DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring

MadMage

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First I want to thank @Zer0 for his excellent write-up Front/Rear Dashcam & Hardwire Install on '17 Hatchback. And though very similar to what I did, there were a few notable exceptions/changes so I felt there would be enough value to add by documenting what I did.

The big differences for my install was that the 2020 Civic Type R has Honda Sensing, I installed a Blackvue (DR590W-2CH) system with the Power Magic Pro kit for hard-wiring and voltage sensing, and I mounted the rear camera low so it would be out of sight.

[Updates from post #24 now included here]

Overview
I mounted the front camera behind the rear view mirror and just below Honda Sensing. The Power Magic Pro I wanted out of sight, but easily accessible so I put it in the glove box (because I normally don't want parking mode on at home, but the ability to turn it on when parked in public or at the airport etc). And I mounted the rear camera on the low trim just to the side of the rear wiper (I did not want to stick it to the window tint, and I wanted it so it would not be seen in the rear view mirror). [ I have since moved the rear cam to top center of the glass. It can barely be seen in the rear view and gives a good view behind.] I wanted the install to be as professional as impossible so all the wires were hidden, spliced, and fuse taps were used.

(Note, if you have an auto-dimming mirror, see Post #8.)

All that resulted in running both the power and rear cam wire to the passenger-side A-pillar (Note, it would have been easier to run the rear camera wire along the driver side.) [In hindsight, I would run the rear camera down the driver side, and if you have a newer model that does not require the Parking Mgic box, then you can run power on the driver side as well. ] From there the power went down to the glove box and then along the firewall to the fuse panel. And the rear cam wire ran along the passenger side until crossing over the back, through the hatch wire conduit and down to the camera (with about an inch to spare!)
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring FrontCam_installed
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring RearCam_installed
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring MagicPro_installed


Parts & Tools
Dashcam (Blackvue DR590W-2CH) (Amazon)
Parking Mode Kit (Power Magic Pro Kit)
18 awg Solid Wire, Colored (6 color, 20ft each Wire Hookup Kit)
Wire Terminal & Crimping Tool (Amazon)
Low Profile Mini Fuse Taps (Amazon)
Trim Tool Set (Amazon)
8mm socket driver
Fishing tool / fishing wire
Multimeter (optional, unless you are not using fuse taps)

Note, you can get away with less wire, different connectors, no fuse taps, and no trim tool set; but if you are like me and are going to be doing other things, you might as well do them 'right'.

Details
You can do this in various order(s), and maybe running the rear cam wire from the back first might be the smartest, because of near perfect length, but I'll detail this in the order I did it.

Remove & Alter the Honda Sensing Cover
In order to minimize the exposed wires, I removed the Honda Sensing cover from the rear view mirror and using a Dremel ground out a small recess for the wires to pass through. Use a trim tool to pop off the cover, which has two parts. The smaller part pops off first, then the larger main cover comes off. Once off, use a Dremel (rotary tool) and a sanding drum to grind out a small recess for the two wires to pass through (note the location is going to depend on where the wires for your cam should be routed, this is where made sense for mine).
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring HSCover-inside
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring HSCover-outside


Mount the Front Camera, Start Routing the Wires
I temporarily replaced the Honda Sensing Cover and then placed the front camera. I wanted the lens to be on the vehicle center-line, so with help I put some painter's tape down the center-line of my windshield, and then placed the camera so the lens was centered. Then began routing the wires through the HS cavity and into the headliner and to the passenger-side A-pillar. There's lots of room in the Honda Sensing cavity, so I even did a small little 'service loop' so the wires would not pull. Also note that I routed the wires into the headliner through an already available wire access. (Only one of two wires shown in this photo.)
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring HSBare


Routing through the A-Pillar
Removing the A-pillar cover is simple, pop the 'SRS' label cover and use a 8mm socket to remove the screw, then just pop off the cover starting at the top (and then sliding out from behind the dash panel at the bottom). When you route in this area, DO NOT run any wire over the airbag or you will hinder it's deployment. Here you can see I ran the rear wire around the bottom of the airbag. You could probably go over the top, but at this point I thought I would have more than an extra inch of rear camera wire! Also, make sure you keep the wires out of the way of the pop rivets and bolt.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring APillar_wires


Routing to the Glove Box and Fuse Panel (and disabling Active Sound Control)
Remove the glove box. This is simple, once it's open you just pop/pull it out of it's snap-in hinges. Remove the knee panel and the side panel that goes with it (there are a handful of Phillips head screws you need to remove). I didn't get good pictures of this, but this video shows it well enough; How to Disable FAKE SOUND...

While I was there, I disabled Active Sound Control, which is this box right here [just unplug it];
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring ActiveSoundModule


At this point I cut off the cigarette lighter end of the power cord, so I could route it down the rest of the A-pillar and towards the glove box. I don't remember where or when I got this flexible grabber tool, but it's great for fishing wires through, you see it in several pictures. By running it down the A-Pillar gap you are able to get the power down and into the recess behind the glove box. At this point I could splice the power wire from the camera into the Magic Pro. It's a little annoying since the camera power cord only has one of the internal wires with an insulator, the other is just insulated by the wrapper. So I didn't feel comfortable doing a butt splice and instead used a butt splice connector (as I was not comfortable with using wire nuts) but with both wires coming out the same side as shown below.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring Power-Cam_splice
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring Power-Cam_splice


The power side leads from the Magic Pro are not long enough to reach the fuse panel, so this is where I used my fisher/grabber tool and found a spot behind the console along the firewall, starting from the driver side and then having it come through on the passenger side. I then taped the extra wire to it and pulled it through behind the console and to the fuse panel. (Images: Fishing From Driver Side, Fish coming through on the Passenger Side, taping wire to fish to pull through, Splicing into Magic Pro)
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring FirewallFishing-Driverside
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring FirewallFishing-passenger

Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring FirewallFishing-passengerWires
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring Power-Voltage_splice


Routing it over the pedals and behind as much stuff as I could until I got to the fuse panel. At that point I used to two fuse taps for the battery and accessory wires and a ring connector for the ground wire. The Battery (yellow) wire I connected plugged into fuse #16 and the Accessory (red) tap into fuse #1. The ground I connected to the lower fuse panel mounting bolt (which I tested as a ground).

