Has anyone used one of these dashcams?

[MrM83]

I am in the process of installing a dashcam in my recently acquired XC90, only time has prevented me from completing it. Ive got a Garmin Mini to put in, so cant comment on the one in the link from the OP. If anyone is interested in hardwiring and doesnt want to take a feed from the Intellisafe circuitry, this is what I did:

After some playing around, the best field of view is achieved from under the Intellisafe housing; either side of it and the housing obscures the view. I managed to squeeze a wire (the Garmin one is about as thin as they come) behind the Intellisafe plastic housing and up where it meets the headliner, then across the top to the A-pillar. I saw a video on You Tube on how to remove the A Pillar trim on the driver side. First is to remove the plastic cap that says "Airbag" or something similar applying gentle pressure with a small flat head screwdriver, it just clips in. This reveals a hex bolt that you will need a small socket and spanner to remove, be careful not to hot the windscreen in doing so.

Once out, you can carefully pry the A-Pillar trim away, again, its just clipped on, and you can feed the wire down the A-Pillar, out of the way of the airbag. There are some clips behind the trim that are used to hold other cables in place, I simply used these to hold my wire in. From there, its easy to pop off the trim on the side of the dash (usually concealed by the door when closed) and the wire can be dropped down and neatly wrapped / stored in this recess.

This is as far as I've got, when time allows I will use my piggyback "add-a-fuse" adapter, or, purchase an obd power supply, I havent decided yet. I stumbled across the latter on Amazon the other day. Garmin do one called "Constant Power" I believe, and you can select the dashcam to be on for 10 mins / 24 hours / always on once ignition has been turned off. This is nifty and convenient, but not as truly "hard wired" as using the fusebox. I just need to decide which route to go down and complete the install.

I plan to put a rear dashcam in too and routing that looks quite simple versus other cars I've owned. The rear fusebox is easy to get to and rodding the cable from there to the edge of the boot liner trim and then up through the rubber grommet into the tailgate should be achievable.... he says..

The Garmin Constant Power has 2 USB outputs, so in theory I could connect the rear cam to that and Id have the benefit of selecting 10 mins / 24 hours / always on for that too..... but Id need to run a (long) cable from front to back somehow without airbag interference.

[starsky]

Would be interested to know how you get on. I am in the planning/thinking stage, not yet 'doing'.

I have a new-ish 21 XC90 R-Design with quite a lot of extras. I am happy with the idea of a hardwire into the fusebox (thanks for the idea of re OBD) but my challenge is that I am struggling to find a fuse that is powered and not used!

If you go with the PBD plan, would be interested to understand if that worked.

[MrM83]

Work, family and lack of daylight hours prevent me from getting the job done as quickly as I'd like, but I've made some progress. Ive done some reading on here, I'm glad I did, as there were references to NOT installing the dashcam near the Intellisafe housing to avoid interfering with radar functions.

Where I had planned to install it for discreetness would have been plum in the middle of where I shouldnt, so I still need to figure out where exactly I mount it. It will be either side of the Intellisafe surround (problem here is the surround can be visible and thus obscures some of the view), or a little further away from the surround which just looks less discreet.

I plan to install a rear cam on this car too, since routing looks relatively easy. Last night I ran a 5m USB-A extension cable starting under the dash, then under the kickboard trim from the driver seat past the b-pillar and then under the c-pillar and into the boot and terminating near the rear fusebox. The kickboard sill trims just unclip with gentle force. The only tricky bit is fishing the sizeable plug into the boot area but wasn't too difficult.

Im torn on the OBD port solution. On the plus side its convenient and can keep the camera live when parked if desired. This flexibility is nice. The Garmin one Ive ordered has 2 female USB A plugs, hence by plan to run the extension cable to the rear and I could power both front and rear cams from it.

On the minus side, its not truly hard wired, not as discreet and could be easily disconnected when needing any diagnostics done. My preference is to remain wired in at all times, but I know some garages have different policies around dashcam usage in the workshop. That said, if I hard wire it to the fusebox Id lose the easy ability to change between having cameras on when parked or not.

The side end panel trim (concealed by driver door) is easy to pop off, and there is a lot of space in that cavity to hide wires. What I may do is find a hard wired solution with 2 female USB plugs and leave them in the cavity. Ill use the OBD for day to day, with the female USB plugs stored adjacent to the hardwired ones, and then if need arises, I can pop off the trim and switch the cables easily enough.

Starsky, regarding your question. I wouldnt worry too much. In the past my philosophy with piggybacking fuses for dashcams is to pick one that is only on with ignition and one that would be obvious to me if it blew, but wouldnt cause a safety implication.

