DIY Tutorial for Hardwiring a Dashcam and Radar Detector

[Murse-In-Airy]

To the left of the mirror housing. Not sure how big your radar sensor is, but I still have some room left.

Thanks for the pic. I’ll get my GPS antenna in there.

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[krazieboy]

Some of these clips are on steriods!!! lol. so how do you actually remove the rear interior light? I was in the rear passenger seat and had the hardest time figuring out how to remove it to drop the headliner more. it just woudlnt' budge. thought it was clips but no matter how i yank it didnt' move. same with one of my rear qtr interior panel. pry tools coudlnt' get that clip to move and i had it right there!

 

[Glen]

Did you guys ever see the front mirror hookups to dash cams by DONOGAR technologies? On you tube. I rmailed them. Got a reply. They are working on one for the Mach-e. They have the Bronco one out now. It looks very good/differant. Neat clean set up. Just a suggestion. I dont know how to put a link in here.

 

[GrumblesTheDog]

Just bumping again to say thanks to @MachDoc for this excellent guide. I'm 99% of the way done, but the rear camera install situation is driving me nuts - for the people who've been able to thread a cable through that rubber boot, I am stuck. I can get both clips out and free the whole boot, but NO amount of force (and I really don't want to damage that wiring harness through there,) manipulation, or graphite powder will let me feed a trimmer string through there. Any additional tricks or words of wisdom?

 

[kennelh]

Just bumping again to say thanks to @MachDoc for this excellent guide. I'm 99% of the way done, but the rear camera install situation is driving me nuts - for the people who've been able to thread a cable through that rubber boot, I am stuck. I can get both clips out and free the whole boot, but NO amount of force (and I really don't want to damage that wiring harness through there,) manipulation, or graphite powder will let me feed a trimmer string through there. Any additional tricks or words of wisdom?

I'm waiting for my camera to arrive but plan to try this trick:

 

[babgvant]

Just bumping again to say thanks to @MachDoc for this excellent guide. I'm 99% of the way done, but the rear camera install situation is driving me nuts - for the people who've been able to thread a cable through that rubber boot, I am stuck. I can get both clips out and free the whole boot, but NO amount of force (and I really don't want to damage that wiring harness through there,) manipulation, or graphite powder will let me feed a trimmer string through there. Any additional tricks or words of wisdom?

I caterpillared the cable itself through the boot, it was the hardest part of the install. Took ~15 min just for that.

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

Just bumping again to say thanks to @MachDoc for this excellent guide. I'm 99% of the way done, but the rear camera install situation is driving me nuts - for the people who've been able to thread a cable through that rubber boot, I am stuck. I can get both clips out and free the whole boot, but NO amount of force (and I really don't want to damage that wiring harness through there,) manipulation, or graphite powder will let me feed a trimmer string through there. Any additional tricks or words of wisdom?

I filled the boot with fluid film (aka lanolin oil). Much slicker than graphite powder on rubber and safe for electrical.

 

[GrumblesTheDog]

Thanks all. I thought about the ziptie trick, but it seems really snug in those boots. I will have a look at Fluid Film - I was leery about using any liquid-basee lubricant in there but that sounds pretty effective, esp if it worked for you? Bonus points for being nonconductive.

 

[sockmeister]

Just bumping again to say thanks to @MachDoc for this excellent guide. I'm 99% of the way done, but the rear camera install situation is driving me nuts - for the people who've been able to thread a cable through that rubber boot, I am stuck. I can get both clips out and free the whole boot, but NO amount of force (and I really don't want to damage that wiring harness through there,) manipulation, or graphite powder will let me feed a trimmer string through there. Any additional tricks or words of wisdom?

I was able to get mine through after about 20-30 minutes of harassing it. What finally did the trick (and it went through pretty easily!) was to disconnect the boot completely at the top and bottom, and then force a single "glow rod" section through (used for fishing wires through walls). I looped the usb cable through it once it poked through, and was able to pull it back through the other end.

It's crucial that you straighten the boot out as much as possible as you try to force the stick through, so you don't puncture the boot or get stuck.

