Dash cams

Did you hard wire it or go the cigarette lighter route?

 

It's powered via the cigarette lighter right now but I will hard wire it soon. I tucked it up almost behind the mirror.

 

Yea I was thinking of hardwiring also not sure which fuse to tap into...I have some researching to-do..

 

I've heard that the s model isn't worth the extra cost over the older 119

 

I saw a YouTube video of both A119&A119S and decided to get the s version.

 

Yes, I bought the A119 (no "S") and installed it about 3 weeks ago. So far, no problems. I bought a 64GB microSD card and a 16GB microSD card. I'm using the 16GB card for daily use.

I also bought the $15 kit for hard-wiring. I placed the camera in front of the rear view mirror as high as I could and still be able to remove the camera from its GPS mount. I routed the cable between the windshield and the headliner as best I could. I removed the A-pillar trim from the passenger side and threaded the cable along the sheet metal down to and behind the glove compartment, then behind the radio and over to the +12V ignition wire. I soldered and heat-shrinked the wires. The cable from the camera to the converter was more than long enough, but I had to add 2 feet from the converter to the ignition switch.

Before I put the A-pillar trim back on I used two bits of electrical tape to hold the wire to the sheet metal. Lastly, I connected the ground wire to the frame between the sheet metal and the carpet up above the passenger's foot area. If you go this route, be careful when you remove the A-pillar trip. Behind the passenger's ear, the trip has an elongated hole that goes underneath a tab on the plastic trim piece that fits behind it. I didn't know this and sorta boogered it up when I removed it. Also, when removing the two bolts that hold the oh-shit handle, be very careful that you don't screw up the bolt head. Use the largest Phillips head screwdriver that you have and be sure that when you seat the screwdriver you cannot wiggle it around. The apply steady but firm pressure. For some known-only-to-God reason, the factory uses locktite on those screws.

The installation works fine, but I didn't leave enough cable slack to move the camera around. I cannot see the camera from the driver's position (which is good) but the camera is beyond (I think) the windshield wiper's range (which is not so good). Now I just listen for that raspy squeal about 8 seconds after I turn the key on, then forget it. God forbid that I should ever have to use it !

 

Thanks for the info Skeezix