My W212 dashcam install details and dashcam overview - Blackvue DR-650 1-chan
02-29-2016, 12:04 PM
#1
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My W212 dashcam install details & overview of Blackvue DR-650 1-chan
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!
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!
Last edited by Airmousam; 03-01-2016 at 10:29 AM.
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and 2 others liked this post.
02-29-2016, 02:13 PM
#2
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Thank you for the write up! This gives me confidence to tackle this job later this summer!
qq: Instead of keys being off to set it to record, can you set the camera to activate when you lock the door and alarm comes on? My car sits garaged at home pretty much 90% of the time - so if its simply engine off, we'd get a lot of recording of car sitting in the dark in the garage.
qq: Instead of keys being off to set it to record, can you set the camera to activate when you lock the door and alarm comes on? My car sits garaged at home pretty much 90% of the time - so if its simply engine off, we'd get a lot of recording of car sitting in the dark in the garage.
02-29-2016, 03:06 PM
#3
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Thank you for the write up! This gives me confidence to tackle this job later this summer!
qq: Instead of keys being off to set it to record, can you set the camera to activate when you lock the door and alarm comes on? My car sits garaged at home pretty much 90% of the time - so if its simply engine off, we'd get a lot of recording of car sitting in the dark in the garage.
qq: Instead of keys being off to set it to record, can you set the camera to activate when you lock the door and alarm comes on? My car sits garaged at home pretty much 90% of the time - so if its simply engine off, we'd get a lot of recording of car sitting in the dark in the garage.
04-19-2016, 06:34 PM
#4
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
hey Mitch, hows it goin?
i know this thread is a bit old but i need your held mate. i recently had Thinkware F750 installed on my coupe and sedan (tech did it) and its all working fine except that the camera shuts down after a few hours.
i understand yours is a blackvue and mine is thinkware but i reckon their all similar. ive got my app set on 12v and 24 hour timer/shut off but i noticed that as soon as i leave the car, it would say park mode has started but when i come back after, say 2 hrs, the camera is dead.
now i dont know if its my battery goin downhill (but same for my coupe and sedan?) or did they connect the power source to something that shuts off after a few hours.
before i call the technician i want your opinion on this. where should the camera draw power from that would not shut off unless the battery draws lower than 12V? cheers mate!
EDIT: how many volts does it take to start our cars?
i know this thread is a bit old but i need your held mate. i recently had Thinkware F750 installed on my coupe and sedan (tech did it) and its all working fine except that the camera shuts down after a few hours.
i understand yours is a blackvue and mine is thinkware but i reckon their all similar. ive got my app set on 12v and 24 hour timer/shut off but i noticed that as soon as i leave the car, it would say park mode has started but when i come back after, say 2 hrs, the camera is dead.
now i dont know if its my battery goin downhill (but same for my coupe and sedan?) or did they connect the power source to something that shuts off after a few hours.
before i call the technician i want your opinion on this. where should the camera draw power from that would not shut off unless the battery draws lower than 12V? cheers mate!
EDIT: how many volts does it take to start our cars?
Last edited by beejAMG; 04-19-2016 at 07:23 PM.
04-25-2016, 02:36 PM
#5
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2010 E550 P2 w/AMG Sport Package + Pano, 2015 Nissan Pathfinder
Great write up. I went the lazy route and just got a $40 dash cam off of Amazon. The hanging wire (power cord) is annoying though so I wish I had one that similar to yours. So far it does the job and as you said you get what you paid for but I might revisit it and go a similar route to you in the near future.
04-25-2016, 04:21 PM
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
problem solved, set my app battery voltage to 11.8v and camera stays on for at least 12 hours on parked mode which is more than what i need when im at work.
05-02-2016, 08:52 AM
#7
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Hi Beej, sorry for the slow response, I've been on vacation... Glad you got it sorted it out and 11.8v should be fine!!