These are the ones I used (a similar one, not sure of the random Chinese brand that I bought):
https://www.amazon.com/SWANLAKE-Fiberglass-Running-Coaxial-Electrical/dp/B07WQ34VF8

 

[GrumblesTheDog]

?‍

I was so fixated on the right (passenger side) boot that I neglected to look at the driver side one, which for whatever reason had a bit more space in it. Took me 10 minutes, tops, to thread a trimmer string through, and then pull the cable after it (although the Fluid Film as suggested by @Murse-In-Airy did help the bulky plug sneak through.)

I am a little annoyed at myself though. The string started to bunch up at the hatch side of the boot, so I tried to pop it loose like I'd done with the passenger side multiple times, but one of the hooks on the plastic grommet snapped clean off:

Doh. After I put everything back together, it still seemed reasonably watertight, but I may put a blob of silicone along that edge just in case.

Thanks all for the tips. Lessons learned:
- remember right and left
- when your pry something loose, think about being as gentle as possible, then pry MORE gently

 

[GW Shark]

I have a fuse selection question. I'm going to have my Viofo 139 hardwired to a BBMC Powercell 8 battery. The input power to the battery set on high is 13.5 amp max (low is for cigarette lighter socket). It looks to me like the only switched fuses that can handle this load are 15/16 (both 15 amp). Also there are some remarks here that indicate there is a physical access issue regarding 15/16. Is this true and are there any accessible fuses that can handle this battery? Thanks - and I will be having all of this professionally installed. I want to have as much info as possible available to me as I'm sure the installer may have limited to no experience with an EV or Mach E.

 

[GrumblesTheDog]

I have a fuse selection question. I'm going to have my Viofo 139 hardwired to a BBMC Powercell 8 battery. The input power to the battery set on high is 13.5 amp max (low is for cigarette lighter socket). It looks to me like the only switched fuses that can handle this load are 15/16 (both 15 amp). Also there are some remarks here that indicate there is a physical access issue regarding 15/16. Is this true and are there any accessible fuses that can handle this battery? Thanks - and I will be having all of this professionally installed. I want to have as much info as possible available to me as I'm sure the installer may have limited to no experience with an EV or Mach E.

I was in the same situation needing a higher capacity circuit for a battery pack, and I used 15/16 myself with no problems. A three prong add-a-fuse fit fine without any issues for me.

 

[GW Shark]

I was in the same situation needing a higher capacity circuit for a battery pack, and I used 15/16 myself with no problems. A three prong add-a-fuse fit fine without any issues for me.

Thanks! I just spoke with my installer and he verified what you say! I have an appointment for the installation in a week!

 

[GW Shark]

Got the Viofo A139 installed this morning. It took the installer about 3 hours. He did a great job. But the other folks I want to thank are everyone on this board and thread. It made life much easier after he reviewed a few pages and photos here and watched Ben's excellent video!
It is a 3 camera system and you will note from the pic below I had the interior cam mounted on a swivel. I also have it powered via the Powercell 8 battery from BBMC. Now I just have to figure out the best settings and do a few minor adjustments! Thanks to all! BTW - my local shop charged $300 for installation. the interior job went well with no broken clips or other parts! Great information from all of you. Of course I'll try to answer any questions you may have.

 

[krazieboy]

?‍

I was so fixated on the right (passenger side) boot that I neglected to look at the driver side one, which for whatever reason had a bit more space in it. Took me 10 minutes, tops, to thread a trimmer string through, and then pull the cable after it (although the Fluid Film as suggested by @Murse-In-Airy did help the bulky plug sneak through.)

I am a little annoyed at myself though. The string started to bunch up at the hatch side of the boot, so I tried to pop it loose like I'd done with the passenger side multiple times, but one of the hooks on the plastic grommet snapped clean off:

Doh. After I put everything back together, it still seemed reasonably watertight, but I may put a blob of silicone along that edge just in case.

Thanks all for the tips. Lessons learned:
- remember right and left
- when your pry something loose, think about being as gentle as possible, then pry MORE gently

i broke one of my tabs too. it seems pretty tight still so i woudlnt worry.

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