[21M2]

Hi All I'm looking to install a dash camera without any visible wires or maybe a rearview mirror power tap. What are you guys using?

[jkoral]

This is pretty discreet (credit to @FaRKle!):

[SilverScotty]

I'm not even considering this and watched the whole video. Well done FaRKle!!

I would certainly feel confident to do this install now.

[Brandt51]

That is definitely a legit how to video. Good job!

[ESB]

Originally Posted by jkoral

This is pretty discreet (credit to @FaRKle!):

hahaha you cannot begin to imagine the anxiety I had watching him take apart the car given how much I struggled with a basic mirror tap 😂😂😂

[LakiTopalovich]

Originally Posted by 21M2

Hi All I'm looking to install a dash camera without any visible wires or maybe a rearview mirror power tap. What are you guys using?

I have this:
https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Key-Si.../dp/B07R638L8N

Power cable goes under headlining, A pillar, glovebox, centre tunnel and plugs into rear seat USB. Length is exactly right, fits perfectly, installation takes 10 min. Polarized lens cap is also recommended.

I don't use permanent power connection because it's been widely reported to cause freezing the camera (due to overheating). So no parking mode for me. Other than this, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

[21M2]

Originally Posted by LakiTopalovich

I have this:
https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Key-Si.../dp/B07R638L8N

Power cable goes under headlining, A pillar, glovebox, centre tunnel and plugs into rear seat USB. Length is exactly right, fits perfectly, installation takes 10 min. Polarized lens cap is also recommended.

I don't use permanent power connection because it's been widely reported to cause freezing the camera (due to overheating). So no parking mode for me. Other than this, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Okay so what if I wire this just like some guys are doing with their radar detectors in the rearview mirror harness?

[bitcore]

You'll probably want to get a LiPo battery for parking mode and shove that in the trunk. Most of the damage I've had to cars in my lifetime were done when I wasn't in it, and it was in a public space. Parking mode is what saves you. JUST BE SURE YOU TEST THAT PARKING MODE WORKS! I've had events happen that did not trip auto detection on my Viofo 129 Pro Duo. So set your camera mode to constant video or time-lapse in parking mode!

You will need to run a wire to the trunk. If you get a dual-camera version like in the video (I suggest you do - or at least 2 separate units so you cover front and rear), then you need to run wires back there anyway to reach the rear camera. This way, it's COMPLETELY removable, and no wires or anything in the rear view mirror section are damaged/tapped and have any risk of over-current. I did take the plastic surround that covers the windscreen sensors from the inside and made a notch for the two wires to exit from behind the rear view mirror instead of coming down from the roof liner.

I suggest taking a bit more care routing the wires down the A-Pillar than FaRKle's video, you don't want to interfere with the side-curtain airbag or have a whipping cable flying around in your cabin during a crash!

I personally wanted high resolution to aid in license plate recognition, so it came down to the following 4K cameras. Do your homework and look up video quality comparisons on youtube on your own and make your own informed decision. My notes here for your convenience:

• Blackvue is expensive, includes a load of cloud crap, if you want that. It's video quality isn't as great = harder to read license plates. This is key to a dashcam, you need to be able to read plates to file claims/police reports - otherwise, what's the point aside from the obvious accident where both parties stop and you don't have a hit and run? Their older 4K models have major issues with summer heat in southern US states. They don't tolerate sitting in the parking lot sun at 80F outside ambient. The new ones are better at this but not perfect from what I read.
• Viofo a129 pro duo - I have this, it works well, but auto event detection sucks. Go time-lapse or always-on, and update the firmware. Better license plate reading capability than the blackvue and much less expensive. I bought mine from blackboxmycar, and bought their special battery pack. You "need" an extended splice kit for the plug-n-play battery kit (e-mail them, they are made to order), but if you just want to tap off your car battery, I don't think you need it and I think the stock cable was long enough. NOTE: If you don't get a LiPo battery, your i-drive will warn you about parasitic battery drain due to the camera's parking mode pretty much every time you start the car. Can be annoying, this will happen with any dashcam with parking mode. Either don't enable/disable parking mode, get a LiPo battery, or deal with the warnings. Do it right the first time, cry only one time. As I mentioned before about testing your parking mode, don't use auto event detection with the Viofo. Use time-lapse. If you power the camera from it's GPS antenna - it never goes into parking mode and just records as if the car didn't shut off (unless of course you tap a circuit that is switched on ACC or IGN). If you power the camera from it's side input, you can use parking mode. This is not documented well, but it's easy to switch if you want parking mode, or to just run the camera normally even when parked until a battery voltage cutoff, or your LiPo runs out.
• The Thinkware has the same sony CCD as the Viofo. So, same-ish video quality, but the unit is larger and I think maybe more expensive. It's software may or may not be better than the Viofo. I chose the viofo because of it's size.

