put in a battery power pack to keep the 12 volt battery from draining.

 

[Rjs104]

Hi Odriver01,

I think I'm going to pretend that I haven't seen your post!! Sadly, I think all you say is correct, but I'm in the position where I've bought this cam, and literally had it installed yesterday.

I agree, the apps are terrible.

What makes your post worse (for me) is that I was torn between the U3000 and the Viofo...

But, I did see some reviews, including a very in-depth review where someone had the cam on a bench measuring the power consumption for all the modes, and it was shockingly low when in radar mode. It was this that attracted me to the U3000 in light of the 12V battery situation.

Time will tell I guess.

As posts here affirm, other users have the U3000 in their MMEs and none of them have leapt out saying that the 12V is taking a hit from the camera unduly. Or perhaps my myopic reading has glossed over these too!

I very much welcome your post, and will now duly go and bury my head in the sand!!

Best wishes,

Richard.

 

[odrivero1]

Don't worry about it too much, man. It's a very good camera and I still have it on my Lightning. It's the apps and the power draw with all the bells and whistles on, combined with the hoops you have to jump through to route the rear camera (that applies to any rear cam on the MME) that make it unsuitable for me and my MME. Keep the parking mode on radar, and lower the sensitivity and it will likely be fine for the MME's 12v battery. Or use an external battery for parking mode. blackboxmycar.com has some good ones. The challenge is that the fuse box is located below the glove compartment, so you'll have to route it through there and maybe put the battery behind the glove box. Wish you the best.

Hi Odriver01,

I think I'm going to pretend that I haven't seen your post!! Sadly, I think all you say is correct, but I'm in the position where I've bought this cam, and literally had it installed yesterday.

I agree, the apps are terrible.

What makes your post worse (for me) is that I was torn between the U3000 and the Viofo...

But, I did see some reviews, including a very in-depth review where someone had the cam on a bench measuring the power consumption for all the modes, and it was shockingly low when in radar mode. It was this that attracted me to the U3000 in light of the 12V battery situation.

Time will tell I guess.

As posts here affirm, other users have the U3000 in their MMEs and none of them have leapt out saying that the 12V is taking a hit from the camera unduly. Or perhaps my myopic reading has glossed over these too!

I very much welcome your post, and will now duly go and bury my head in the sand!!

Best wishes,

Richard.

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