I installed a cheapie dash cam a year or so ago - routed the cable from the front cigarette lighter outlet through the glove box, around the A pillar, tucked under the headliner, and then popped out again next to the mirror.
I didn't like losing the cigarette lighter/12v outlet, plus it was irritating having the wire fall out when I opened the glove box.
Today, I finally got around to opening up the giant box under the mirror - plenty of room in there, and a 12v keyed lead for some sensor (not sure what it is, anybody know?) in there. Time to get out the wire taps.
In this case, my crappy 12v to USB converter (which I got by taking apart a cigarette lighter adapter) uses black for power and red for ground. I had already wired it up before realizing this, but take note if you do this - the middle black wire is ground and the striped one is the 12v lead.
I had to extend the power lead cables a bit - just some light soldering - power and ground on both sides. 12v and 5v respectively.
Used hot glue to mount the PCB to the inside of the housing, and what the hell, moved my EZ Pass in there as well. Wrapped an extra wad of electrical tape around the wire so it doesn't pull through the grille slot. I thought about running it through the "headlight," but decided this looked better.
Success! I put it all back together, and now I have a nifty 5v power lead that will turn my dash cam on/off with the ignition.
Bonus - I left the LED on the converter because 1) It lets me know it's working, and 2) The red light looks kinda mean coming out of the Jeep Grille!
Total cost was $0, and now I won't have to mess with that stupid cable anymore. On the downside, the crappy $15 dash cam has, unsurprisingly, failed on me after a year. It no longer records. Oh well, I ordered another one on Amazon and made sure it still uses the same Mini-USB connector for power, so I guess my cost was $25 for another, more highly rated cheap dash cam.
I didn't like losing the cigarette lighter/12v outlet, plus it was irritating having the wire fall out when I opened the glove box.
Today, I finally got around to opening up the giant box under the mirror - plenty of room in there, and a 12v keyed lead for some sensor (not sure what it is, anybody know?) in there. Time to get out the wire taps.
In this case, my crappy 12v to USB converter (which I got by taking apart a cigarette lighter adapter) uses black for power and red for ground. I had already wired it up before realizing this, but take note if you do this - the middle black wire is ground and the striped one is the 12v lead.
I had to extend the power lead cables a bit - just some light soldering - power and ground on both sides. 12v and 5v respectively.
Used hot glue to mount the PCB to the inside of the housing, and what the hell, moved my EZ Pass in there as well. Wrapped an extra wad of electrical tape around the wire so it doesn't pull through the grille slot. I thought about running it through the "headlight," but decided this looked better.
Success! I put it all back together, and now I have a nifty 5v power lead that will turn my dash cam on/off with the ignition.
Bonus - I left the LED on the converter because 1) It lets me know it's working, and 2) The red light looks kinda mean coming out of the Jeep Grille!
Total cost was $0, and now I won't have to mess with that stupid cable anymore. On the downside, the crappy $15 dash cam has, unsurprisingly, failed on me after a year. It no longer records. Oh well, I ordered another one on Amazon and made sure it still uses the same Mini-USB connector for power, so I guess my cost was $25 for another, more highly rated cheap dash cam.