DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired

hondo

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I've been thinking about installing a dashcam for a while, and finally got approval from the wife. I wanted something small and discreet. The most discreet design seemed to be the wedge shaped ones. I also wanted good night time video quality. This pretty much narrowed it down to the Street Guardian SG9665GC. This also has GPS, which wasn't a requirement but is a nice bonus. I ordered it from Amazon along with the CELL POWER CPUSB01 so I could hard wire it instead of using up the 12v plug. I also ordered an add-a-circuit kit, but it was the wrong size. I didn't realize fuses are now smaller. I bought one for regular fuses, but the Civic uses low-profile mini fuses. This is the kind you should get:

https://www.amazon.com/Shipping-CIRCUIT-BLADE-PROFILE-FUSETAP/dp/B00K17A2E6/

I also ordered some spade terminals so I could ground it to a bolt more easily.

First step is to clean the windshield and then stick on the mounting bracket. I plugged the dashcam into the 12v adapter so I could see the video as I mounted it. I mounted it just low enough for the lens to clear the black dots.

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_195605
Then I attached the mount for the cable hider.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_200420
I then started with the wire for the gps receiver. I don't have pictures, but I just tucked into the headliner with the included pry tool and down the driver side pillar. I attached the GPS receiver to the lower left:
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_193406
For the power cable I also tucked that into the headliner and then down the driver's side pillar, but this time I pulled the rubber door seal out and tucked it behind there. Once I got down to the dash, I pulled out the lower area so that I could get to a bolt easier for grounding.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_201612
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_201639
After prying it off I had to unplug the wires going to the switches. You will see a bolt above the wiring that you can loosen to insert the spade terminal. The spade terminal gets crimped to the black wire from the 12v-5v kit. I tried to take a picture of the area from below
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_201913
Here is where I grounded it
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_002905
You will want to identify a fuse to tap. I used the AC fuse. Here is a picture of the fuse diagram.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_202127
Here is a closer view of the fuses
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_202850
As you can see, the fuse tap I ordered was too big. So I drove to Autozone and picked up the right one. I used the fuse puller from the fusebox under the hood to remove the AC fuse. Then I crimped the fuse tap to the red wire from the kit, put the 10 amp fuse I pulled from AC slot into the slot that will be closer to the fusebox and 7.5 amp fuse into the outside one. A 5 amp fuse might have been preferable, but this should be ok.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_210133
Then I tucked the rest of the wire and the kit to the left where there was plenty of space.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_003323
I then pushed the dashcam into the mount, attached the wires, and clipped the wire cover on. Here's how it looks.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_193453
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_193501
As you can see, it's quite small and discreet. Here's how it looks from the outside
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160616_211258
and in the day light it's almost impossible to see.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY: Installing SG9665GC dashcam, hardwired IMG_20160617_190346

Finally, here is the video of the drive back from autozone. It picked up the GPS signal right away and showed the speed. The audio got cut off by youtube because I had music playing in the background.



Here is a daylight video under various lighting conditions



Bonus: Accident on Rt. 4 just after 4:00 min
 
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lmoore1436

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Awesome write-up. The video is crystal clear too, I've been considering one of these but haven't looked into it that much. You're definitely making me want to get one now!
 
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hondo

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Awesome write-up. The video is crystal clear too, I've been considering one of these but haven't looked into it that much. You're definitely making me want to get one now!
Thanks! I can't wait to check out day time footage. The install is easier than I thought it would be.
 
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hondo

hondo

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Awesome write up @hondo. I've been wanting to hardwire mine, and glad someone did a write up about it. I might switch up my dash cam also because while the footage is great, it looks so big and visible from the outside.
Thanks. I really like having it hardwired. It leaves the 12v free and gives it a pro feel. My wife was worried someone would try to steal it so she wanted something low profile. This is about as low profile as you can get. I'll try and post daylight footage tonight.
 


timothyjay

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Does it by any chance power up and record automatically during movement?

Thanks. I really like having it hardwired. It leaves the 12v free and gives it a pro feel. My wife was worried someone would try to steal it so she wanted something low profile. This is about as low profile as you can get. I'll try and post daylight footage tonight.
 
