DIY Install for Blackvue 900 Dashcam with Real-Time Updates and Radar Detector

[Panzer948]

I appreciate the feedback. It seems no matter what cameras I look at there will always be some bad reviews. I just want something reliable and with an app would be ideal. We want parking mode since my wife works near a high school and some of the kids walk through where she parks and the top is down most of the time. I’ll check out Thinkware but Blackvue is at the top of the list.
Thanks

That is the same reason I bought the blackvue, knowing its a convertible top I wanted to be able to monitor it if I know there is a crowd around. With the blackvue you can even do that live thru the app, similar to how a Nest Doorbell works. Of course it has to rely on 3G cellular connection and you know that isn't always reliable. At home it will actually use your wifi though.

I can't recall all the reasons but when I researched this vs Thinkware it had better reviews for the parking mode and remote monitoring, which were my two most important criteria. Matter of fact, I will likely turn my rear camera (actually it rotates in its mount) to face toward the passenger area when parked around the human kind of threats...

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[buzpro]

That is the same reason I bought the blackvue, knowing its a convertible top I wanted to be able to monitor it if I know there is a crowd around. With the blackvue you can even do that live thru the app, similar to how a Nest Doorbell works. Of course it has to rely on 3G cellular connection and you know that isn't always reliable. At home it will actually use your wifi though.

I can't recall all the reasons but when I researched this vs Thinkware it had better reviews for the parking mode and remote monitoring, which were my two most important criteria. Matter of fact, I will likely turn my rear camera (actually it rotates in its mount) to face toward the passenger area when parked around the human kind of threats...

some carriers have scheduled to drop 3G coverage completely and others will follow suit for sure ...... now i wonder what happens with 4G LTE when 5G rolls out. Do these things become obsolete faster?

 

[Jawaburger]

some carriers have scheduled to drop 3G coverage completely and others will follow suit for sure ...... now i wonder what happens with 4G LTE when 5G rolls out. Do these things become obsolete faster?

Considering that 4G has been out for well over a decade, I don't think the introduction of 5G will cause the immediate removal of 4G. It will probably be quite a few years, though maybe not 12 years like 3G.

 

[Arealhuman]

Thought I would do a detailed write up of how a dual dashcam and radar detector install went over the past couple of days. I actually responded with some thoughts on similar posts, but thought to include my own experience with a few pics I took. I assume many are like me and haven't seen many vids or even pics of some of the dash panels being removed, so maybe this will help (if not too long...).

First of all I need to describe what I am installing since it will impact what panels one will need to tear into (J/K). For the dashcam, I opted for a BlackVue DR900X-2CH Plus with the CM100LTE module. The camera is 4K front/1080 Rear and was recently re-released with better image quality. However, the biggest factor in getting this model is the CM100LTE module that works with this unit. TheCM100LTE takes a SIM card, similar to what you would buy for a tablet data plan only. I went with TMobile since I already have an account with them for our phones and their plan is better than the competitor (AT&T). Basically free data for $10/month. With this setup, not only do I have full time driving coverage, front and rear, but also 24 hour parking mode surveillance where it monitors impacts and even movement and will send you real time alerts with the option to view in real time, similar to the Nest/Ring camera setups for homes. Might be a little overkill but I have owned a soft-top Jeep for years and have had plenty of things stolen from it. With this setup, not only will I likely record who did it, but possibly catch them before to late.

As I posted in another thread, I am not adding a separate battery bank since this model has voltage protection built in. This means that it monitors the battery voltage during parking mode and will cut off if the car voltage drops below an assigned number. I think most recommend 11.8 volts. I have been using a similar system in another car and have never had an issue as most will run for a day or more before dropping to that level. You can also have it turn off after a set amount of time (I selected off at 11.9 volts or 48 hours, whichever is first). A battery bank is a good idea if your leaving your Bronco alone for several days, but I will have it back in a garage each night and should not be unattended for more than a day.

