Originally Posted by Airmousam

Thought I'd share my thoughts and install tips on the Blackvue DR-650 single channel dashcam.

Before I get started let's not turn this into who needs a camera in your car debate. Couldn't care less whether or not you'd like a camera in your car. If you don't want a camera, hopefully you did not even open this thread. If you are thinking about it, hope this helps! Cheers!


The DR-650 also has a 2 chan option which adds a second camera. You would typically install the 2nd camera rear facing in the back glass (or wherever you like). It's my first dashcam and I went with the single channel. There is a limited authorized dealer network for the Blackvue, so might want to be careful on ebay and Amazon, as I did read some blogs where folks appeared to be getting knockoff's.

http://www.blackvue.com/distributors/

For the US I went with the Dashcam Store in Austin, TX. I can not say enough good things about these guys. All of my pre purchase questions were quickly answered via email, and great service throughout. I'm about $280.00 all in for the unit + power magic pro (will cover later) + 2 fuse taps (needed for the power magic pro, and makes life easy)+ free shipping

http://thedashcamstore.com/blackvue-...-lens-dashcam/

There are lots of camera choices out there and I did a ton of research before purchasing. I wanted something very low key without an LCD screen (seems unneeded to me) From what I can see and have read, like most things in life..... you get what you pay for.

The DR-650 is awesome, has built in GPS, G sensor, and wifi. For the wifi you download a blackvue app, connect to the camera like you would a wifi router in your house. This gives you access to the looped files in case you need them (or you can pop out the SD card and get these via your laptop). With the app you also get a live feed which is pretty cool. Frieked my wife out a little bit tho You can also quickly remove the camera from the windshield if needed.

The power magic pro (install covered below) give you quite a few power options. Note: Its not a requirement for the Blackvue camera(s). Have mine set to stay on for 6 hours after I shut the key off (also has a lower power shut off if it senses your battery dropping below a threshold) Unit does not use much power and I have not noticed any diminished battery performance. This covers you if your car is parked and hit and run etc. Yes chances are slim but you never know.... and it's only a $20 adder

There is a bank of switches on the power magic. My settings are Number 2 switch down and the rest up. This give you a 11.8v shutoff and as mentioned 6 hours after I switch the key off. Camera goes into a parking mode and appears to quickly awake and record if it feels the car being jostled (g-sensor at work here). Its pretty sensitive and has settings to lower the sensitivity, if needed.

There is a cheaper Blackvue option (DR-3500) for $160.00, but you lose a lot of features and it has a lesser quality camera lens

http://thedashcamstore.com/blackvue-...ature-dashcam/

Ok on to the install. Our windshields do not appear to have the tinted stripe at the top so I opted for a higher stealth install on the passenger side to the right of the rearview mirror (you'll see in the pic). It's hard to see from outside the car unless your looking.

Our head liners are very easy to work with (pliable) compared to cars I've worked on in the past. That was a huge relief! I recall in past cars fighting for every inch.

Note: If you're looking for a quick install (and are not comfortable messing with the fuse panel) *and* only want the unit to come on when you turn the key on (ie. start the car), it's very easy.... I routed the wire from the front windshield to the trunk (I have flip down seats) in 15 mins, with no visible wires anywhere. The DR-650 comes with a 12.5' cord with a typical 12V plug adapter on one end and the camera connection on the other. Simply plug into the trunk 12V plug, mount the camera and you are done.

After I chose the location I tucked the wire in under the headliner and gave myself 4" of play. Started routing the wire to the trunk. very easy to stash the wire, pulling back the rubber at the headliner edgeand gently tucking the wire out of sight. The 3 pillars are also very easy to cross. I used a butter knife and spread the pillar trim just enough to stuff the wire in. Wire is low profile and it was a piece of cake. When I got to the C pillar I crossed that at the trim seam, flipped the seat down and routed into the trunk and down the side behind trunk trim. Good time to remove the fuse panel cover. This is on the passenger side just forward of the 12V aux power plug. As you're moving the wire down toward the fuse panel it gets tight. There is a trim fastener that secures the trim near the fuse panel. I popped that out and got the plug down to and coming out of the fuse panel. Then popped it back in. Basically at this point you should be holding the 12 V Blackvue plug coming out of the fuse panel with about 10" to spare, and no visible wires as everything is tucked in behind the trim.

For the quick install you could come out of the fuse panel (cut a small notch in the trim piece (toward rear of the car) for the wire with a razor blade and simply plug it in to the aux 12v power. Again you're done

Ok, if you're using the power magic pro the rest of the work is in the trunk and should take about 15 mins.

You simply plug the 12V aux plug from the camera into a female 12V receptacle from the power magic, plug the power magic pro wire harness into the little power magic box and you now have 3 connections to make to bring it all together. 12V constant, 12V ACC (only powers when car is on) and chassis ground

I'll cover the connections I used and will refer to the attached pic:

The 2 red wires you see are the fuse taps that came with the unit. Here's what they look like.

http://thedashcamstore.com/fuse-tap-...ro2-fuse-taps/

For the W212 specify ATO style fuse taps

Not sure if these taps are specific to the dash cam store, but they are VERY helpful. It came with 2 of the these and you connect one to the 12V constant wire from the power magic and the other one to the 12V ACC, also from the power magic. These use a crimp style connector. A pair of vice grips will work if you don't have an electrical crimping tool The wires from the power magic harness are clearly labeled.
Each wire tap has 2 slots for fuses and a blade connector to plug into the fuse panel.

For an existing fuse connection (cigar lighter in the case of my install) there is a spot for the existing fuse to go (the one you removed from the panel) and a spot for a fuse that came with the taps. I found constant 12V in a blank fuse spot and only needed to plug in the fuse that came with the taps. Directions with pictures came with the taps. Easier than I'm probably articulating here.


For the Ground:
I used a chassis ground. you can see in the pic all of the brown wires heading left. There is a 10mm nut there, very easy to get to. Loosened the nut and put the metal tab on the ground wire from the power magic under it and tightened.

For the 12V ACC:
I used the cigar lighter. location 71 (upper RH side in the pic). Not there is a small yellow cage that covers a portion of this fuse bank. It pops off and I pushed it left so it's out of the way

For the 12V constant:
I found constant power at location 38. Its the bottom one in the middle column

Tidy up the wires with a wire wrap or two and tuck the excess wire and the little power magic box (smaller than a cigarette pack) into the space next to the fuse panel....plenty of room! Put the fuse panel cover back on and there should be no visible wires anywhere!

Note: If you don't have flip down rear seats, I'd suggest starting in the trunk and routing the smaller camera connection end and route toward the front of the car. I'd imagine it will be easier to try and route that connecter into the cabin of the car vs the larger 12V connector. Once you get in the cabin bring all of the wire to the front windshield and start there


I'd suggest, with anything really, to read the manual.

If everything is connected properly the unit will work asap and starts recording automagically. The video is super clear on the DR-650 and you can use the live feed to adjust the camera angle. Even tho it has a lot of features it's very easy to use.

Note: There are 2 apps in the app store (for Android) choose the Blackvue C, the other one (blackvue) is older and did not work with the 650

If anyone has any questions, pls. feel free to PM me and I'll help if I can. Hopefully these directions help out even if you go with a different camera. These can also be used for a radar detector install.


Enjoy!