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CT5-V Dash Cam Hardwire

CT5-V Model

LongGrayLine16

Seasoned Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2022
Messages
153
Location
Manhattan, KS
V-Series Cadillac(s)?
2023 CT5-V BW (86-027)
Thought I would share my dash camera hardwire experience, as this is something I do in all of my cars and there weren’t many details out there on this car:

What did I use (tried to link them to an Amazon page for reference, but it is not an affiliate link at all):

Camera: VAVA Dual Facing Dash Cam w/GPS
Wiring: MICTUNING USB Power Cable from Fuse
Fuse Tap: Micro3 Fuse Tap

Why? (SKIP if you just want to know my install process): I have used this exact VAVA dash cam in 4 vehicles (3 at the same time) and have had very good experiences. Seems like the company is flaky in their amazon seller’s page, but I have never had issue. Things I like: camera is powered by USB (makes install with the USB power wire above very easy), has built-in GPS module in the wire to the camera, allows you to add watermark to recordings for vehicle speed, dual-facing front and in-cabin cameras, I have it set to loop 3 min recordings to reduce writes on the micro SD card, basic and easy to use app. Overall, it has what I would consider above average quality of recording. I also like that it uses a magnetic attachment to its suction mount - really this lets me fabricate custom mounts to optimize the placement of the camera in the car (I did this with the Blackwing and my C7 in the past). It has a built in battery backup that allows it to activate with a disturbance.

Process:
The left side cover of the dash (near the driver’s left knee) is home to the in cabin fuse box. There are a few options to choose from in there.
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The panel is held on by 5 or 6 body clip tabs. I used a plastic panel pry tool to pop it off gently, and without much resistance the whole panel was easily removed.

The bottom row of fuses are supplied with 12V power with ignition-on. But not in accessory. This works for my use case. I couldn’t find any that worked in accessory power.
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I used F32. The row (including exhaust valve) are all a Micro3 Fuse style (kind of a pain since I didn’t have any of those fuse types on hand). There are ample screws on the metal dash to use as a grounding location for the USB power wire/adapter.
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While the window mount that comes with the camera would have been ok, it was just that - just ok. So, I decided to make a custom mount myself out of stainless steel 16-gauge sheet metal. I just used a Dremel cutting wheel and grinding stone attachment to get the shape I wanted. I fabricated it to mount on the plastic rear view mirror trim using 3M double sided tape.
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From there, the wire run along the top of the headliner is very easy. There is enough gap to just tuck away the wire. I chose to mount the GPS module (in-line with the wire) in the top left corner of the windshield.
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From there, you can push up slightly on the headliner to create enough space between the a-pillar trim and headliner. I tucked the wire in there. The door jam gasket on the left of the a-pillar can be pulled back enough to tuck a wire run all the way down the pillar.

At the base of the a-pillar is the defrost vent for the driver’s window. With the fuse panel cover off I used a 7mm driver to undo one screw holding the vent in place. It then just popped right out after pulling upward and away from the dash. That allowed me to run the wire all the way down to the fuse box.
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You can see where I will run the wire from here.
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After replacing the vent back, the excess wire from the camera, the fuse tap, and USB Power wire can all be tucked into the cubby of the fuse panel.
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Pop the panel back into place and you are good to go.

Now, every time the car is put into ignition on, the camera turns on and begins recording. When the car turns off and door opened, the camera turns off.

I know some people are going to say, “use the SVR!” Well, I do also use the SVR. But, this is cheap insurance policy. My thoughts on a dash cam (especially one with GPS speed): If there ever were incident I have full coverage of it, including my speed at the time. Allows me to also record audio, something the SVR DOES NOT DO. Read off a license plate, catch conversations, etc. If I was in the wrong? It’s my camera, I don’t have to show it.

Pretty easy and clean install if you ask me. I only lose about 3.5” long by .5” tall worth of visibility, and its directly under the rear view mirror, all tucked away.
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Well done sir! I have my radar located in this location so I may have to go a different route.
 