Find some youtube dashcam reviews where they compare video quality. This should be a big deciding factor for you. I've listed the 3 'most popular' ones that met my requirements, there are others.

A tip on the LiPo parking mode battery systems - I would recommend going for one that can charge at a very high rate. A 30 minute trip isn't enough to fill mine up at 10A. You need an hour and a half of 'car on' running to fully charge it up and give you >24H of parking mode (with the Viofo. It draws a little over 5W). I have the BlackboxMyCar BI-750, which is not on their website anymore... interestingly. (Perhaps this is their way of showing out of stock, or it's now discontinued. I did all of this only a few months ago.) I should have gotten their direct battery wire instead of "dual mode" with 2 15A fuse taps, which would let it charge at something like 15A (IIRC). They wanted 40$ for that direct-battery cable after the sale.... I didn't bite. You can see there's a B+ post and ground RIGHT THERE that would have made this very nice.

• Pic below is how I wired mine in the trunk (pretty much same as the video)
• Pic of the two fuses I tapped for my particular LiPo parking mode battery (this car has exec package if your fuse load-out looks different)
• And a pic of the notch I made in the rear view mirror windshield shroud for the cables (which I scuffed up a bit that the camera flash shows very badly, but are behind the mirror & don't really show IRL)

Why BMW won't give us an SD card slot (or even the existing USB in the armrest!) and allow us to use the onboard front and rear cameras as a dashcam like Tesla does - is beyond me. What a pain in the $$ ... But:

[LakiTopalovich]

Originally Posted by 21M2

Okay so what if I wire this just like some guys are doing with their radar detectors in the rearview mirror harness?

I don't know, didn't consider this.

[MooMooM2]

Originally Posted by 21M2

Okay so what if I wire this just like some guys are doing with their radar detectors in the rearview mirror harness?

you can and that is what I am doing because I don't want to run cables all the way to the battery. I am getting a custom made cable because I want the mirror to power my viofo camera and also my uniden r7 radar. It should be an easy clean install. Now trying to decide if I want front only camera or both.

However with a mirror tap you do not get parking mode, the power to the mirror gets cut within 10-15 minutes but I am not really worried about it.

[21M2]

Originally Posted by r3awak3n

you can and that is what I am doing because I don't want to run cables all the way to the battery. I am getting a custom made cable because I want the mirror to power my viofo camera and also my uniden r7 radar. It should be an easy clean install. Now trying to decide if I want front only camera or both.

However with a mirror tap you do not get parking mode, the power to the mirror gets cut within 10-15 minutes but I am not really worried about it.

Please let me know where you get the cable?

[tomtea]

here's my mounted blackvue

[MooMooM2]

Originally Posted by 21M2

Please let me know where you get the cable?

http://www.safe-n-sound1.com/

Message the email in the contacts and tell him what you want and he will make it. Charged me $38 for the custom cable which is pretty reasonable.

[dtmurf]

Originally Posted by tomtea

here's my mounted blackvue

Looks good. What kind of mount is holding the detector? Is your dashcam stuck to the detector mount or to the plastic around the mirror support? It's hard to tell from the pics.

[tomtea]

Originally Posted by dtmurf

Looks good. What kind of mount is holding the detector? Is your dashcam stuck to the detector mount or to the plastic around the mirror support? It's hard to tell from the pics.

thanks bud! I didn't want to mount anything directly on the windscreen, so I mounted it to the plastic trim that covers the mirror electronics. it works great

[21M2]

Originally Posted by r3awak3n

http://www.safe-n-sound1.com/

Message the email in the contacts and tell him what you want and he will make it. Charged me $38 for the custom cable which is pretty reasonable.

Thank's buddy!