Disclaimer: This thread isn't to promote any particular brand or to even show the dash cam install since they all install the same way. There are lots of You Tube videos to show you more detail. My main goal is to just show where to tap into the fuse panel. Usual disclaimers and caveats apply. This is just a guide, you are on your own and I accept no responsibility for your results, good or bad.
I drive a lot and have had many close calls on the road. Too many times after one of these events I'm raging at some idiot and wishing I had a Dash Cam. Well, Dash Cams are reasonably priced so I bought one. I purchased a BlackVue DR650S-2CH through Massdrop. This is a front/rear two camera unit that has a parking-mode feature and remote access through a WIFI hotspot. One does not need to go this fancy.
I also bought the Power Magic Pro combination timer-voltage cut-off switch. If someone shakes the car, or bumps it while it's parked, the camera will kick on and record the event. The way I set it up the low voltage cut-off is at 12.0V or 24 hours, which ever comes first. The Power Magic Pro box will work with any brand of dash cam that has a parking mode.
I really like the idea of having the Power Magic Pro (PMP) to have the camera available while the car is parked. There is also a small remote battery option but (to me anyway) the timer/cut-off switch is much easier to install. I decided to mount the PMP in the small storage/coin tray/bin that's between the fuse box and the steering column.
The first post in this thread shows how to remove the storage bin. I recommend you remove the bin in warm weather as to not risk cracking the plastic.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=383356
After I removed the bin and figured out where and how I was going to mount the switch in it, I marked where I was going to drill the screw holes and an access hole for the wiring. Red arrows show where I am going to drill the holes.
Next I wrapped the wiring in black electrical tape to prevent any chafing or breaking the wires. The pic doesn't show it because this was a test fit, but I wrapped the whole wiring loom in electrical tape.
Timer/switch box screwed in place. If one needs to remove the box, the screws have to be removed first to make room to unplug the box. It's a tight fit behind the box. This pic shows where to cut the hole for the rectangular plug that plugs into the box. There is a plastic frame for the dash behind the storage bin so the access hole for the wiring loom has to go up high on the back side of the bin. I used a Dremel Tool to cut the hole for the wire loom and plug.
The switch/timer box needs two feeds; one constant battery feed to monitor the battery voltage when you want to use parking mode, and a switched feed when you turn the box off. There are minor differences in how the NMS Passats are wired from year-to-year and what accessories and trim level the cars have. Check the fuse you plan to use with a Multi-meter if it is switched or unswitched. On my car (2014 SE model) top power rail is switched, marked in red in the pic. The 'ACC' switched red wire is spliced here. The constant battery feed is marked in yellow in the next row if fuses. The yellow 'BATT' unswitched wire is spliced here.
I used fuse taps to tap into the fuse box as they're safe, easy to use, cheap (~$3 or less), and available at just about any parts store. The switch/timer box also uses a ground wire. Note I added a separate ground screw so I didn't have to bother trying to fit the small grounding lug behind the large fuse box mounting screw. I stuffed a paper towel around the fuse box to prevent any metal shavings from falling into the wrong places when I drilled the pilot hole. I used a small self-tapping screw to fasten the ground lug. I picked the 5amp fuses because the current draw for the cameras is very small. With fuse taps you can use any circuit because the bottom fuse is the car fuse and the top fuse is the added accessory fuse and can be whatever you need. Just make sure the accessory fuse amp rating is equal or less than the car fuse. You can risk a fire if you use a 20amp fuse for the accessory circuit and the car fuse is a 5amp. The wire feeding that circuit will be sized for a 5amp circuit.
Now to locate the cameras. This is critical as it's not easy to remove the glue and start over again. Rear camera is mounted high center and cannot be seen when looking out the rear-view mirror.
For the front, this location works best for me but I should have moved the camera 1/2" further to the left. Some of the 'dots' are visible when the camera is recording but they are on the far upper right side of the field of view and do not impair the view of the road.
Next I ran/tucked the wire under the head liner, behind the rubber door seals, and under whatever interior trim I had to go around. YouTube videos are best for showing this step. Use a small plastic putty knife or a plastic trim tool to tuck the wire under the interior trim and door seals.
For the front camera I started at the front and coiled up the extra cable in the fuse box area. You can see the taped-up wire loom at the top from the switch/timer box and the neatly coiled power cable from the camera on the bottom. Everything is all wrapped up nice and tied off. There is a lot of room there so this was easy to do.
The rear camera plugs into the front camera. As there is way too much cable, I started at the front camera and worked my way back. Where there was ample room (C-pillar along the rear windshield and rear edge of the headliner) I doubled up the cable to hide it.
It took me over an hour but that time included lots of thinking/planning time on how to do the install neatly the first time. I did the install so there is nothing but the adhesive pads on the glass permanently installed. I can remove the cameras, pull out all the cable and wire, and put the fuse panel back to stock in less than 5 minutes.
