Inside the glove box, there's a hidden door for the fusebox. The fusebox manual is in there with cryptic symbols, but you don't have to pull it out now since I scanned it for you all.

Tap into fuse 42 for the always-on battery, and fuse 54 for the ACC. I used 42 thinking the door lock/unlock would be always powered on. 54 was selected because the symbol looks like power steering and that's probably powered only when driving.

If you don't want always-on (so it doesn't wear the battery too much) and just keep it on for 15 minutes after you left the car, tap into fuse 70 for the Battery instead of fuse 42.

For the ground wire, find any metal body part where you can secure the ground wire. Looking under the glovebox, I found a tap like hole on the body of the ABS module's frame which I was able to fit a screw. I secured my ground wire on that.


I paid $150 for the Lukas LK-7200 shipped from Korea on ebay. It was actually delivered faster than most normal US shipments. Low power draw, custom power cutoff, works up to 70C, uses full size SD. I have been using a LK-7900 with a separate power cutoff device on my Mazda for a year and had no problems with it. LK-7200 is good that it has power cutoff built-in. You can use the software to choose the voltage setting.

I have F56, auto transmission, sports package (LED lights) and that's it. Just so you know which fuse I might not have compared to yours.

 

Thanks for the tip! How long does it record before it overwrites itself?

 

just curious... why would you want a dash cam? Track tapes or is it an insurance deal in case somebody hits you?

 

It's for insurance purposes, just in case, so that the other person can't lie. Also, for those hit and run cases when car is parked.

Recording time all depends on video quality. You can choose from 1080p or 720p. It loops overwriting old files first. It came with a 8GB sdcard, but I can put any size SD card in it.

 

if you are concerned about hit and runs while parked, it needs to always be on right? But what about angles. How much coverage are you getting with your setup? just front, or do you have more than one camera, or maybe a wide angle lens setup?

 

Yes. That's why there's a automatic voltage cutoff built in. The device has 125 degree, and it's mostly just the front. In parking lots, I can park back-in so front is being recorded by motion sensor. At least I'll have some clue when parked in a parking lot where everyone is a regular. But the more important thing for me is to record while driving for insurance purposes. This was after my car was scraped wit hit and run, and then my wife got into an accident and totaled the Elantra 2007.

 

Great informative post, thank you!

Sorry the reason for making this post is not so great

 

Ever consider a motion activated system to prevent battery drain for long term parking (weekend out of town with the car at the airport for example).

I think there are some multi camera systems that have built in motion activation that could feed to a recorder in the James Bond compartment. Just a thought

 

Is that the same 'Lucas' we called 'The Prince of Darkness' back in the '60's that was a standard feature on British sports cars?
Be sure to post your excitement along with all this:

 

All Lukas cameras that I know are motion activated. It'll record only when motion or impact is detected when in standby mode. It still uses some power. Here's the link to their product.

 

not to completely change the topic... but roads in Russia are basically just Grand Theft Auto...

 

In Europe, Mini offer their own front and rear dashcam system, called Mini Advanced Car Eye.



I don't suggest the system is of interest, but if anyone can find the installation instructions online, they might be useful for showing how Mini wire in this item.

 

Yea, but from a less rodeo inspired driving environment, they're funny'r the he!!...and that's why everybody in Russia has them. With more situational awareness nannys being built into cars and less situationally aware drivers relying on that plus being busy with their social media from behind the wheel, the infection could well spread to this country and the OP will be well ahead of the game.

 

Thanks for the fuse box info. Our new MINI is on the boat! WooHoo!!!

Anyone interested in dash cams may want to check out these videos from TechMoan on Youtube.
He has done a lot of in depth reviews of commonly used camera systems in Europe..

list=PLFB79814F24001328

 

Here's a recording I uploaded today. I had to hard brake because of this moron.



You need to embed the video like this (remove the blank space after '[' ):

 

hp79, would you mind posting a picture like a wide shot of your dashboard. I'd like to see how you have the dashcam mounted, where it is in relation to the windshield/ center, etc.

Thanks so much!

 

No problem. It's barely visible from the outside because the sky was bright while the trunk background was dark, but here it is.
From the driving seat, I can't see the device at all because it's covered by the rear view mirror.

 

Thanks for posting, that's a really professional looking install. Did you have to remove any panels to run the wiring? I'm assuming you had to remove the A pillar, right?

Edit: I just took a look at your PDF from the first post... yeah looks like you had to remove the A Pillar, were there any other panels you had to remove? How easy would it be for a mechanical novice (like me)?

 

No, I didn't have to remove anything. I am actually very afraid to remove any panels as it may snap something or it may cause rattles later on. I just had to be careful with stuffing in the wire inside the rubber weather seal, and kind of work my way in to stuffing the wire in behind the trim panels. I used credit cards and trim remover kit from Harbor Freight Tools, but I think it can be done with fingernails. I think it's not that hard to install these yourself. You might want to order some fuse tap thingy (that taps one wire from the fuse) if you don't want to mess with carefully inserting the wire with the fuse together.

 

I know it's been a few years, but I just wired my new dash cam to the always on circuit 42. Just want to thank you for the tip.