5min Garmin Mini Dash Cam Install

[CypressPhil]

Hey guys

Just thought I’d share my dash cam install as it’s something I spent a fair bit of time researching. The whole thing took me less than 5mins and didn’t require any tools or panel removal. It’s very neat and very discreet with the wires all hidden away. 

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So I went with the Garmin Mini 2 (£99) as I wanted something as small as possible without a screen. I’ve put my key fob next to it for reference. 

I also wanted it hard wired to avoid trailing wires. Having looked into the hardwire kit with a piggy back fuse, I decided against this as I’d read that the fuse box in the passenger footwell is pretty snug and you can’t get the cover back on. So I went with the Garmin OBD2 power option (£35). You can set this to power off after 10mins, 24hrs, or to remain permanently on. It has an auto shut off if your Battery goes below 12v, so theoretically it can’t drain your Battery to the point where the car will struggle to start. The camera will power back on if the vehicle is bumped or motion is detected. 

I’ve sited the camera directly in the middle so it sits nicely behind the rear view mirror. You wouldn’t know if was there. I thought I was going to have to wedge the cable between the windscreen glass and the headliner, but there’s actually a nice gap (almost like a little shelf) so the cable sits under the headliner and cannot fall down. 

I ran the cable to the A pillar and tucked it in between the trim and headliner with just my fingers. I had considered removing the A pillar trim (make sure you disconnect the negative lead from the 12v Battery if you do this. The airbag shouldn’t trigger when poking about in there, but best not to take any chances. You’d also need to make sure the cable was safely behind the airbag and not in front of it. You wouldn’t want that whipping you in the face!)

I decided the A pillar removal wasn’t necessary as the cable is very thin and there was ample room behind the weather shield. This is very soft, as is the matching shield on the door, so the cable doesn’t get squashed and the integrity of the weather shield isn’t compromised. At the top of the dash, I came back out from under the weather shield and in between the plastic trim where the dash meets the side of the car. This only requires very gentle pressure to slide the wire in there. 

On the far left with the red LED light is the OBD2 connector. I simply plugged the camera into the USB port, tied the excess wire up, then fed it up and under the bottom of the dash round to the carpet at the side, where there was plenty of room to drop it behind, so there’s no chance of it falling down and interfering with the peddles. 

Not the best pic due to the rain, but the body of the camera is hidden by the black ceramic dots on the windscreen. Only the tiny lens is poking down below, which is exactly what I wanted to achieve. You’d have to really be looking for the camera to see it. 

Finally, make sure you download the correct app. Don’t do what I did and download Garmin Dive rather than Garmin Drive 🙈😂 I went through all the registration, set up an account and then only noticed when it started asking about my scuba equipment 😂😂

Hope someone finds this useful. Be kind if not! I’m only a noob!

[LenT]

A neat installation Steve.  I’m a great advocate of dashcams, having had a few BlackVues myself.  And some excellent Garmin satnavs too.

So I’m sure we’ll all be interested to learn what you think of the video quality. And I’m sure you’re aware of the need to reformat your SD card every few weeks!

You haven’t mentioned it, but have you considered an additional camera for the rear window?  Occasionally I’ve been entertained by the sight of vehicles indulging in risky overtakes to get up to my rear bumper - only to suddenly drop back.  I suspect they got close enough to spot the camera in the rear window - but by then, it’s too late!

And of course they’re invaluable to prove that the driver who drove into your rear was on the phone at the time!

[royoftherovers]

9 minutes ago, LenT said:

A neat installation Steve.  I’m a great advocate of dashcams, having had a few BlackVues myself.  And some excellent Garmin satnavs too.

So I’m sure we’ll all be interested to learn what you think of the video quality. And I’m sure you’re aware of the need to reformat your SD card every few weeks!

You haven’t mentioned it, but have you considered an additional camera for the rear window?  Occasionally I’ve been entertained by the sight of vehicles indulging in risky overtakes to get up to my rear bumper - only to suddenly drop back.  I suspect they got close enough to spot the camera in the rear window - but by then, it’s too late!

And of course they’re invaluable to prove that the driver who drove into your rear was on the phone at the time!

" to prove that the driver who drove into your rear was, OR WAS NOT ??, on the phone at the time!"

[LenT]

23 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

" to prove that the driver who drove into your rear was, OR WAS NOT ??, on the phone at the time!"

Quite right, John.  As you rightly point out, dashcams can establish innocence as well as guilt.  Mind you, that doesn’t excuse being rear ended- if you’ll pardon the phrase.

[CypressPhil]

Thanks Len. I’ll post an update once I’ve got some footage in various conditions. At 1080p the Mini isn’t the best resolution, but lens quality is more important than pixel count, so I’ll report back once I know how it performs. 

I had considered a rear cam. The OBD power lead has 2 USB ports, so adding another Garmin Mini would be fairly easy (but would need the sill panels removing to run the cable from the back). I’ll hold fire on this for the moment while I determine if the image quality and performance is any good. 

[steve2006]

Thanks Steve that’s a very nice tutorial and will certainly help other members, that other website you mentioned is only for Scubaru Impreza models 😀

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, LenT said:

Quite right, John.  As you rightly point out, dashcams can establish innocence as well as guilt.  Mind you, that doesn’t excuse being rear ended- if you’ll pardon the phrase.

Phrase pardoned sir!

[Pink]

A very nice and neat job Steve. I’ve tried in the past to get my Nextbase cam snug up behind the mirror like that, but found the suction wasn’t as good on the black dots compared to clean glass. 

[LenT]

3 hours ago, Pink said:

I’ve tried in the past to get my Nextbase cam snug up behind the mirror like that, but found the suction wasn’t as good on the black dots compared to clean glass. 

Have you considered the use of 3M adhesive pads?  They’re the type that came with my Blackvue cameras for the screen area you describe and getting them to stick on has never been a problem. 

I don’t know your Nextbase camera and perhaps it doesn’t have a suitable flat surface to fix the pad to.  More importantly you may want to be able to easily detach the camera.  In which case, they’d just give you the opposite problem!

[CypressPhil]

 

8 hours ago, Pink said:

A very nice and neat job Steve. I’ve tried in the past to get my Nextbase cam snug up behind the mirror like that, but found the suction wasn’t as good on the black dots compared to clean glass. 

Thanks Pink. I’m using a 3M pad which seemed to stick pretty well. A suction cup mount would definitely struggle on those dots though, as it would be impossible to get a good seal.