Hi, does anyone have any dash or front camera recommendations? I saw one that basically always has the last 4 hours of driving recorded. Also I don't really want it to be obtrusive or have a screen that is visible while it works (this is distracting). I was thinking of hiding it behind the rearview mirror. Thoughts?

dq

 

Most dash board camera's dont have a screen. Most are small enough to be hidden behind the rear view mirror.
Most allow for SD cards, so recording 4 hours is the least of your worries.

so, most of them do what you are wanting them to do. record whats in front of you.

Most people are happy with the Blackvue cam, but there are other cameras out there that do the same thing

 

Just mount a gopro. lol

 

I found a good article on dashcams:

http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-dash-cam/

There is a very detailed thread on installing dashcams here, but the pictures are missing. Have you seen any other threads with pics?

dq

dq

 

@donq - great find.

my biggest issue in dashcams is finding a way to hid the power cable or an installer that will do that correctly.

 

Route the wires down your A-Beam and add an "Add-a-circuit" to your driver-side fusebox. To that add a female cigarette power adapter to plug in your dash-cam.

 

I have couple of Blackvue for two years. They are great except that the built in battery die after a while (6~8 months). I ordered the replacement battery (3.7V RC helicopter battery) from eBay. Replacing it is easy if you are comfortable soldering.

 

I ended-up ordering the Mobius Action Camera (ebay link). We'll see what it's like when I get it. I'm a little concerned about hiding the power cable. Did you remove the a-pillar cover completely to install? I was reading the service manual today and it said that the grommets are one-time use. Are these grommets easy to find? (grommets may be the wrong word...)

dq

 

The most difficult part is to use a rubber mallet to break the upper clip in the a-pillar trim. Download the TL service manual from this link https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/acura-tl-service-manual-899572/. It was initially posted by Art Unique. The procedure is in page 1951.

Pull out the door seal below the a-pillar, there is a gap to allow you tuck the wire behind the dash and run it to the fuse box.

Ensure to run the wire away from the airbag module in the a-pillar so it won't interfere the airbag deployment.

Good luck.

 

Oops.. You have already got the service manual. Ignore my comment. =)

 

Yeah it's the clip that needs to be replaced after breaking it is what concerns me. Where do you get this part, and is it expensive?

 

Look at my hardwired 9500ix post, I didn't break anything or use a rubber mallet. The wire just slips inbetween the A-Pillar without much trouble and is away from anything that deploys.

 

I ordered this guy
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/131087784492?...84.m1497.l2649

 

The fuse tap seems like the way to go, but do you know which amperage fuse slot to plug into? I don't want to blow out my camera. I'm thinking that maybe I can splice a female usb-A cable to the fuse tap and then run the basic male USB-A to mini-USB up the a-pillar etc. What do you think about that? USB power is 5V and I assume that the power out of the fuse tap is 12V what did you do to convert the power?

dq

 

Actually, here's a useful thread:

http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=2063137

 

Actually, I think I just found the answer to my own question. I could get something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12V-to-5V-3A-15W-Step-down-Converter-Regulator-female-Panel-mount-USB-for-car/121153075447?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222003%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20477%26meid%3D6090487032917045983%26pid%3D100005%26prg%3D9141%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D111320808392&rt=nc
And then hook it up to a fuse tap.

Any suggestions on where to mount the regulator box behind the dash?

dq

 

actually that's an interesting idea. Does the USB have enough power on the TL? Does it stay on when the car is on? BTW I hope it's fused.

davensd

 

I have to find a fuse port that turns on and off with the car which shouldn't be a problem. The fuse tap has places to install fuses in it so there shouldn't be any worry of having a non-fused circuit. So far I've been able to locate the fuse tap from a local hardware store but I think I may have to order the 5V regulator online...

dq