I'm still learning all the menu functions and settings. This unit has the choice of playing front camera, rear camera, or both at the same time.
I drive a lot and have had many close calls on the road. Too many times after one of these events I'm raging at some idiot and wishing I had a Dash Cam. Well, Dash Cams are reasonably priced so I bought one. I purchased a BlackVue DR650S-2CH through Massdrop. This is a front/rear two camera unit that has a parking-mode feature and remote access through a WIFI hotspot. One does not need to go this fancy.
I also bought the Power Magic Pro combination timer-voltage cut-off switch. If someone shakes the car, or bumps it while it's parked, the camera will kick on and record the event. The way I set it up the low voltage cut-off is at 12.0V or 24 hours, which ever comes first. The Power Magic Pro box will work with any brand of dash cam that has a parking mode.
I really like the idea of having the Power Magic Pro (PMP) to have the camera available while the car is parked. There is also a small remote battery option but (to me anyway) the timer/cut-off switch is much easier to install. I decided to mount the PMP in the small storage/coin tray/bin that's between the fuse box and the steering column.
The first post in this thread shows how to remove the storage bin. I recommend you remove the bin in warm weather as to not risk cracking the plastic.
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=383356
After I removed the bin and figured out where and how I was going to mount the switch in it, I marked where I was going to drill the screw holes and an access hole for the wiring. Red arrows show where I am going to drill the holes.
Next I wrapped the wiring in black electrical tape to prevent any chafing or breaking the wires. The pic doesn't show it because this was a test fit, but I wrapped the whole wiring loom in electrical tape.
Timer/switch box screwed in place. If one needs to remove the box, the screws have to be removed first to make room to unplug the box. It's a tight fit behind the box. This pic shows where to cut the hole for the rectangular plug that plugs into the box. There is a plastic frame for the dash behind the storage bin so the access hole for the wiring loom has to go up high on the back side of the bin. I used a Dremel Tool to cut the hole for the wire loom and plug.
The switch/timer box needs two feeds; one constant battery feed to monitor the battery voltage when you want to use parking mode, and a switched feed when you turn the box off. There are minor differences in how the NMS Passats are wired from year-to-year and what accessories and trim level the cars have. Check the fuse you plan to use with a Multi-meter if it is switched or unswitched. On my car (2014 SE model) top power rail is switched, marked in red in the pic. The 'ACC' switched red wire is spliced here. The constant battery feed is marked in yellow in the next row if fuses. The yellow 'BATT' unswitched wire is spliced here.
I used fuse taps to tap into the fuse box as they're safe, easy to use, cheap (~$3 or less), and available at just about any parts store. The switch/timer box also uses a ground wire. Note I added a separate ground screw so I didn't have to bother trying to fit the small grounding lug behind the large fuse box mounting screw. I stuffed a paper towel around the fuse box to prevent any metal shavings from falling into the wrong places when I drilled the pilot hole. I used a small self-tapping screw to fasten the ground lug. I picked the 5amp fuses because the current draw for the cameras is very small. With fuse taps you can use any circuit because the bottom fuse is the car fuse and the top fuse is the added accessory fuse and can be whatever you need. Just make sure the accessory fuse amp rating is equal or less than the car fuse. You can risk a fire if you use a 20amp fuse for the accessory circuit and the car fuse is a 5amp. The wire feeding that circuit will be sized for a 5amp circuit.
Now to locate the cameras. This is critical as it's not easy to remove the glue and start over again. Rear camera is mounted high center and cannot be seen when looking out the rear-view mirror.
For the front, this location works best for me but I should have moved the camera 1/2" further to the left. Some of the 'dots' are visible when the camera is recording but they are on the far upper right side of the field of view and do not impair the view of the road.
Next I ran/tucked the wire under the head liner, behind the rubber door seals, and under whatever interior trim I had to go around. YouTube videos are best for showing this step. Use a small plastic putty knife or a plastic trim tool to tuck the wire under the interior trim and door seals.
For the front camera I started at the front and coiled up the extra cable in the fuse box area. You can see the taped-up wire loom at the top from the switch/timer box and the neatly coiled power cable from the camera on the bottom. Everything is all wrapped up nice and tied off. There is a lot of room there so this was easy to do.
The rear camera plugs into the front camera. As there is way too much cable, I started at the front camera and worked my way back. Where there was ample room (C-pillar along the rear windshield and rear edge of the headliner) I doubled up the cable to hide it.
It took me over an hour but that time included lots of thinking/planning time on how to do the install neatly the first time. I did the install so there is nothing but the adhesive pads on the glass permanently installed. I can remove the cameras, pull out all the cable and wire, and put the fuse panel back to stock in less than 5 minutes.
I'm still learning all the menu functions and settings. This unit has the choice of playing front camera, rear camera, or both at the same time.
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