Quote:
Originally Posted by codynw
I'll probably go all out and get a hardwire kit as well.
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For those that are considering doing so, its well worth it. Trust me, even if you're not someone who knows a lot about cars, its easy.
When it comes to DIY jobs on cars, I am a newbie. From start to finish, I think it took me about an hour. And that was only because I was going really slow, and most of that time was tucking the wire into the trim, which is the hardest part.
The fusebox for my car is just inside the driver's door, underneath the instrument panel. I tucked the wire into the headliner, down the A-pillar, and into the fusebox.
Just a thing to be aware of on the A-pillar: Be careful when removing that trim, on my car there is a clip in there that breaks if you pull the panel off completely, and you need a new clip to put it back. Plus most newer cars, mine included, have an airbag in there too.
Once the wire is in the fusebox area, you're golden. I picked up one of
these Add a Fuse circuits from Auto Value for like, 5 or 10 bucks.
The black wire from the camera's hardwire kit has to go to a ground point, basically anything that is touching bare metal on your car. I just slightly unscrewed one of the bolts that was going into the bare metal, threaded the wire around it, and screwed it back in.
Then, simply thread the red wire from the camera's hardwire kit into the connector on the end of the red wire on the add-a-fuse, crimp it down with a set of pliers, then plug the add-a-fuse into whichever fuse slot you want to use. I used the accessory fuse, but you can use one of the constant power ones too. Then I put the original accessory fuse into one of the slots, and a new fuse into the other. (I just used a new fuse of the same rating)
Turn the key to test, make sure the camera comes alive, put all the trim together, and you're done!
Car guys, go ahead and laugh, but this was my first DIY job on a car. It was easy, and I got that sense of accomplishment at the end. If I can do it, anyone can, trust me!