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05-02-2016, 08:53 AM
#8
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Great write up. I went the lazy route and just got a $40 dash cam off of Amazon. The hanging wire (power cord) is annoying though so I wish I had one that similar to yours. So far it does the job and as you said you get what you paid for but I might revisit it and go a similar route to you in the near future.
05-02-2016, 04:24 PM
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W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
anyways, just curious, would 11.6v be enough to start our cars or is it pushing it? reason is my wife drives 10-15 mins one way and i feel its not enough time to fully charge the battery so her camera doesnt last 8 hrs now.
i turned the motion detection off and just left the parking incident on coz i noticed the motion detection records everything even raindrops on the windscreen and i figured its just wasting too much power.
im just worried that if i lower it down to 11.6v that it might not be enough to start the car, what do you reckon?
05-02-2016, 07:15 PM
#10
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That seems low, my lowest setting is 11.8v. I feel like these burn very little power in park mode. I'd leave it at 11.8 and see how it goes for a bit. Yes vacay was great, thanks!!
Last edited by Airmousam; 05-03-2016 at 07:14 AM.
05-02-2016, 07:19 PM
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no worries, will leave it at 11.8v for now and see. until i get a hold of the battery tender (other thread) so i can charge the coupe. cheers mate!
05-02-2016, 08:51 PM
#12
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I've been using the original 400G-HD I purchased straight from Korea on ebay 4 years ago. Mine has had sporadic overheating issues and sometimes seems to revert to korean forcing me to reinstall the firmware, but overall I've been pretty happy with it. I feel like it might be on its last leg, so I'm interested to see how the product has matured over the last 4-5 years.
06-18-2017, 04:15 PM
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2008 GL550 Polar White, 2014 E550 4matic Designo Diamond White Metallic
Hello, do you have an update as to the performance of your DR650? I am about to install the DR650S-2CH in my 2014 e550 sedan and wanted to know your experience. Thanks!
06-19-2017, 05:03 AM
#14
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I used to be the biggest blackvu fan out there and owned 4 different models.
unfort the overheating has always been a problem with the brand.
unfort the overheating has always been a problem with the brand.
06-19-2017, 10:13 AM
#15
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At 16 months, so far so good. Very happy with it. My buddy just installed the 2 channel version in his CTS last month....loves it...good luck
06-19-2017, 12:57 PM
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2008 GL550 Polar White, 2014 E550 4matic Designo Diamond White Metallic
Egonvdv, by overheating do you mean overheating due to the camera itself, or heat due to high outside temps? I am in Dallas and it will routinely get above 100F in the summer and inside temps above 130F. Have you changed to a different camera system because of the overheating issue?
Airmousam, I'm glad to hear that.
Thanks for your replies!
Airmousam, I'm glad to hear that.
Thanks for your replies!
06-19-2017, 02:09 PM
#17
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https://dashboardcamerareviews.com/b...e-dr650gw-2ch/
I read all about the over heating issues that seemed to plague some of early blackvue versions. It's mentioned in the write up above. Reviews have been great on the 650
I read all about the over heating issues that seemed to plague some of early blackvue versions. It's mentioned in the write up above. Reviews have been great on the 650
06-20-2017, 04:33 AM
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E 300 AMG-Line diesel-Hybrid - 2021
Egonvdv, by overheating do you mean overheating due to the camera itself, or heat due to high outside temps? I am in Dallas and it will routinely get above 100F in the summer and inside temps above 130F. Have you changed to a different camera system because of the overheating issue?
Airmousam, I'm glad to hear that.
Thanks for your replies!
Airmousam, I'm glad to hear that.
Thanks for your replies!
BV still hasn't addressed this problem properly.
hence I switched to Thinkware (F750/F770)
06-22-2017, 07:15 PM
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2014 E350 4M Diamond Silver
BTW, I found this guy a year ago, when I had a Motorcycle.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYI...UyDPwMgUSspRYw
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYI...UyDPwMgUSspRYw
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