W169 A170 2008 Dash Cam Fit

[IanMBFORUM]

Hi Guys, having fitting a couple of dash cams with hard wire kits previously, I thought this would be a breeze. However it is prooving a bit of a knightmare.

Firstly, where do I pick up an aux live. You normally pick this up from the fuse box, but having had a look this looks like a nogo due to all the piggy backs going on top of the other fuse and adding height. This doesn't look like it would work on the small space Ive got.

Secondly, rear cam fitment. I've got the rear cam in, and the cable almost to it, but can't see how I'd get into the rubber tube and then pull the feed out into the back. Is there any easy option here for the cable to the rear window?

Merry xmas all and thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[GLK]

Hi Ian,

I'll get right to your questions:

1. Fuse tap should work fine - I have a couple:

2. You can either unclip one of the rubber conduits and run a wire through (the tailgate trim has to come off), or use a coiled USB lead - I had one for a year, before I got around taking the trim off and fitting cams and other gadgets ... Wasn't too bad at all: once closed it was almost invisible:

The "almost invisible" part turned out to be harder to illustrate, but this is as close I can find:

 

[IanMBFORUM]

Hi Ian,

I'll get right to your questions:

1. Fuse tap should work fine - I have a couple:

2. You can either unclip one of the rubber conduits and run a wire through (the tailgate trim has to come off), or use a coiled USB lead - I had one for a year, before I got around taking the trim off and fitting cams and other gadgets ... Wasn't too bad at all: once closed it was almost invisible:

The "almost invisible" part turned out to be harder to illustrate, but this is as close I can find:

That's absolutely awesome mate. Thanks for taking the time to post that it's exactly what I was looking for.

One small add on question. How did you route out of the battery box to the other side. Looks tight under the mats and solid across the bottom

 

[wongl]

Great job. I am thinking about installing a 'hidden' dash cam in my wife's W169 having fitted a similar 'hidden' dash cam in my W205. The cabling simply installs into the OBD port with a low-voltage (11.5v) cut-off to prevent draining the battery completely.

 

[GLK]

That's absolutely awesome mate. Thanks for taking the time to post that it's exactly what I was looking for.
One small add on question. How did you route out of the battery box to the other side. Looks tight under the mats and solid across the bottom

No worries - happy to help.
There's enough flexibility in the carpet on the left (middle) and the rear (right corner) to let the wires pass: I had this for four years and no problem so far.
I did use Tesa tape liberally and added some self-amalgamating silicone tape too for the latter.
Anything thicker, than a thinwall wire can go through the "official" exit hole on the left wall of the battery compartment, although that's a bit more complicated (or, rather labour intensive).