Something like heated steering wheel fuse, 12v accessory fuse etc, is what I have used in the past. That way I felt Id notice if they werent working and by inference would know the dashcam wasnt working, else you might not notice if the dashcam fuse blew. I need to have a look at the options open to me.

Sorry for the ramble, hope of some use.

[volvocamper]

Fitted a Nextbase dash-cam to my XC90 when new in 2018. Used a 12v feed from the 12v accessory socket in the front of the console. The side panel clips off v easily and I made up an adaptor which plugs onto the back of the socket and then the dash-cam power cables plug into the other end. It is going back as end of lease next month so I will remove the adaptor to be used again on my March/April delivered MY22 XC90.

[Franko1960]

Has anyone thought of this UK one?
https://oewitness.com/shop/dash-cams...m-oew-st-13-5/

[starsky]

MrM83, you have given me a nudge to keep going. Your comment that i can double up on a fuse is probably a basic point but one that i had not fully grasped (through lack of full research!)... and I like the idea of using the heated steering wheel fuse if that can provide enough power. So now i just need to buy the right kit to be able to double up on that fuse (and now i see a few youtube videos, so that is tonights activity!)

I also like the idea of a front and rear cam (heck, let's go all in) so will have a look at options, unless there are recommendations out there (something small and discrete, to prevent negative comments from the wife!)

[MrM83]

Tonight I had a decent run at it. My Garmin Constant Power OBD adapter arrived, and works as I expected it to; it’s very convenient. I also completed the wiring of the rear cam (BlueSkySea B1W) which I’ve had lying around for ages and never installed. It was a bit tricky but I managed to get it wired in about 2 hours.

If anyone is interested, here is a brief description of the steps I took having routed a USB-A extension cable with the female end terminating in the void where the rear fusebox is.

Firstly I prised the plastic trim at the top of the inside of the tailgate off. Start in the middle and work out towards the edge and down. It’s held on by the same metal wedge clips found on most other bits of trim. The other end (bottom edge) has a couple of ‘prong’ pieces which hold it into the lower trim section, so don’t pull at this end or you will snap things!

With this off I pulled down the rear headlining a little which exposes the openings for the rubber conduit sleeves that run to the tailgate and contain sheathed wiring. I fed a fish rod through the rubber conduit, starting from the headliner side and easing the rod through and out. This was the hardest part of the process and eventually teased it through, and then attached the micro usb end of my cable and pulled that through the conduit. Leave enough excess (15cm or so) and clip the removed trim back into place. The dashcam was attached in the centre of the plastic trim, as close to the rear glass screen as possible.

The rest of the USB cable can be run along the edge of the headliner to the right hand corner and then under the rubber boot seal down towards the tail light. I continued to run it down to where the carpet meets the lower tail trim. I fished the wider USB-A end down into the void where the rear fusebox is. This was quite tight but ultimately no problem. The cable is entirely hidden from where it enters the trim at the top of the tailgate, all the way down to the fusebox. Connect the male and female connectors, tape and tuck out of the way. Reinstall the cubby box that sits on top of the fusebox void and that’s it’s

Tested with the Garmin adapter set to permanent power and all working as hoped.

I’ve yet to get the front camera installed as I’m having trouble getting any sticky pads to stick to the glass.

The one thing that has become obvious is the little Garmin mini, as small as it is, won’t be discreet, since I will need to mount it a few inches in from the top of the windscreen and/ or a couple of inches away from the intellisafe housing so the view isn’t obscured by said housing. That’s where the unit mentioned by the OP
of this thread comes into its own. The B1W might also sit better at the front. I’ll need to have a little think.

Good luck to anyone attempting an install.

[MrM83]

I have now swapped my cameras around so I have the Garmin mini on the back and the B1W on the front which seems to work better for me in terms of discreetness. I also don’t like how the Garmin records journey footage, so rather the B1W at the front. I am liking the easy option to change the Garmin OBD dongle between 10m /24 hours/ infinite power on, although something like a 4 hour option would be a nice addition. Changing it to infinite has made it easy to check all the cameras are working and the view is good.

Again good luck to anyone attempting an imminent install.

[Basill]

I have just ordered a B1W for the front to replace a Nextbase 300w that constantly forgets he time and date ( they all do this it seems).

I chose these models in the hope they will not interfere with the radar etc. as they do not have BT and WIFI defaults to off. (with the B1W there are two versions of firmware, WIFI default on or off) I like the fairly unobtrusive cylinder shape and had no issues with the 300W mounted centrally under the Intellisafe.

[Basill]

Accidental duplicate post removed