I have looked at a lot of posts here on dash cam installs. I wanted mine to be switched (power on ONLY with the ignition on) and a clean install with no visible wires. Didn't take long at all. You'll need a dashcam install kit.. they're cheap on Amazon. Basically you need a long cord with positive and negative on one end, mini USB on the other (mine came with a mini to micro USB adapter, but I didn't need it with my particular camera.

1. Pull out the rubber liner in the frontmost compartment (forward of the cupholders, basically right under the radio). You'll see two T30 Torx screws, remove these. No need to remove them completely, just unscrew them and leave them in place.
2. Pull out the rubber liner at the bottom of the console box (this is the box under the two armrest flaps where you rest your elbow. Basically the giant box you store stuff in. Two more T30 screws, remove these.
3. The whole entire console is now loose. I didn't want to disconnect wiring or move it much so I would just leave it in place.
4. Go in the back seat, lift up the rear of the console, and reach underneath the 12V plug. Unplug it. You'll have a connector with a brown and a black wire. Black is positive switched power.
5. Now run the power wire. I installed my dash cam on the mirror cover (covers the base of the mirror). This is two pieces. Large one pulls straight down, then you can gently unclip the smaller one. I ran the wire into the large hole where the base of the mirror goes then reinstalled the large cover. Tucked the wire under the small cover and all was good. You probably don't even need to remove the small cover.
6. Use a flat wedge to tuck the wire under the headliner. You can pull off the door rubber and easily pass the wire along the top edge of the A pillar trim without removing it. Then down under the rubber channel and past the fuse box. Connect the black wire from your dash cam install kit to one of the torx screws in the fuse box. Fuse box cover just pulls off (open the glove box door to make it easier)
7. Continue running wire under glove box and then all the way along the console underneath the passenger side edge, till you get to the rear.
8. Connect the wire to the black wire and replug the connector back onto the lighter socket.
9. Give the console a shove towards the front to make sure it's completely seated. The screw holes in the large cubby should be all lined up.
10. Reinstall all screws and rubber plates.

It really only takes 5 mins to unscrew the console and 5 mins to put it back together. Running the dash cam wiring was about the longest part of the install!

If I were to do it again fast, I could probably put one in within 15 mins. I'd say take 30-45 mins and you'll be more than fine.

Dashcam starts up with ignition in position I (accessory) or II (engine running) and shuts off as soon as you turn the key off. Even though the radio stays on till you open the door, the dash cam shuts down. No chance of running down the battery (I didn't want parking mode but you can easily add a battery pack if you want this)

Much easier than all of the other info I could find. I wasn't able to find a switched fuse in the front panel, etc.

 

Too bad there were no photos of this, it would make a great tutorial with them.

 

Wish I took pics too.. but I was installing and didn't think of it till later.

It seriously would have taken me longer to take pics and describe them than to do the entire install. That's how quick it is.

The key to the whole thing is the easy removal of the center console. Once that's done you're more than half way there.. the rest is just connecting a wire and hiding it under the trim.

 

What cams did your get too??

I went with this one in our GL.
US $73.02 25％ Off | BigBigRoad For Mercedes Benz ML GL Series 2013 2014 2015 w166 250 Dual cameras Car DVR Video Recorder Wifi DVR dash cam
https://a.aliexpress.com/BCBZRiz2


Perfect fit and works well. Picked it so it looks totally OE. I had my Benz factory buddy wire it all in to the main fuse box using factory connections.

 

I did not know there was anything like that available. I had only been looking at glass mount ones.

 

I had OEM fitment cameras from 4x4 Shop Canada installed on both the ML and the C63. They look very similar to what black06c230 linked above and have similar functionality (https://4x4shop.ca/product/oem-fit-d...-gl-high-trim/). 100% OEM look, no wiring mess and the image quality is excellent.

 

Did anybody tried to connect the dashcam with a parking mode on?

Mine is connected to the cigarette lighter and it shoots down every time when I park and lock the car.

 

The cigarette lighter socket is only powered when the car is running, so yeah, that's expected. You need a voltage source that is fed directly by the battery in order to have it record with the car powered off.

 

I was thinking to connect it to the fuse box, however, I'm concerned about draining off the battery if the dashcam will run all night (even on motion detection).

So, did somebody tried to connect it to the fuse box and keeping the battery "happy"?

 

That's like saying "I want to drive my car but I am concerned about it using fuel". Is the camera going to deplete the battery? Eventually yes. How quickly it will deplete it depends on how much current your particular camera draws and the capacity of the battery. It probably won't happen in 30 minutes while you're parked in the supermarket lot, but it likely will happen if you leave the car parked outside for two days.

 

Wrong comparison, between driving a car and being concerned to burn fuel and leaving a dash car on during the night, because you can always track the full consumption and you can take proper measures to fill out the tank before running out of gas, which with a dashcam running all night in the winter you can have an unpleasant situation like not being able even to start the car.

 

Er - the comparison is indeed valid, although perhaps too literal for you. The fuel for the camera is the energy stored in the battery. You could very easily track or calculate the same (all you'd need is a DC ammeter or the camera current draw, and the battery capacity), and you can definitely take proper measures to recharge the battery before the juice runs out - either with an external charger or by driving the car. Just because there isn't a gauge on your dashboard that tells you how much battery juice you have left or that you can't refill the battery by putting more electrons into it from a pump doesn't make the comparison wrong. Google "dash cam current draw" for some enlightenment.