I’m in the market for a dash cam, and I want to know how I can power it without wires running hither and yon (and by that I mean, across the dashboard and down, over my radio display, to the power supply). The fleet cars at work, I guess the dash cams are somehow “integrated” in not the car’s electrical system, absent any loose wires. I’m assuming a mechanic or electrician did that.
That’s what I want when I buy a dash cam. Is there a specific search term I need to use when looking for that kind of rig? And also, do I need to brake it to the Kia dealer or can any run of the mill mechanic do this installation?
I’ve done with dashcams and fuzzbusters in a number of cars. Tuck the wire up above the headliner trim over to the side with the fusebox. It then goes behind the A-Pillar trim, being careful to keep it clear of the airbag. Snake it down to the fuse box and use an add-a-fuse to wire it up. One side is hot, the other side gets grounded.
As for who, anyone can do it. Any mechanic should be able to handle a job like this. Even just a ‘car person’ will be able to do it. It should only take a few minutes.
This is what I use to add a fuse. Just make sure you tap in to something that’s only on when the car is on, unless your dashcam needs power all the time (ie sentry mode). I usually use a window circuit.
Honestly, the hardest part about this is getting up the nerve to yank off trim and weatherstripping and trusting that’ll it’ll go back on properly.
I used a Dongar adapter to attach it to my rear view mirror electronics. The only drawback is it is inactive if I turn my car off but I’m not too worried about that.
Another option is a battery-powered dash cam. You would need to remember to recharge the battery, though perhaps you could have more than one battery and swap them out.
We paid an A/V company to install our in the Cadillac. I’m fine pulling trim off in my 2010 Dodge truck, not so much a new Caddy EV. The camera was cheap–RedTiger 4k–but the install was $400 including the rear camera. They said it would have been cheaper but finding a true switched power was a bit of a challenge. Most circuits are Can/Bus and a lot of them power up when the car starts but then power back down when they’ve done their checks and are not being used.
Paying someone else to install the dash cam might result in a cleaner installation with wires properly tucked behind trim pieces. I think the Best Buy stores have people in the car stereo department who are able to do this, and of course there are probably local shops everywhere as well.
I’m not the most mechanically-inclined person here, but with their tool it took just a little work to tuck the wires into the trim for both the front and rear cameras.
Not always. My 2022 model has a basic, unpowered mirror.
To the OP, you can probably find a youtube video of someone installing cams in a similar model to yours. I watched a few, and bought a box of upholstery tools from Amazon. It contained a dozen oddly shaped prying/hammering tools and I used almost all of them. As mentioned, be sure to run the wires behind the airbags. I powered mine from the OBD port so had to order extra wiring from the cam company to reach everywhere. I put front and rear cameras and ran A-pillar->window roofline-> and down to the camera positioned just behind the mirror. The harder part was rear camera. I had to run wiring into dash, up and back down into the footwell and finally pull all the doorsill parts up so I could reach a wiring channel (I assume these exist for most cars) just under the doors. Don’t know where you live, but I also had to add some heat-sinks to the camera bodies to stop them from shutting down in the Texas heat. FTR: I upgraded the truck’s battery to the largest AGM it could hold, so mine aren’t switched. They run 24/7/365.
Don’t worry! It’ll all snaps back together.
If it were me, I’d go for the local shops on the poor-er side of town. Those folks have a lot of experience with anti-theft stuff, car alarms, and dash cams. Unfortunately the residents of those areas need it more than most of us. Prices are decent too. I got a couple of kill-switches installed and another to inhibit some of the nannying that can’t be turned off via factory controls. All for $240.00.
I just mentioned Best Buy because it’s a national chain that’s able to offer the service, but yes, there are local, independent stores in most areas that are also capable.
I did my own cam fuse hardwire kit back in the spring and could have taken a very similar photo. I didn’t need a drill and my multimeter is a shadow of yours but it was quite easy with all the major items snapping on and off into place. Lighting helps a lot.
