Hi guys,

I made a little write up from when I hardwired my dashcam. The same would apply for a radar detector. Let me know if you guys find any errors or have any questions. You'll want to download the PDF for the best image quality. Thanks for looking!

-J.T.

-->Click here for the PDF<--

 

Very thorough write-up with excellent pictures.

The only change I could suggest is an explicit warning in the A pillar cover removal (and reinstallation) to be cautious of the airbag behind this pillar.

Given that this is a guide to wiring changes, perhaps it is a given to have disconnected the battery, but a lot of instructions that deal with panels where there are airbags call for the battery to be disconnected before removing said panels.

But again, well done, and thanks for posting!

 

Well done sir, well done!

 

Glucklich, danke for the fuse 52 pointer. It's helped with an auto start problem I've been having.

 

Thanks, I understand disconnecting the battery, but I'm a bit hesitant with a car this sophisticated. In theory the fuses should handle any surges from crossed wires or something of that nature. I'm just worried about some module needing to be programmed or reset after disconnecting the battery and I'm 150 miles from the nearest Mini dealer. Possibly try it and see what happens?




Thanks!


Glad I could help!

 

Updated the PDF for additional warnings about the airbag

 

This is great stuff Gluck. Good Work!
We need these in a separate folder. "How To's" or something like that!

 

great write up. where did you purchase the fuse taps?

 

Danke. I'm curious when we are going to get our appropriate sections.


I got mine from my local O'Reilly's. Amazon also carries them.

 

ty for the info. Found the same one being sold retail at Auto Zone for 11 and change. my price was $5 dealer cost as I have a commercial acct with them.

 

I found while installing my driving lights this weekend that there's a threaded powersource on the backside of the fuse box. It will require the removal of the glovebox and undoing a clip that holds the fuse box in place, but totally worth it over using fuse taps.

Also worth mentioning, look at the color of the majority of the wires coming out of the fuse box. Red is constant power, green is ignition, and intermediate purple is switched. Explains why I had such a problem finding a switched fuse.

 

+1 ^^^^

I was hard-wiring my Valentine-1 last night and kept wondering why every circuit (that ordinarily...) should be switched was in fact, still hot. Fuse 52 was the only one I could really find that actually was switched like normal.

I am not 100% on this but I suspect that because of the whole "auto start"-thing, a bunch of these cricuits need to remain hot in order for that to work.

The hardwire job went fine once I tapped into Pos. 52. Thanks for your very helpful DIY on this.

 

Is there no way to tap into a dome light wire?

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ew-mirror.html

These seems much more difficult.

 

Glad I could help!

I'm sure there is, but this is more of a "fit and finish" solution.

 

Thanks Glucklich for the detailed write up, it was extremely helpful!

 

That was an awesome guide! I got stuck trying to hardwire my dashcam. I couldn't figure out to how route the wire down the a-pillar to the fusebox. Your guide helped me figure it out and I have it working now.

 

Hey gluck. Nice write up. You should post it in the "Modifications">>"How To" section.

 

Another message of thanks to glucklich21/JT for the great PDF reference, and the tip on the incoming power line to the fuse box! Thank you!

 

Well done, really like the step by step. Post in the "how to" 100% agree

 

Great guide. I didn't hardwire my dashcam but hid the power line as much as I could along this general route. The line is tucked inside the headliner along the windshield, wrapped around the top of the A pillar, then re-tucked inside the rubber weather stripping running down to the floorboard area. The remaining wire is stashed in some space behind the glovebox and then connected to the central cigarette lighter. Works well enough for me, and it's 95% hidden except for the lighter and the 5-inch A-pillar piece.

I tried initially suctioning the dashcam onto the dotted area at the top of the windshield (like the guide) but while driving it quickly fell off, I think because of the lack of suction to the actual glass. I moved the suction cup to attach to all glass and it hasn't moved a single time. Has anybody else successfully been able to keep their dashcam mounted on that dotted area?

 

Hi, I can't seem to reinstall the door sill trim... Could someone please tell me how it is supposed to go back into the clips? Should it be pushed in (by force) or slide in (from the side)? Any tips or instructions would be muchly appreciated. Thanks!

 

Slides under the pillar cover (between front and back) then it pops in. Just make sure that all the plastic "pins" are aligned as they move back and forth in those slots.

It is easier the 2nd time!

 

If you pulled off the door sill trim and the white clips didn't come off with the trim, you'll want to pull the white clips out of the holes and slide them into mounting slots on the door sill trim.

Be careful when reinstalling the door sill trim. You'll want to align the pointed end of the white clips properly with the holes when you push on the door sill trim. If you don't align the clips correctly, you'll end up bending the white clips. They're hard to straighten out and then you'll spend more time aligning the clips with the holes.

 

Thank you Gregory and aabcds! I finally managed to put everything back together! Not knowing whether to slide or push was only half of the problem; the other half is I didn't remove the lower kick panel. YMMV but for me it was impossible to slide the clips back on until I removed the lower kick panel.

 

I have a question about what can be wired to that tap. I'm not very satisfied with the options on the market for dash cams that have two cameras for recording front and back, so I was thinking that I might just go ahead and use two stand-alone dash cams. One in the front, and one in the back. I have a Garmin up front right now and I'm going to transfer that over to my F56 once it's delivered. I have the hardwire kit for it. My question is: could I use two hardwire kits on the same fuse for automatic power on? Would there be any negative effects? Also, since this guide is from back when the F56 was new, has anything changed for the 2019 F56?

Thanks in advance for any replies!