I am mounting a Valentine 1 Gen 2 Radar Detector, which I already own for another car. I plan to swap them between both vehicles so wanted a more permanent mount that is still easy to disconnect. I opted for a "BlendMount" which attaches to your mirror. Radar Detector Power will be thru a mirror tap while the dash cam will require both a 12 volt constant source (for parking mode) and Acc on wire for regular driving mode (allows dashcam to also know what mode to operate in). The CME100 Module is to be installed to the top corner of the windshield and is powered by the dash cam. Not a big fan of it going there but that is what they recommend.

Mirrortap stuff first. For the dimming powered mirror, you can tap into both the ACC positive on (with ignition) and ground wire using one of the following: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Det...ics&sprefix=mirror+tap,electronics,201&sr=1-9

This comes with 3 different sizes, with the other end being a RJ11 plug that connects to most radar detectors. The smaller of the three works best. You now have two spares for your other car (or future car The electrical connector plug in back of the mirror is easily pulled loose by pushing on the bottom tab and pulling toward the windshield. From there you should be able to push the thinner mirror tap leads, with + going to the white wire hole and the ground going to the black/blue stripe wire hole (see close up below). I would use a 12 volt test gauge to be sure since it could vary by model.

Finally, the pic on far right is the mount itself, which could vary by radar detector. Very nice professional mount that isn't going anywhere when hitting the trails (unlike your standard suction cup mount). They also make an accessory to mount the dash cam but I decided to mount it closer to top. https://blendmount.com/aluminum-rad...tine-one-gen1-gen2-standard-series-bv1-2001r/

Next up is running all the wiring connections to the front dash cam. To get 12 volts full time and 12 volts only with ignition, I did like a few others and tapped into the fuse box below the steering wheel where you will find a column of Micro2 fuses on the left. You can pick-up a very affordable set from Amazon for around $7. I used the following: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZV4LY54/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I

I selected Fuse #29 for Full time power and Fuse #35 for ignition only. According to the manual, they are both spares, so even better. Below is a pic after I tapped into #29. #35 is near the bottom on the same left row. I added a bullet type connector for the connecting green wire using heat shrink (did this for all connections so will not repeat). Now time to run both wires to the top windshield, which I found easier than I thought.

I knew the A Pillar would be a breeze as you can easily push it back between the glass and plastic with very little prying. However, I wanted to get it up to the A pillar site unseen. I decided to remove the Bronco Grab handle to get access to the area just above the fuse box (see pic below).

From there, it was easy to push a wire up through one of the openings to the bottom edge of the A pillar along the dash and then toward the windshield. A plastic dash pry tool comes in handy here.

From there it was up the backside of the A-pillar (closest to windshield) to the top of the windshield where it meets the plastic headliner. Believe it or not, this step was rather aggravating. The wires were to lose along most of the top, but near the sun visor mount, it was to tight which means they kept falling down. Pic below shows a tab you pull down on the sun visor holder. Underneath that is a torx screw that easily comes out. After I removed that, the wires you see below can be tucked in. Upon tightening it, they stay in place and are no longer visible.

I actually ran on extra wire during this process in case the mirror tap idea for the radar detector didn't work out, thus I ended up with access wires to hide. The black box right of the mirror (holding the vehicles camera) makes a convenient place to tuck all these extra wires and was a final destination spot before I mounted the dashcam. You have to tug on it to pop it lose. You will also need to tuck the wires coming from the headline edge to around the edge of the upper console. This is tighter so that plastic pry tool comes in handy there.

The CME100 Module that now holds the new data sim card was mounted on the opposite side of the windshield (top right corner) so it can bug my passenger. It's wire travels back to the dash cam, thus I tucked it's wire the same way I did the power wires on the driver side. Any access wire is actually stored in the passenger side A-Pillar.

