Nosken
Active Member
I just got it back. Looks great! I had it done in Sacramento, the full work of XPel ultimate was $3000. I had it done at Rocky Mountain Autoworks. I will post a full review. I am very happy to have my Unicorn fully protected.
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Nosken
Active Member
There were no obvious bundles, only the 3 wire unused plug that has been there for awhile. I used this with my BlackVue, but I need to test this plug more with my ThinkWare.
I actually happened to test those wires this weekend when I installed my radar detector. There is one hardness that unplugs. Its behind the usb wires
There are 3 red wires and 2 blacks., All 3 of the red wires are switched 12V and both blacks are ground
I used POSI-TAP to cleanly tap the wires
Nosken
Active Member
Yes
My car was picked up 2 months ago. I popped out the center panel from the passenger side. Youll see 2 black wires that are for the usb. To the left of the wires behind another panel is a white tipped plug cable. Its clipped in. I popped it out and unplugged it. After I unplugged it, I found the cigarette lighter plug doesnt turn on anymore. I figured one of the wires is for the lighter.
From memory, the plug had about 9-12 wires coming out of it. There were 3 red wires on one side and 2 black wires on the other end. I tested all 5 wires and found the 3 red wires were all switched 12v. The 2 black wires were ground
I used this posi-tap to tap anyone of the red wires for switched 12v and used another posi-tap for the ground
Amazon.com: Posi-Tap Red (10) Inline Wire Connectors 18-24, GA, AWG, Electrical Fastener, WIRE NOT INCLUDED: Automotive
Thank you for your response. I live in the Houston area so I will need to locate an Xpel dealer that comes highly recommended. I wish I was in the Sacramento area.
I'm quite sure I've found switched 12V behind the rear view mirror on a HW2 Model S.
Details:
1. Remove the plastic clip around the mirror. This is not the main camera housing plastic, but a small (roughly) U or L shaped piece. It is pretty obviously covering the back of the mirror itself. I didn't use tools to remove it - a gentle pull downwards (at an angle) and it came loose easily.
2. Unplug the cable with 5 wires from the back of the mirror.
3. Connected a multimeter to two wires, going into the black wire and (for me) red with a blue stripe.
4. Verified I see ~12-13V when in the car.
Trickiest part: To verify, I couldn't see a good way to simulate 'car off'. I ended up winding the window down, closing the door and reaching inside to re-test voltage. It dropped to ~0V when I was not sitting in the car.
I was also able to get a thin wire fish tool up along the wiring and into the mic area (where the spare 12V constant power connector is).
I haven't gone any further today, but looks like I've found both constant and switched 12V, all accessible without removing/touching the camera itself or anything more invasive than popping the mic grill down and the small plastic clip on the mirror.
Details:
1. Remove the plastic clip around the mirror. This is not the main camera housing plastic, but a small (roughly) U or L shaped piece. It is pretty obviously covering the back of the mirror itself. I didn't use tools to remove it - a gentle pull downwards (at an angle) and it came loose easily.
2. Unplug the cable with 5 wires from the back of the mirror.
3. Connected a multimeter to two wires, going into the black wire and (for me) red with a blue stripe.
4. Verified I see ~12-13V when in the car.
Trickiest part: To verify, I couldn't see a good way to simulate 'car off'. I ended up winding the window down, closing the door and reaching inside to re-test voltage. It dropped to ~0V when I was not sitting in the car.
I was also able to get a thin wire fish tool up along the wiring and into the mic area (where the spare 12V constant power connector is).
I haven't gone any further today, but looks like I've found both constant and switched 12V, all accessible without removing/touching the camera itself or anything more invasive than popping the mic grill down and the small plastic clip on the mirror.
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Nosken
Active Member
Thanks for you work on this. I'm skiing today, so it will be a day or two before I go further. If you get a chance , photos of both locations would be nicely appreciated!
Here's a photo I took during testing. The red + black wires you see hanging out are just breadboard jumper wires that made testing with a multimeter easy.
View media item 116559
The last 2 wires both look red in this shot. If you rotate the connector you'll see a blue stripe on the red wire I'm connected to (the one furthest away from the black). Of course, Tesla might change colours/wiring at any time, but this technique made it easy to find the right one.
