How-To: Dash Cam Installation with Fuse Tap

Hi Guys,

For those of you that want to know how to install a fuse tap and wire your dash cam up neatly, I put this together. Hope it helps someone.

Items required:

10 mm socket
Crimper
12v socket
Ring Terminal
Spade Terminal
Disconnect Terminal
Butt Splice Connector
18 guage spool of black wire
1 Fuse Tap
Trim Remover Tools

Disclaimer:

Proceed at own risk. I am not responsible for your actions or for you following these steps should anything happen.

Installation:

1. Attach the positive (red) cable of your fuse tap, to the positive (red) cable of your 12v socket. My fuse tap came with a butt splice connector, so I simply crimped the red wire of the socket to it.
2. Attach a disconnect terminal to the ground wire (black wire) of the 12v socket. Crimp down the wire and terminal.

You should now have something that looks like this:

4. Open the door, use a trim remove tool to remove the left side panel. I started at the top and worked the tool down to the bottom. The panel swings opens towards the left with the hinge points being by the rubber weather strip.

5. You will notice that the chassis metal frame is now visible. There is also a screw that connect the dash into the metal chassis. This screw will act as our ground point. Take your ring terminal and crimp one of the black cable to the ring terminal.
6. Cable manage and run the wire with the ring terminal end through the fuse box panel out to the side exposed panel.
7. Remove the screw connecting the dashboard to the metal frame. Place the ring terminal on to the screw, and tighten the screw back on to the chassis.
8. Give yourself enough working wire and then cut the wire, strip the wire and attach a spade terminal to the wire.
9. Optional step (if you have a multimeter) Check for connectivity by testing the spade terminal end and the ring terminal end. Beeping galore should occur.

You should now have something that looks like this:

10. At this point we are ready to our ground wire connected to the metal chassis to the ground wire on our 12v socket. If you are using the terminals I used, simply slide the spade connector into the disconnect terminal.

You should have something that looks like this:

11. Its now time to connect fuse tap to the fuse. I decided to tap into fuse # 7 - Listed as front power outlet. If you already have a high amperage device plugged into this socket, try fuse #6 which is the back socket on the center console in the rear. I removed fuse #7 rated at 20A and attached two 20A fuses into my fuse tap. I then plugged my fuse tap into slot number 7. I double checked to ensure all wiring was sealed and there were no shorts. Finally I powered on the car, and placed a USB power accessory that had a built in light to see if my newly installed 12v socket would recieve power.

This is what it looked like:

12. Now that I had power, and the nothing shorted, there were no blow fuses and not the faintest of charcoal smells, it was time to cable manage my newly created socket. I was going to place the socket inside the fuse panel compartment, and have the usb accessory plugged in. This would then connect to a micro usb cable that I would wire up through the driver side panel, up the weather stripping on the a pillar, across over to the airbags and then up underneath the top headpiece till i reached the rear view mirror.

Cable Management:

Socket tucked away:

13. Time to wire up the micro usb cable and run to the fuse box. I started running the cable from the rear view mirror and then down to the fuse box, so I could neatly tuck away any extra USB cable.

14. Use the trim pry tool to sneak the cable under the headliner.

15. With the help of the trim pry tool route the cable carefully under the plastic airbag trim cover.

16. Finish routing the cable underneath the weather stripping down to the left dash compartment.

17. Finish routing cable to power accessory. Cable manage as necessary

18. Install dash cam. Turn on the vehicle and test power connectivity to dash cam. If successful, snap back the driver side dash panel, by hinging in first and then pressing shut. Close up the fuse box and you're complete.

I am sorry for the rotated images. Apparently the upload didn't like my portrait photos. If anyone knows how to fix this let me know.

I hope this helps.