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hondo

hondo

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Does it by any chance power up and record automatically during movement?
Yes, as soon as I start the car it boots up and starts recording after the 5 second boot delay (adjustable). The car doesn't have to be moving. It does have a g-sensor to protect the video from the deletion if it detects a shock. It doesn't start up in acc mode, only when the engine starts. If you want it to start in acc mode you will have to chose a different fuse to tap. It also records speed but doesn't encode in the video by default yet. You have to use the beta firmware for that feature.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sg9665gc-firmware-updates-and-pre-release-access.16310/
 

fijizzle

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Yes, as soon as I start the car it boots up and starts recording after the 5 second boot delay (adjustable). The car doesn't have to be moving. It does have a g-sensor to protect the video from the deletion if it detects a shock. It doesn't start up in acc mode, only when the engine starts. If you want it to start in acc mode you will have to chose a different fuse to tap. It also records speed but doesn't encode in the video by default yet. You have to use the beta firmware for that feature.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sg9665gc-firmware-updates-and-pre-release-access.16310/
I think @timothyjay meant, while the car is parked, let's say overnight, will the camera automatically turn on if it detects movement right before it?
 

timothyjay

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Right, it'd be nice if it can power it up with just movement. My camera has that feature but it need to be hard wired properly so it has constant power.

It would come in handy since I read a member caught a truck back into him while he was parked thru his dash cam.

Yes, as soon as I start the car it boots up and starts recording after the 5 second boot delay (adjustable). The car doesn't have to be moving. It does have a g-sensor to protect the video from the deletion if it detects a shock. It doesn't start up in acc mode, only when the engine starts. If you want it to start in acc mode you will have to chose a different fuse to tap. It also records speed but doesn't encode in the video by default yet. You have to use the beta firmware for that feature.

https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/sg9665gc-firmware-updates-and-pre-release-access.16310/
I think @timothyjay meant, while the car is parked, let's say overnight, will the camera automatically turn on if it detects movement right before it?
 

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FWIW, you can purchase the Blackvue PowerMagicPro and run any 12v accessory/dashcam from it, it would do the same thing regardless of manufacturer of dashcam.

The only difference is that the camera may not have a separate "parking" mode, so it'll record (and save) continually overnight. The Blackvues have a parking mode where the camera will not save any video where no movement/impact is detected.
 
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hondo

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I think @timothyjay meant, while the car is parked, let's say overnight, will the camera automatically turn on if it detects movement right before it?
Ah. Technically if you wired into an always on fuse you could do that but this model isn't designed for it so it will not have the right settings to use properly that way.
 

the1dynasty

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Looks nice... I have a Sony ActionCam with a dash mount that I use for this... I don't use it much anymore since my commute to work is only 10mins now... But it was good to have for my previous job that was about 40mins one way...

I'd say the advantage I have with my setup is i can spin the camera around on the mount if I ever get pulled over to record the entire interaction and since its wide angle, i can see the entire windshield or interior (when turned around)...

Lots of downsides to my setup though... I have to plug it in when the battery dies, i have to manually start/stop recording, easy to steal if I left it mounted while parked, etc...

Nice setup!! I'd consider one if my commute was longer!
 

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Having it record your speed could be a double-edged sword!

It would save you if you get ticketed for speeding, but that says you were not.

It could also get you in trouble if you were speeding and were involved in an accident that wasn't your fault, and you wanted to use it as evidence!

You want to make a list of pros/cons and determine if you want to keep it recorded!
 
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hondo

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I'd say the advantage I have with my setup is i can spin the camera around on the mount if I ever get pulled over to record the entire interaction and since its wide angle, i can see the entire windshield or interior (when turned around)...
I did think about one that can swivel. Of course then it wouldn't be as stealthy. While I can't get side video with this setup, I can still record the audio.
 
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hondo

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Having it record your speed could be a double-edged sword!
Indeed. I am considering not having it embed the speed in the video, instead just logging it. Then I can choose whether or not to export the GPS data along with the video. Of course if I need to provide evidence of speed on the spot I wouldn't be able to.
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