The constant 12V is easy - pull the mic grill down and if you have a spare connector taped there, it contains constant 12V (see other threads on dashcams for how people have used PC fan connectors - this is how I've read about many of the blackvue installs being done).
Looks like the most challenging part will be getting the wiring to the rear camera around the pano roof.
Nosken
Active Member
Yes, I even have the special clips I ordered to attach behind the microphone grill. I had my BlackVue about it that way, but after my failure with the BlackVue, so far I'm very happy with the ThinkWare.
I don't have photos, but to route the wire to the rear camera was fairly easy if you have the panorama roof.
You simply go from the microphone grill along the edge of the headliner to the passenger side. You set it down just inside the edge, and when you come to the spot where the divider is, between the front and the back, you carefully fish the wire through there. You proceed to the back, and then the route the wire through the headliner. I do not have either the stock, or the aftermarket trunk lift yet, so there was an extra hole at the back. I put my wire fish through there and it came out near the very back small side window, and pull the wire through that hole. Again, like I said, I'll try to take some photos when I return from my trip.
Thanks so much for your photos, I have ordered Posi-Tap, and will proceed when I return.
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Thanks for the tips. I've done a Thinkware install on a Mercedes AMG before - the rear turned out to be easy but involved running it up the A pillar, and just fishing it through to an access port near the trunk.
I tried looking at the rear today and it seemed nearly impossible to get from the grommet at the trunk to the glass area. I guess I'll have to try pulling the plastic panels off next time.
Just need a few hours uninterrupted - I've got the posi-taps and fan connectors. I'll try to take photos as I go, but it may not be until the weekend.
Nosken
Active Member
I do have a small amount of wire exposed from the grommet to the horizontal plastic panel. I zip tied it to the existing wire/cable housing, and then talked it under the horizontal plastic panel. That pops off very easily, and I have not damage the clips at all.
I connected the F770 today with mixed success. When I connect my phone to it over WiFi the F770 powers off after a few seconds. When I do the same on a cigarette lighter powered setup it works fine.
I'm almost inclined to think it can't draw enough current but it doesn't seem to be blowing a fuse as I still see 12V on that switched wire.
I'm almost inclined to think it can't draw enough current but it doesn't seem to be blowing a fuse as I still see 12V on that switched wire.
Nosken
Active Member
Does your F770 record in continuous mode for a sustained period of time when on the microphone plug? I haven't gotten as far as leaving it in the car in a drive since I wanted to connect over wifi to position the camera correctly on the windscreen.
Thanks, good to know. I use wifi each time I want to check some footage on my other car / Thinkware - popping the card out is somewhat annoying but I suppose I can leave a microsd card reader in the car.
I wonder if the current draw changes significantly when using wifi? The wiring I've done doesn't leave me with any easy ways to try to measure this, and I'd have thought if it's exceeding the circuit I'd end up with a blown fuse rather than the unit powering off.
FWIW, I was able to fit a posi wire tap in behind the rear vision mirror very easily. I'll post a few photos when/if I get it all to actually work properly.
(You were right - getting a cable as far as the trunk was pretty easy)
I've just setup the F770 successfully with the switched wire (red with blue stripe) from my previous post. When I leave the car, after sometime (haven't timed it, but 15 seconds or so) I hear 'parking recording will now commence'. I get back in and it goes back to continuous recording after a few seconds.
I haven't taken it for a test drive so far, but seems to be behaving as I expect.
So far I don't have a solution to the WiFi problem - if you work it out let me know! I'm not running the very latest F770 firmware - I'll try an upgrade soon.
Herbie65
eigenaar TESLAND.COM en AlloyGator.nl
i've installed quite some camera's in the Model S (100+) both Blackvue and Thinkware.
The easiest way is remove the glove box.
Behind it, on the switch it's lamp there you will find the constant +12V
For the ThinkWare you need the hardwire kit.
While it is removed, you can see behind the pushbutton (to open the glovebox) a 3 wired plug.
Pull it away from the switch, and you can use the middle wire as the switched +12V
good luck
The easiest way is remove the glove box.
Behind it, on the switch it's lamp there you will find the constant +12V
For the ThinkWare you need the hardwire kit.
While it is removed, you can see behind the pushbutton (to open the glovebox) a 3 wired plug.
Pull it away from the switch, and you can use the middle wire as the switched +12V
good luck
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