Note; if you do not use fuse taps (instead just use jumpers or simple wire wrap your existing fuses) then you need to know which side of the fuse socket is hot and which is not. Fuse taps you don't. Not true, you do since you want the fuses to be in parallel and not series.

Then all I did was tie-wrap access wire, tuck it behind the glove box and put this part of the car back together. I mounted the Magic Pro with the provided double-sided tape and used one of the provided wire ties to straighten up the wires at the back of the glove box.

Mounting the Rear Camera and Routing the Wire
Because you won't have a lot of slack [which if you route down the driver's side and at the top rear you will have lots of extra wire], you will need to run the wire through the weather rubber tube. (You could start here if you prefer). Zer0 has a great series of photos of this (see the link at the top of this post). Most of mine turned out poor. I used a trim tool to push the connector the first inch or two into the tube, and then was able to work it through in probably only 20 minutes. Do be aware, when you route the wire from the headliner side and into the area the tube connects to on the vehicle side, be careful as their is a bare metal edge the wire will run across, be gentle and feed it, don't pull it or you may scrape off the protection on the wire. I used some small gauge support wire (flower wire maybe?) that I had to fish through this part. It made it much easier than trying to get my fingers in there.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring RearWireRoute1


Once you get it through the tube, pop off the window trim pieces starting at the top center. You don't have to remove them all (and you will need to get to some screws if you chose to remove the bottom one). But you want to remove the driver side one enough you can get to the hole where you can run the wire out of.
Honda Civic 10th gen DIY Dashcam (Front/Rear) Install, '20 CTR w/ Honda Sensing and Hardwiring RearWireRoute2


Finished up by mounting the rear camera, tucking the wire behind the trim pieces and then putting all the window trim back together. Then all you have to do is finish routing between the rear window and the A-pillar, mostly this just uses a trim tool to push the wire behind the headliner gasket and you are good to go! The last step it to replace the A-pillar cover and make sure you wires are all taken care of.
 
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Bunhyung

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Great write-up. I will definitely be referring to it when I install my camera.

You should be aware that the Adaptive sound control is a part of the sound system and prolonged disconnection will affect the operation of the head unit.
 

ApexEight

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Nice write-up sir.

Great write-up. I will definitely be referring to it when I install my camera.

You should be aware that the Adaptive sound control is a part of the sound system and prolonged disconnection will affect the operation of the head unit.
How would it affect the headunit?
 

Bunhyung

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Nice write-up sir.



How would it affect the headunit?
After I had my ASC disconnected for an extended period of time the head unit would go into a boot loop with no display, audio or controls but audio could still be heard. It would then reboot at random, work for ten to fifteen minutes and then repeat. This occurred continuously until I plugged the ASC back in. All problems ceased afterwards. Your experience may vary. Just keep in mind that it is a part of the sound system and although it is a separate unit, it seems to me that it is an integral part of the system.
 
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MadMage

MadMage

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After I had my ASC disconnected for an extended period of time the head unit would go into a boot loop with no display, audio or controls but audio could still be heard. It would then reboot at random, work for ten to fifteen minutes and then repeat. This occurred continuously until I plugged the ASC back in. All problems ceased afterwards. Your experience may vary. Just keep in mind that it is a part of the sound system and although it is a separate unit, it seems to me that it is an integral part of the system.
Thanks Bunhyung. I hadn't heard that mentioned by anyone else but good to know. If I have any issues with the stereo I'll be sure to reconnect the ASC first.
 


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MadMage

MadMage

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FYI, the position of the rear camera is even poorer than I expected. I will post a picture from it next time I grab cam footage. Also will update the OP once I find a location I like better.
 
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MadMage

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the4ner

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Thanks Bunhyung. I hadn't heard that mentioned by anyone else but good to know. If I have any issues with the stereo I'll be sure to reconnect the ASC first.
FWIW i've had occasional bootloops on both my '20 and '21 with and without ASC disconnected. I wish we could find a pinout of the ASC harness so we could block the audio signals themselves while still making the rest of it look like it was functioning.
 
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MadMage

MadMage

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Have you had any of these issues since then?
I had the stereo/head go out on me once just after starting up during a canyon run. I attributed this to running Android Auto because at the time I was streaming Spotify through it.
 

typebeat.mp3

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Was a bit confused by the pictures. What is the fishing tool? Is it that silver thing?
 
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MadMage

MadMage

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Hope my reply is not too late. Just saw these now. If you tag me by name or quote some of the message, it shows up in my notifications :)
Was a bit confused by the pictures. What is the fishing tool? Is it that silver thing?
The fishing tool is some random tool I had sitting around the garage. Don't even remember where or when I got it. It effectively is a remote grabber. It has a T type handle with a push button on it. When you push it opens up claws on the far end. Releasing the button causes them to retract and close/grab. It's about 18 inches long or so.

It's a lot liek this one, but mine is not lighted. https://www.grainger.com/product/6T...pXtTF3ZDxCNqquUcb1gaAj6gEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Also which fuse #'s did you use? Any trouble wish door locks using fuse #16?
I used fuse #1 and #16. I've had no problems at all with the door locks.
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