Front Dash Cam Install, anyone simply tap to the mirror?

[kchan]

Have been looking through the threads, I know lots of you route the wires to the back and tied it to the fuse box in the trunk.

Want to see if anyone have done a very simple one and hook up to the mirror for power. I understand the parking mode won't work, but would it cost any issue to power drain? I mostly park at work or home inside garage, so parking mode is good to have but not really necessary. I am most concern about during driving/accident kind of situation. If there's concern for power drain I can even manually power off the dash cam after driving.

Just want a quick solution that I can easily DIY in like 30 mins without too much wire routing to the back... My coworker just got hit in a parking lot and so glad he has a dash cam.

Also, if you have any recommendation for an inexpensive one, around $100. Lots of people mentioned Blackvue, but those seems expensive, and for some reason amazon reviews aren't particularly good. There are so many 4-5 stars one on Amazon and want to see if any of you have good experience to use in our F80.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by kchan

Have been looking through the threads, I know lots of you route the wires to the back and tied it to the fuse box in the trunk.

Want to see if anyone have done a very simple one and hook up to the mirror for power. I understand the parking mode won't work, but would it cost any issue to power drain? I mostly park at work or home inside garage, so parking mode is good to have but not really necessary. I am most concern about during driving/accident kind of situation. If there's concern for power drain I can even manually power off the dash cam after driving.

Just want a quick solution that I can easily DIY in like 30 mins without too much wire routing to the back... My coworker just got hit in a parking lot and so glad he has a dash cam.

Also, if you have any recommendation for an inexpensive one, around $100. Lots of people mentioned Blackvue, but those seems expensive, and for some reason amazon reviews aren't particularly good. There are so many 4-5 stars one on Amazon and want to see if any of you have good experience to use in our F80.

Its fine, but mirror is switched power. Not certain if you want to continue recording while away from vehicle, typically you want an auxillary power source like the Celllink to provide backup power and prevent draining the battery.

You get what you pay for. We've installed both the BMW Advanced Eye cameras and Blackvues, they work great.

[kchan]

Will having a load on the switch power of the mirror cause the car's battery to not completely shutdown?

I am ok not to record while the car is being parked. Understand get what you paid for... I have one more year to the lease and not sure if want to invest on a more permanent solution. Yet still like some protection for accidents and stuff.

[tom @ eas]

Originally Posted by kchan

Will having a load on the switch power of the mirror cause the car's battery to not completely shutdown?

I am ok not to record while the car is being parked. Understand get what you paid for... I have one more year to the lease and not sure if want to invest on a more permanent solution. Yet still like some protection for accidents and stuff.

No, since mirror is switched power. As for load, you're fine for a single cam.

[kchan]

any quick DIY video on tapping to the mirror?

[damageprone]

Originally Posted by kchan

any quick DIY video on tapping to the mirror?

1) Extend index finger toward mirror.
2) Move arm in a back and forth motion until index finger contacts mirror.
3) Repeat step 2 until the desired number of taps is achieved.

[Carb0n M]

Originally Posted by damageprone

1) Extend index finger toward mirror.
2) Move arm in a back and forth motion until index finger contacts mirror.
3) Repeat step 2 until the desired number of taps is achieved.

[kchan]

A video will be helpful =)

Ok I will try to do a youtube search...

Has anyone done this before (install dash cam and use the power from the mirror)? I have seen many elaborate camera setup by wiring to the truck, but haven't come across one with a simple install.

Besides the obvious (that it won't monitor a parked car), is there any other negatives? Just want to make sure I am not missing something...

Thanks all

[tom @ eas]

I'm sure you can follow the same DIY as the V1 install: https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1026319