Now for the long wire that must go from the dash cam to the rear camera. I decided to mount the rear camera on the roll bar. What is nice about this model is that I can easily rotate the rear camera to face the rear window or the front passenger area. I may do the latter if parking around crowds with the top down. Anyway, this was actually my biggest unknown as I have not seen many pics or discussions on how others have gotten wires back there. For the most part it went well with the rear camera wire following the headliner and A Pillar path already described for the power wires. From there, I basically pulled back the door trim panel closest to the fuse box to push the wire thru to the floor trim panel (which is easily removed with no tools). The 1st pic below shows this door frame trim panel (apologize if not the proper name) only partially pulled back which allowed me to easily fish the wire down toward the center floor trim piece.

Similar to the front floor trim piece, the back seat floor trim piece is easily removed. I was able to fish the wire to the back without removing the middle B-Pillar trim panels (area directly left and beneath front seat) by going along the inner edge and pushing wire beneath the trim. The plastic trim between the fender and rear seat is also easily pulled back to tuck the wire. To go vertical up the next pillar toward the roll bar, you simply pull back the rubber weather stripping, as shown below, and push the wires out of site. Be sure and place weather strip back in origional place.

Now we reach the spot I am least happy with. There is an airbag between this vertical pillar and the rollbar. That piece is not easily removed, and for good reason since you would not want a wire interfeeing with deployment. Thus, this is the only place where the wire ends up being visible, although it fits nicely in between the two sections before easily entering the bottom plastic panel that covers the roll bar. I may still look for a different solution in the area when I have more time since it is exposed and to be honest, I would rather not have it so close to the airbag area.

There is a panel behind the rollbar (not shown in pics) that is very loose; thus you can easily get a wire in there and run it along the back side of the plastic trim to the rollbar. I opted to place my rear camera in that middle channel in the back of the roll bar so the wire would mostly be hidden to passengers.

Below are final pics after install. This was taken at night so harder to see details. Dashcam in upper left windshield, Radar Detector on mount connected to mirror, and finally SIM Card Module with data plan at far right corner.

Here is the app doing its thing while at work.... all in real time.

I must be the only idiot this doesn't work for. When I plug into the cigarette lighter it works. When I try to hardwire it doesn't.

I bought the same fuse taps you did, I put yellow to spot 29, red two spot 35, black to a screw that is screwed into metal.

The fuses look fine, and the fuses that are in line of the hardwire kit look fine.

I have used every kind of combination of fuse colors as well as locations, including both slots in the tap filled.

I mounted both fuse taps so the wire is going to the left with the fuses on top of the tap like you had in your picture. I did that for both of them and even tested both ways.


I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

I thought maybe the wire was broken at some point along it so I cut it and spliced in about an inch from where it plugs into the cam and tested that out. Still no luck.

Do the numbers on fuses need to read a certain way or is there a specific combination of numbers or what.

Sorry, I know this thread is super old and you probably don't care about it at this point. But I'm beyond frustration and don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks having them plug in a fuse tap


I've done this before on one of my older cars. I don't understand.

 

[Panzer948]

I must be the only idiot this doesn't work for. When I plug into the cigarette lighter it works. When I try to hardwire it doesn't.

I bought the same fuse taps you did, I put yellow to spot 29, red two spot 35, black to a screw that is screwed into metal.

The fuses look fine, and the fuses that are in line of the hardwire kit look fine.

I have used every kind of combination of fuse colors as well as locations, including both slots in the tap filled.

I mounted both fuse taps so the wire is going to the left with the fuses on top of the tap like you had in your picture. I did that for both of them and even tested both ways.


I have no idea what I'm doing wrong.

I thought maybe the wire was broken at some point along it so I cut it and spliced in about an inch from where it plugs into the cam and tested that out. Still no luck.

Do the numbers on fuses need to read a certain way or is there a specific combination of numbers or what.

Sorry, I know this thread is super old and you probably don't care about it at this point. But I'm beyond frustration and don't want to spend a couple hundred bucks having them plug in a fuse tap


I've done this before on one of my older cars. I don't understand.

