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I’ve been doing some research for my CGTS 4.0. The guys at this forum are only about dashcams. Lots of good info/advice, and one thing I’ve learned is not to get distracted with features on cameras that don’t take good recordings. Yes, that seems obvious, but lots of companies are successfully charging a premium for wifi, 4k, gps, etc., yet they fundamentally take inferior recordings compared to other, often less expensive units. Being able to read license plates day or night is the prime directive - everything else is just convenience confetti.
Does anyone know if a dashcam like this that would have at least 6 hrs parking footage before shutoff would operate correctly with an Antigravity 40amp battery pack?
I bought the Viofo A129 Pro Duo 4k, and the install was easy. I didn't make a video, but a pic of the fuse box, what I ordered, and some basic instructions are below.1. Add microSD card to front camera and attach
2. Attach rear camera to window and wire to front camera. I went under the weather strips and left the excess wire behind the passenger seat. I used the sticky prongs on both the back window and small side window
3. Use the cigarette adapter cable to check that everything works. Test drove the car and confirmed videos were good and in the right location
4. Attached the fuse adaptors to the hardwire kit. I used a wire stripper to crush the ends and added some electrical tape
5. Remove fuse cover. This pulls off easily. Partially remove the kick plate. If you are in the passenger seat, I pulled toward me to release the first tabs and then down a bit. I did not remove the side panels to fully remove this. Peal back the carpet/insulation to reveal the ground nut.
6. I used a 13 mm socket wrench to loosen the nut. Getting the ground on was probably the hardest part of the process for me. Once I had that on, I found the socket wrench didn’t work well for tightening so I pulled out a wrench.
7. Plug the battery cable for the hardwire into C5. Plug ACC switched power in D3. The fuse wires need to face up, and I routed the wires to the bottom and tucked in all the excess electronics on the side of the fuse box.
8. Turn on the car power and ensure everything turns on.
9. Put the insulation/carpet back. Re attach kick plate. Add fuse box cover back (I had no problem fitting it).
I did a direct wire to the passenger side fuse box. I'm not sure about all detectors, but if you use a Power Magic Pro you can set a limit on the time duration and the battery level before it will shut off. I use this on my BlackVue, although I do wish the time durations could be shorter and there were more battery levels. On my Thinkware in my other car you can set the limits in the detector settings itself. I've had no battery issues and I've done this for years in a series of Porsches. I'm sure it has some small long-term negative effect but I've never had an issue. I do use the Porsche Charge-O-Mat when I don't expect to drive for more than a few days, but that has nothing to do with the use of a camera.
I ran the wire for the rear camera above the door. The cable runs straight from the front camera to the rear camera so there's no advantage of taking a lower route that I can think of. Also, I mounted the rear camera on the plastic trim with the adhesive pad just below the rear window glass. It provides a nice high view above the wing. Surprisingly, the cable along the plastic trim there doesn't have a problem dropping down into view if you plug it in with the cable turned in a manner where it wants to lay flat.
And the rear view from the camera when mounted in that position.
I am planning to route the rear camera this way too instead of the complicated way to open up the hatch trim in order to fish the cable. May I ask where you hide the excessive cable for the rear camera?
BTW, I go for thinkware kits because it has an option to have a OBDII connector so it is easy PNP instead of hardwire it to the fuse box.
I am planning to route the rear camera this way too instead of the complicated way to open up the hatch trim in order to fish the cable. May I ask where you hide the excessive cable for the rear camera?
BTW, I go for thinkware kits because it has an option to have a OBDII connector so it is easy PNP instead of hardwire it to the fuse box.
I pushed the excess wire doubled into a U shape down into the rear corner - assuming it would slide down that angled pillar adjacent to the rear passenger side hatch. It took a few tries to get it in there without bunching up too much.
If you use an OBD-II hookup you'll probably be working on the driver side, so theoretically the excessive drops down in a U into the area behind where I marked here... but in any case its crammed into that area.
I pushed the excess wire doubled into a U shape down into the rear corner - assuming it would slide down that angled pillar adjacent to the rear passenger side hatch. It took a few tries to get it in there without bunching up too much.
If you use an OBD-II hookup you'll probably be working on the driver side, so theoretically the excessive drops down in a U into the area behind where I marked here.
Thanks, so no need to open up the trim on the C-pillar, right?
Thanks, so no need to open up the trim on the C-pillar, right?
Correct. Just make a U in the excess wire and work to push it down into that corner while making just a very small gap between the roof lining and the trim. (I improved the image markup above a little too BTW).
Correct. Just make a U in the excess wire and work to push it down into that corner while making just a very small gap between the roof lining and the trim. (I improved the image markup above a little too BTW).
Thanks a lot! I don't have the gut to open up the trim on a 100k+ car like I did on my Civic LOL
Hey Jonrviper
No video, but I have the VIOFO A129 Pro Duo 4K Dual Dash Cam and like it a lot. Matter of fact, it saved me $1300 within 6 weeks of installing it as I was parked in a garage and some idiot rear ended me. Sent the video to my insurance company and both insurance companies declared the other guy at fault (my video showed the GPS speed at 0 so hard to argue with that) and I got my car fixed. I installed it to the right of my mirror and then tucked the cables into the edge of the windshield frame. Pulled the A Frame cover, ran the wires down there, then ran the power cable to the 12V outlet in the passenger footwell and the wire for the rear dashcam under the illuminated door sill, the up the door frame, and finally to the back headrest of the passenger seat. I ziptied it in place so it's solid (though upside down to make it aim the right way, but the dashcam's software lets you autocorrect for that), without having to use the camera adhesive and make it semi-permanent. If you didn't know, you'd never see it. And the dashcam slips right off the GPS mount if you want to take it with you or hide it when you park (though you can hardwire it for "parking mode", I don't). Hope this helps.
I just bought this same camera and have successfully mounted the front cam on my Spyder, but for the life of me cannot figure out how to place the rear as there’s obviously no rear windshield. Confused66, your solution seems intriguing with the zip tie..is there any picture/photo you can post of how you did this? Thanks 🙏
Happy to do so. With the Boxster, I had no window I could attach to so I came up with an alternate solution. Since it has the self-stick tape and I didn't want something that would leave residue, I installed the camera upside down (had to as it wouldn't rotate enough with the tape section bracket to keep it right-side up) and then used the Viofo software to permanently flip the display. One big zip tie, and it's now firmly in place and doing it's job, even with the top up. It's easy to see the camera in the photos with the flash, but very low key when driving with the top down as it sits back in the shade so not really noticeable. Lemme know if you have any additional questions.
Last edited by confused66; 06-05-2022 at 07:10 AM.
Reason: add photo
Happy to do so. With the Boxster, I had no window I could attach to so I came up with an alternate solution. Since it has the self-stick tape and I didn't want something that would leave residue, I installed the camera upside down (had to as it wouldn't rotate enough with the tape section bracket to keep it right-side up) and then used the Viofo software to permanently flip the display. One big zip tie, and it's now firmly in place and doing it's job, even with the top up. It's easy to see the camera in the photos with the flash, but very low key when driving with the top down as it sits back in the shade so not really noticeable. Lemme know if you have any additional questions.
Thank you! Clever solution. Yes I was not aware you could flip the image, that should help. I will try to perform this on my vehicle.
04-15-2022, 10:46 PM
