Running from a 12v adapter across the dash up the a pillar and over to the mirror (dash cam). I realize it can be placed under some of the interior but there will be times when the wire will be "attached" to the plastic of the interior.
Anyone got any ideas on how to attach it? I figure glue and tape won't stick to the plastic. This is a configuration I plant to keep in place as long as I keep the car so I don't mind drilling or screwing the plastic just want to make sure it looks nice.
— Pissed off beats scared every time…
- Frank Castle
January 11, 2018, 03:49 PM
LS1 GTO
In the past I've used duct tape. Normal interior heat essentially "melt" the adhesive for a stronger connection.
Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
"If dogs don't go to Heaven, I want to go where they go" Will Rogers
The definition of the words we used, carry a meaning of their own...
January 11, 2018, 03:50 PM
barndg00
I hardwired my Valentine 1 radar detector in several cars. I've always been able to get it between the windshield and trim. Wrapping the wire in several spots with electrical tape to make it thicker so it will remain wedged in place. No permanent damage to the car this way. In every car I've had, there's been a fuse box on the driver's side or passenger side to get into to tap for switched power, from there up to the A pillar and along the roof.
January 11, 2018, 03:56 PM
PHPaul
Scotch/3M makes removable double-stick tape mounted hooks and such. 3M Command stuff I think it's called.
Be careful when following the masses. Sometimes the M is silent.
January 11, 2018, 03:59 PM
aileron
I'd use a Click Bond, but it's probably overkill for a single wire on a car. Duck tape or a spot of silicone RTV is probably good enough.
January 11, 2018, 04:07 PM
kcl1960
quote:
Originally posted by muddle_mann: Running from a 12v adapter across the dash up the a pillar and over to the mirror (dash cam). I realize it can be placed under some of the interior but there will be times when the wire will be "attached" to the plastic of the interior.
Anyone got any ideas on how to attach it?
If you have a mirror that has any type of readout on you should have 12 volt power to the mirror pull the cover off and splice the wires to it???? I have also been able to tuck the wire behind everything up to the mirror area.
January 11, 2018, 04:20 PM
muddle_mann
hmm... lots of votes for duct tape. Surprised. It really sticks even in hot weather? (We rarely get to 100 degrees here but we are pretty high up on the humidity scale.)
I like the idea of wrapping the wire with tape to make it thicker to hold it in place. didn't think of that one..This message has been edited. Last edited by: muddle_mann, January 11, 2018 05:29 PM
— Pissed off beats scared every time…
- Frank Castle
January 11, 2018, 04:21 PM
muddle_mann
quote:
Originally posted by kcl1960: If you have a mirror that has any type of readout on you should have 12 volt power to the mirror pull the cover off and splice the wires to it????
It's a 2008 Toyota Yaris, soooo no.
— Pissed off beats scared every time…
- Frank Castle
January 11, 2018, 04:42 PM
honestlou
quote:
Originally posted by barndg00: I hardwired my Valentine 1 radar detector in several cars. I've always been able to get it between the windshield and trim. Wrapping the wire in several spots with electrical tape to make it thicker so it will remain wedged in place. No permanent damage to the car this way. In every car I've had, there's been a fuse box on the driver's side or passenger side to get into to tap for switched power, from there up to the A pillar and along the roof.
This. I'm in the business and run wires in cars daily. If you're going to a spot near the mirror there is no reason to cross the dash, or use any adhesive, or have any visible wire other than the last few inches.
January 11, 2018, 06:59 PM
jimmy123x
3M makes small plastic squares that have self stick adhesive on them and on the top they have a slot that a zip tie/cable tie goes through. This would be the best way. They sell them in Lowe's and I think 3M brands them under their Command line possible.....where you get those self sticking dots to cushion drawers and such.
January 11, 2018, 07:14 PM
kkina
On that car the dome light is only inches away from the mirror...possible to splice into a power cable and run a short length of unsupported wire?
Originally posted by kkina: On that car the dome light is only inches away from the mirror...possible to splice into a power cable and run a short length of unsupported wire?
Excellent idea! However, I am by no means an electrician and I have to make the balance between getting my "dash cam" (which is attached to my rear view mirror) power and not killing myself or the car in the process.
— Pissed off beats scared every time…
- Frank Castle
January 11, 2018, 07:43 PM
ffips
Push the wire between headliner and glass. Push it behind A pillar. Slip it into trim down to fuse panel.
I have done this without anything securing the wire in olace. Going over a year in this truck. Went 5+ in prior truck.
January 11, 2018, 07:46 PM
Ozarkwoods
Be careful your dash cam might require less then 12 volts if that is the case you need to have a hard wire kit made for your cam or use the Plug that came with it so you would have to wire in a female 12 volt socket into your wiring.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
January 11, 2018, 07:53 PM
bryan11
When installing our dashcam, I contacted a local car audio shop that had done good work for me in the past. They charged $50 to install an 'add-a-fuse' and hiding all wiring from the fuse box to above the mirror. If I'd done it myself, it would have taken several hours of watching youtube videos and I still might have broken some plastic trim piece.
January 11, 2018, 07:55 PM
muddle_mann
quote:
Originally posted by bryan11: When installing our dashcam, I contacted a local car audio shop that had done good work for me in the past. They charged $50 to install an 'add-a-fuse' and all wiring from the fuse box to above the mirror. If I'd done it myself, it would have taken several hours of watching youtube videos and I still might have broken some plastic trim piece.
I thought about paying someone but I live in the DC metro "ripoffistan" part of the country... May still shop around if I can't find an easy way to do this.
— Pissed off beats scared every time…
- Frank Castle
January 12, 2018, 06:27 AM
mrvmax
quote:
Originally posted by PHPaul: Scotch/3M makes removable double-stick tape mounted hooks and such. 3M Command stuff I think it's called.
Exactly what I used, if you clean the surfaces with alcohol it will stick to anything inside the vehicle including plastic.
January 12, 2018, 06:58 AM
snidera
quote:
Originally posted by ffips: Push the wire between headliner and glass. Push it behind A pillar. Slip it into trim down to fuse panel.
I have done this without anything securing the wire in olace. Going over a year in this truck. Went 5+ in prior truck.
This. Otherwise, you could also twist/wrap it around another harness that is likely passing the same way you're trying to go. I don't deal with the Yaris, but all the Toyota's I've seen have a branch across the front, ~6 inches from the edge of the headliner, the the drivers A-pillar, then to the IP/fusebox. If you piggyback the factory harness, it will avoid pinch areas - you'll likely be fine even not securing it.
January 12, 2018, 08:57 AM
220-9er
Unless you have a $100 car, I wouldn't use duct tape. I would do as others have recommended and put it under trim, etc. and where you can't cover it with a colored heat shrink tubing to match as well as possible.
Originally posted by barndg00: I hardwired my Valentine 1 radar detector in several cars. I've always been able to get it between the windshield and trim. Wrapping the wire in several spots with electrical tape to make it thicker so it will remain wedged in place. No permanent damage to the car this way. In every car I've had, there's been a fuse box on the driver's side or passenger side to get into to tap for switched power, from there up to the A pillar and along the roof.
This is similar to what I did. But instead of tape to thicken the wire to make it lodge better in the crevices, I used small tie-wraps at certain points to wrap around the wire, cut off the tie wrap tongue, and insert it into the crevice along the pillar and roof.
"It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life – daily and hourly. Our answer must consist not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual." Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning, 1946.