Well done sir! I have my radar located in this location so I may have to go a different route.
Thanks! It works for me :)

I’ve never personally invested in a detector for reasons others have mentioned. I figure if I ever get pulled over for ‘go to jail’ speeds, that’s my fault. I like the insurance policy of having the GPS speed watermark and in-cabin recording. If some cop ever tries to say I was texting and driving or speeding I have a automatic witness. If I had both devices I would probably give priority on location to the camera. before I got it all mounted up the camera was just resting on the dash looking out. Might be a good spot for the radar? didn’t take up an road view and could use the base of the windshield to hide the wire.
 
I tapped mine into the fuse box also. I have the Rexing S-300 mounted behind my rear view mirror. If someone is driving my car, they probably wouldn't even know I have a camera mounted.
 
The bottom row of fuses are supplied with 12V power with ignition-on. But not in accessory. This works for my use case. I couldn’t find any that worked in accessory power.
62094F2B-1C68-4333-BE75-3138CFF923C2.jpeg
Just letting you know F24, F25, CB1, CB2 are essentially the ACC (RAP). They turn on when you hit car ignition button without pressing the break to turn car on. You are correct F35 row is only on when the car is on, and just about everything else I've found is always on aka BATT+, K1 is actually the RAP control relay.
 
Well done sir! I have my radar located in this location so I may have to go a different route.
If you have an Escort Radar Detector, Gen5diy does a plug n play adapter that uses your rear view mirror power to power the radar detector. I will post a pic when I get home after a weekend trip on how this was done.
 
I have a high end, 4k front 2k rear u1000 camera with battery backup that allows recording until the battery is dead while the vehicle is parked. It uses a shock sensor and radar to detect movement. It's good for like 6 hours of full recording and 96 hours of movement detection. I got it because my Camaro was hit like 4 times in 6 months while parked. I've been trying to figure out how to run all the wiring. I want the battery in the trunk, which means power wire to front camera from trunk, then power wire from front camera to back window for rear camera. So i want to use the trunk fuse box with an ignition on fuse to charge the battery.

It saved me 6 months ago when I stopped for a red light and the person 6 seconds back didn't. They were going to try to sue me and claim the light was green until I told them I would send them the dash cam footage. I even got out of my deductible and a ticket from the officer. He was going to ticket me for stopping at a green light because he knew the person that hit me...unbelievable!!!
 
If you have an Escort Radar Detector, Gen5diy does a plug n play adapter that uses your rear view mirror power to power the radar detector. I will post a pic when I get home after a weekend trip on how this was done.
I did this with the blend mount for my redline 360 :beer
 
@LongGrayLine16 - Thank you so much for writing up your install. I just finished installing a dashcam in my 2022 CT5. I would have succeeded without your walkthrough, but it would have taken me twice as long.

I installed a Viofo A139 Pro 3-channel dashcam using the Viofo hardwire kit. I followed your steps closely for the front camera, which I installed on the passenger side of the rearview mirror. The power cord has a USB plug to the front cameran (which is the main unit). I ran the wire to the fuse box exactly as you did. The Viofo connects to both switched (bottom row of fuses) and unswitched power (next higher row of fuses). It turns on with the car, but also has a parking mode that operates when the car is off.

I mounted the interior camera on the driver's side of the rearview mirror. The single cable easily and neatly routes between the windshield header trim and the box attached to the windshield, with the extra cable stuffed behind the trim and above the headliner. This camera is visible, but not noticeable in this location.

I mounted the rear camera on the inside of the rear window, high against the trim. It tucks in that spot so well that it is not visible to the driver in the rearview mirror, nor to occupants of the car. It catches one defroster wire in its field of view, but the focus is such that it is not really visible in the images. Its a long way to route the wire from the front unit to the rear window, but without much trouble I was able to hide the wire behind trim all the way. At the windshield, the wire is tucked in just like the power wire, but towards the passenger side. Then behind the A-pillar trim, front door trim, B-pillar trim, rear door trim, C-pillar trim, and finally behind the trim along the top edge of the rear window. There is plenty of room above the headliner at the rear window to tuck in the coil of extra wire.

So, once done, the only wires visible are an inch or so where they plug into the front camera/main unit.

Again, thanks for your help.
 
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