Clean Hard Wired Dash Cam Install

After watching one too many Russian dash cam videos on youtube, I decided I needed one myself. Add to the fact that last winter I lost control on a wet road and slid straight into a farm pond totaling out my 06 Tacoma. Was quite a ride - I literally had to climb out of the window and swim out. Wish I had the cam then cause that would be a heckuva video. Here's the picture of my drowned 06 being pulled from the pond:



By reading reviews and considering price, I decided that the TaoTronics TT-CD04 was a good mixture of price and functionality. So far, it seems pretty solid. I got it from newegg in December when they had an $89.99 special but here's the model I purchased.

I didn't want dangling wires so I started researching ways to hard wire it. Looking at several different posts on hardwiring radar detectors and GPS and other accessories, I decided how I wanted to do it. Nothing groundbreaking here and nothing most people probably couldn't figure out themselves but I thought I'd document my installation method in case someone else wanted simple step by step instructions.

Note that I'm not an electrician or a mechanic. I'm not responsible if you screw something up.

Materials needed:
-Dash Cam (obviously) and power cable
-Blade style mini fuse tap (mine is a '12 Taco - other makes/model may use different fuses) and a fuse (my dash cam uses 1000 mA or 1 A - I used a 5A fuse for it just simply because that's what the fuse tap came with). I couldn't find one at an autoparts store so I just bought this one on eBay.
-A 12V accessory outlet (I used this one from Radio Shack)
-Various tools (screw driver, socket set, electrical tape, wire nut, wire strippers)

Step one:
You want to splice together the red wire on the accessory outlet and the wire on the fuse tap. Pretty simple, use wire strippers to cut back some insulation and expose the wires. Twist the wires together and secure with a wire nut and electrical tape as pictured:



Step two:
Plug the dash cam a/c adapter into the female socket of the accessory outlet


Step three:
The fuse tap turns one circuit into two. You need to find a fuse in the fuse box to tap into. I wanted one that was "hot in start" meaning the dash cam would receive power only when the ignition is in the "ON" position. The fuse box is located behind the coin tray near where your left knee is if seated in the drivers seat. Pull the tray out and lift up. It should come out pretty easily. On the back of the coin tray is a diagram of what the fuses power. Mine looked like this:

I decided to tap into the 10A WSH fuse. I'm not certain (and maybe someone else is) but I guessed this powers the windshield washer fluid pump. As pictured below, remove that fuse, plug the fuse into the fuse tap, and plug the fuse tap into the empty slot.






Next, you need to find a ground for the black wire on the accessory outlet. I didn't take a picture of it, but any metal screw should be grounded. I loosened a metal screw and affixed the end of the black wire to that screw.

Now you can test your connection to make sure everything is wired correctly. Start the truck up and it should power your dash cam. Turn the truck off and the dash cam should lose power.

Now you just need to hide the cable.

Step four:
Remove the driver side pillar trim. On the driver's side "OH S**T" handle, there are two covers. Use a small screw driver to pry them off to expose the screw below then use a 10 mm socket to loosen the screws. Once the screws are removed, a gentle tug should remove the pillar. See pictures below:







Step Five:
Fish the power cable through the dash into the fuse box. Pretty self-explanatory and a fish tape probably isn't necessary but here's a picture:



Pull the power cable through and affix to the existing cable in the pillar using electrical tape or ties. Be careful not to get anything in the way of the airbag.

Step Six:
At the top of the pillar, route the power cable underneath the roof fabric. There' s a little lip at the end of the fabric on the roof where you can pull it down just enough to tuck the cable underneath. Route the cable to the rear view mirror and leave just enough to connect to your dash cam. Final installation looks like this:



Step Seven:
Replace the driver's side pillar trim, tie up any excess cable, clean up the installation, and replace the coin tray. If you haven't already, open an iced cold beverage and admire your handy work.


All told, it's a pretty simple installation that has a clean look for your new dash cam.

 

you can actually pop that piece of plastic running from the headliner to the mirror and tuck it in even further. There should be enough room.

Thanks for the link to the fuse splitter! I will be ordering a few of those.

 

Nice write up. Thanks for sharing.

 

Great write up!

 

That's awesome! If I'm not mistaken these cameras have motion detection options for when the vehicle is off, ya?

Does the camera hold a charge once the ignition is off so the motion detection can work? Or since you have it wired into a "hot in start" does that basically just mean the camera is 100% off until you start the vehicle?

 

Some cams have motion detectors and will come on when the car is off, to my knowledge, this one does not. However, it does have a motion detector where if it detects a sudden movement (i.e. accident), it will protect that video file and not write over it. Depending on your micro SD card size, it will save about 30 min of HD video in segment lengths of your choosing. I think I set mine up to save 5 minute segments so at any one time it has 6-5 minute video files, constantly rewritting the oldest. It is really easy to browse video files and protect them on the cam.

The camera does have an internal battery and you can change how long it stays on once it loses power in its settings. For mine, I just have it turn off immediately when it loses power from the vehicle battery but you can adjust that if you would like. 98% of the time my car is parked in my driveway at home or a secure garage at work so I'm not too concerned with theft/vandalism/getting hit in a parking lot.

 

I have ordered a cheap dash cam and was going to hardwire but planned on stripping the power cord rather that using a new 12v outlet. Any reason why I shouldn't do this? I guess the only complication is I would have to find somewhere to ground, right?

 

Sometimes the power cable for the camera has a transformer and a fuse in it. Make sure your camera runs off 12V and isn't stepping down to 5 or something. And size your fuse correct since you won't have the one in the power cable part.

 

What he said. I'm no electrician but just make sure the voltages are the same and I guess you'll be OK. Good luck and feel free to post pics or a write up if it works.

 

Great write up! I followed your approach to install mine today. Aside from buying an actual 12v to 5 v dash cam hardwire kit( which still needs switching anyway), this really is the best way to power these since they 'need' to be powered by the included 12v to 5v DC converter (with mini USB interface). Some other notes and hints I have to add (for a 2011):

1. The blank, unused fuse locations in the fuse panel do not have any power either while ignition is on or off, so these can't be used.

2. The Power outlet fuse (which would be a logical fuse tap for dash cam power) location is always ON at all times - switching for this circuit probably takes place elsewhere else away from the fuse panel as the outlets themselves are in fact off when the ignition is off. Doesn't make sense.

3. Suggest using one of the power window fuses since these are capable of handling up to 20 amp current (these motors have minor inrush current spikes when using the power windows, so there is more current supply on these lines). These are off until the ignition is placed into ON. You don't want to lose wipers or the washer while driving if the dash cam for some reason pulls way more current than rated (most cams do have battery chargers).

4. Suggest removing the overhead console and drivers side sun visor to allow the headliner to drop a bit for wire routing during installation.

 

This was excellent, thanks for the write up. I used it installing my camera today. Instead of using a lighter adapter I ended up going with a female USB port.

 

Not sure if anyone is still around in this post - but will this product work to hard wire, or will I need an add a circuit?

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