When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I have a 2014 and want to add a front camera. I want to put the small monitor in the instrument panel storage area behind the monitor. I am having trouble fishing a wire from there to below the dash some where. I have a small hole drilled in the lower left area but when using a coat hanger through the hole I can't make it come out anywhere below the dash. Has anyone fished a wire from the storage area to under the dash or into the console without a lot of disassembly? Appreciate any advice.
I would not use a coat hanger that way. You can easily break a wire or cause a short by poking around with something stiff and metal like that. Have you tried putting something small and heavy on the end of a string, or on a ball-type chain like you would use on a ceiling fan? They can seem to slip through almost anything.
Thanks for the ideas so far. The reason I think it is possible is from this old post that the owner did on his 2015 but doesn't go into detail on how he did it. https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...very-long.html
See picture for where I drilled the hole.
I have not tried a weight and string yet because I think there is too much other stuff right below it. See pdf which I grabbed from a video to remove the monitor. It looks like there is another enclosure behind the monitor so that may be what I am hitting.
I do have a scope camera but not sure it will fit so will have to try it. I will keep documenting and post when I have a breakthrough.
Actually, I did make some great progress on the fishing expedition. I have been taking photos and was going to post my progress but am working on a solution for mounting the front camera. I wanted to be able to post the entire project but got delayed due to life happens. I will post what I have, so far, next week when we get back in town.
As I mentioned, I am trying to get a wire from the instrument panel storage compartment down to the center console so I can power the monitor that is linked to the new front camera. I decided to use a wireless camera to avoid running a cable from the camera to the monitor.
I bought this system on Amazon and found it on sale.
I found that using a #14 gauge ground wire from a Romex cable was the best way to find a path from the storage area down to the console. I removed the driver side console trim piece and the small triangular plastic cover (there are many videos on line that show this).
After a little wiggling and pushing, the wire shows up behind the triangular trim piece.
Continuing to push and guide the wire is now by the shifter. It was easy to grab with a needle nose.
I then taped a string to the wire. And pulled it up into the storage area. This will eventually be the pull string for the monitor power cable.
Since the monitor needs 12v I decided to tap into the aux power outlet so had to get another pull string over there. It was fairly easy to get the wire over to the driver side. Then attached a string like before and pulled it to the aux outlet.
Forgot to mention removing the aux connector. There are 2 plastic tabs that have to be pressed to pull it out. You can see the 2 square holes that the tabs engage.
For various reasons including positioning the monitor where I wanted it and to keep it securely in place I bought these parts from Amazon and ditched the suction cup mount that came with the monitor.
These 2 screw into each other. The ball fits onto the monitor mount so it can be positioned how you want.
This is a standard 4.75" electrical blank. I cut about 1/8" off to fit in the storage space.
I epoxied the mount and painted it black. Now is just sits in the storage area without tipping over.
As I mentioned I was going to use the cigarette lighter to power the monitor but it has power to it even when the car is off so I decided to install a switch.
I had this switch from a previous project car. It actually fits perfectly into the lighter!
I pulled the cables from the storage area and by the lighter. Then just plugged together and tucked it in.
Cut the insulation off in a small area to solder the power wire to. The blue wire is from my new switch. After soldering I taped it all up. Red wire from the monitor also goes to the switch. Soldered a spade lug to the monitor ground and put it under the existing bolt. A little tricky getting the wires up through the lighter. Installed the lighter partially then fed the wires before pushing it in all the way.
All tapped up and ready to install the console back.
The switch looks like it belongs there and the door closes like before. The monitor fits nicely in the storage area and can be moved where you want it.
Since the kit I bought was primarily made to be a rear camera and fit behind the license plate I did not like how it was going to look mounted in the front. I would have stuck out too far.
I had my mechanic make a custom bracket out of 1/8" aluminum. It is 3.125 x 0.75
To keep the camera from rotating, he milled a space for the camera bracket.
Painted the top/sides and attached the camera.
Left the underside unpainted so the double sided tape would adhere better.
I found this opening next to the passenger side air intake to route my camera cable.
I tucked the cable under this black tubing and secured it with black tie wraps (almost invisible).
The camera cable plugs into the WiFi device as you can see on the lower right. The black wire sticking out is the antenna. Fuse #30 is switched so used that to piggy back the camera circuit.
This kit comes with an inline filter box which according to the manufacturer is not needed on American cars so I eliminated it.
The previous owner installed a remote switch to open the exhaust ports so that is what you see at the top. I tapped into that ground wire. After soldering and adding heat shrink I secured the wires. I used my soldering iron to melt a little of the lip on the fuse box right where the lid already has a notch. A little hot glue to hold the wired in place and keep the moisture out.
All buttoned up without pinching the wires. Camera is securely taped to the grill.
On to testing . . . . . .
Taking a photo of a video feed never turns out well as you know. The brick is 4" from the front of the car as you can see on the tape measure. I have the camera rotated all the way down so this is the closest I can see.
Instrument panel storage modification
