calguy

If so, did you hard wire it, and where did you connect the wires to?

Bob.

El original

Yes I have one but never thought about hard wiring it...what is wrong with plugging it into the lighter? Convenient enough I think.

Vetteman Jack

No, but have been considering one. Never know when it just might come in handy.

El original

Feel it cut the road rage in half...as they see the camera and re think, or maybe its the gorgeous blonde riding shot gun that has them re thinking their childish behavior. Will have to figure this one out...or maybe not, lol

Trickster

Yes, but I just plug it into the cigarette lighter.

MtnLuvr

Yes. I hid all the wires and it plugs into the outlet in the center console. I feel much more protected now. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to improve the driving of those around me.

calguy

What kind of adapter do I need to plug it into the cigarette lighter?

Bob.

Trickster

If you buy a dash cam, the cord to plug it into the lighter comes with it. No need to purchase additional adapter/cord.

rrwirsi

I have a dash cam and radar detector with the wires hidden. I taped into my ‘04 passenger side fuse box at location #11 – key off - by using a piggyback/Add-a Circuit fuse. Then I added a Twin 12 Volt power outlet by affixing it underneath the passenger side dash and connecting the wiring from the outlet to the Add-Fuse wires. The wires from the dash cam and radar detector are hidden underneath the windshield top trim, down the side trim, underneath the passenger’s dash and plug into the Twin Outlet. Suggestion; remove the battery ground wire BEFORE doing any electrical modifications to the C5.

NFL:

formula1nut

Great info here. One question; why didn't you just cut off the camera plug and hard wire it into the Add Fuse wires getting rid of the outlet and basically a set of connections?

Yello95

possibly because really more convenient when you want to take the camera out...just pull the plug?

Yello95

So which dash camera do you guys have and where did you get it?

rrwirsi

That is why AND there is a fuse already in the plug that gives an added safety measure.

rrwirsi

There a 'zillion' of them on the net. I did not go crazy in price and bought
" Black Box G1W-B Black Gezel"for under $75 on Amazon about 3 years ago. Could be less now.

PlanoLeMans

Be careful connecting your dash cam to your radar detector power leads. The radar detector is likely 12 volts (mine was). My dash cam is 5 volts and has a micro usb connector for power. This is likely true for all dash cams as I also wired 5 other, all different brands, for the family. All have micro USB connectors. So here is a short description of how to do it.

Use a piggy back to get power from a fuse position. don't worry about overloading your existing fuse circuit because you are basically creating a new fuse circuit. On the ground side, you can use any of the chassis grounds. Don't forget you have a fiberglass car so running to a good ground point is critical. Now you have 12 volt power with two wires. I used a 10 A fuse to protect the parallel circuit. After this I use crimp connectors with shrink wrap, mainly for strain release. But it does help to insulate your connector as well as let you change the connection later.

Now connect in parallel a line to your detector and a line to a 12 volt to 5 volt dc to dc transformer (converter). For the detector line, I use one with a inline fuse. Crimp on an rj25 connector or what ever one your detector needs. Route the wire to where you need it. I took off the A pillar trim and route it there. Just remember to make it neat under the dash because you don't want to get your foot caught in the wires. I put it in a 1/2 inch split sleeve, and wire tied it out of the way.

For the transformer, i got one with four USB female outputs on the 5 volt side. Ensure that the A rating is larger than the amperage needed for your dash cam. I used 5 A which will be plenty to run the dash cam and power other devices. If you want, use a 5 A in line fuse in front of the transformer to protect the transformer and devices on the 5 V side. Now you can use store brought usb cables after this. I wired one micro USB up to the dash cam and a mini USB for later use while I had all the trim apart. then I wire a couple of usb to the center console for device connection, again easy since you trim panels are apart.

Remember to wire tied all cables neatly and securely or you will be chasing rattles for the next year. If you want to have exact lengths, you can make you own USB cable. I put the fuses and some led lights on a board so that i can quickly see which fuse is out for quick servicing and troubleshooting. Not really needed but I had space on the board where i had the electronics for the control of oil pumps for my turbos (so they can run for a period of time after i switch off the car) and the electronic boost controller.

That's all I remember.

Yello95

And are you happy with it? Thanks

rrwirsi

Yes. Does the job. Clear optics in day and adequate at night with minimal light.

REDHOTS

I can easily move one from my DD into my C5 when needed, but a couple months ago I ended up buying a Vantrue X3 for $159. They make several models up and down from that one, but this one also has WIFI to operate and view the camera on my phone. I ended up buying the optional $10 hardwire kit to install on my 13 Tahoe pursuit. Pretty easy to stuff the cable around the window trim to a spot I could tap into a hot 12v circuit which got wired to a latching led pushbutton. It can stay powered on all the time, but I wanted to be able to easily shut it off when needed, or to not record the front of my garage door for 18 hours. Anyway the camera works great, and I bought another one for my wife's car too for xmas. That one I just routed around the trim the same way, but plugged in to the hot when on lighter socket. I wish I would have bought one for my parents too since their van got broken into at a motel a couple weeks ago. It would have recorded the car parked next them pulling away that grabbed all of their personal tax info and cash, while going back into the room to get something else to load in their van.

caslerst

I bought cams after my wife was rear ended and the other driver tried to deny responsibility saying it was my wife's fault. The way I figure it, if a $100 dash cam saves me once it's more than paid for itself.

I bought entry level Blackvue cameras based on internet reviews and a bit of research. The resolution is pretty good and getting the video from the camera to your computer is easy. It's small and is up behind my rear view mirror and I don't even know it's there until it says it's recording.

If I had it to do over again I would spend more and get the camera that can bluetooth the video to your cell phone. That way if there is an incident and you're talking to a cop you can show them the video on the spot. I think that could come in handy because once a cop writes up their findings it's difficult the get them changed. You can go to court and show the video but showing the video at the time of the incident can maybe avoid that headache.

Installation is not what I would call easy or difficult. It's not technically difficult and doesn't require special knowledge but it does require removing interior trim, finding the right fuse, and getting under the dash. If you're slow like me and it's your first time it can take a couple of hours or more.

I hardwired mine in so that I did not have to remember to plug it in every time. I cut off the cigarette lighter adapter, added a fuse, and found a hot fuse under the dash in the panel on the passenger side and attached the ground to a random bolt. In hindsight, I should have just bought their hardwire kit for $15 and saved the time.

REDHOTS

Just wanted to add for anyone wanting to hardwire their new dash cam in. Don't just whack off the power plug and connect to a 12V circuit without checking, or it's toast. My camera uses 5V USB power out of the adapter plug. That's why I bought Vantrue's hard wire kit, because is has a power adapter in middle of the cable instead, hidden in the dash.