Sorry I am taking so long to respond. I have taken a bit of a break on the forum stuff this week. Sorry this has been a pain. Not a good first attempt (sounds like you are new to this). Before spending bigger bucks I would go out and buy a cheap 12 volt light tester (if you haven't already). You can pick one up for about 10 bucks and use it for a lifetime of new projects. Try it to test a combination of the fuse slots and even your grounding screw as it could be either. If these wires show voltage but your dash cam still doesn't start up, it has to be on the unit itself. I assume you have made all the connections to the dash cam. I know silly question but many have been tricked by it. Also, keep in mind that the one fuse will only have power when turning the car on.

I am not sure what you mean by specific combination of numbers. Maybe you can clarify that.

 

[Arealhuman]

Ha thanks, I wasn't expecting a reply at all so thank you for taking the time.

I meant I tried the different fuse amps 5, 10 etc.

The unit works when I just the cigarette lighter connection. Not getting anything whether the car is on or off with this hardwire.

I've attached pictures, I'll try grounding on a different screw. I do also have a multimeter I can dig up.


Did you fill all 4 fuse slots on the piggyback with 5's?

 

[Arealhuman]

Sorry I am taking so long to respond. I have taken a bit of a break on the forum stuff this week. Sorry this has been a pain. Not a good first attempt (sounds like you are new to this). Before spending bigger bucks I would go out and buy a cheap 12 volt light tester (if you haven't already). You can pick one up for about 10 bucks and use it for a lifetime of new projects. Try it to test a combination of the fuse slots and even your grounding screw as it could be either. If these wires show voltage but your dash cam still doesn't start up, it has to be on the unit itself. I assume you have made all the connections to the dash cam. I know silly question but many have been tricked by it. Also, keep in mind that the one fuse will only have power when turning the car on.

I am not sure what you mean by specific combination of numbers. Maybe you can clarify that.

Dear Lord, I figured it out. The screw I was connecting to for the ground was the issue. When I connected it to a black screw literally an inch away it all the sudden worked.

Thank you so much

 

[Ftchmup]

Ha thanks, I wasn't expecting a reply at all so thank you for taking the time.

I meant I tried the different fuse amps 5, 10 etc.

The unit works when I just the cigarette lighter connection. Not getting anything whether the car is on or off with this hardwire.

I've attached pictures, I'll try grounding on a different screw. I do also have a multimeter I can dig up.


Did you fill all 4 fuse slots on the piggyback with 5's?

Yep, definitely the ground screw, I always look to be sure it screws into metal frame of some kind. Glad u got it figured out!

 

[Panzer948]

Dear Lord, I figured it out. The screw I was connecting to for the ground was the issue. When I connected it to a black screw literally an inch away it all the sudden worked.

Thank you so much

Great, yes most folks always go straight to the positive power sources when there is a problem but the negative connection is just as important to keep the juice flowing! Glad it is all settled.

 

[GRPinehurst]

Any updates with this BlackVue install?
Any other installs with feedback?

 

[Murph914]

Just addinf my $0.02 here. I installed the DR900x 2 ch on a blendmount with B124x

The install was pretty easy really. Wires were tucked under the trim with the battery behind the glovebox. Power run to steering area fuse box with add a fuse wire.

Somehow the battery is running off a non switched circuit which I need to fix, but has not been an issue yet.

I agree the Blackvue software is super clunky, but seems better than anything else. The logic it uses to sense an inpact and switch to parking mode is a bit iffy. For example - closing the door creates an alert as does onramps with any acceleration.

the rear cam instal is iffy. I used the supplied cam holder to attach to the glass. Works well, but when the rear glass is closed the wire hangs down. I had planned on getting a second cam mount for the roll bar when the top is off, but I’m rethinking that.

 

[Ryknow13]

Thought I would do a detailed write up of how a dual dashcam and radar detector install went over the past couple of days. I actually responded with some thoughts on similar posts, but thought to include my own experience with a few pics I took. I assume many are like me and haven't seen many vids or even pics of some of the dash panels being removed, so maybe this will help (if not too long...).

First of all I need to describe what I am installing since it will impact what panels one will need to tear into (J/K). For the dashcam, I opted for a BlackVue DR900X-2CH Plus with the CM100LTE module. The camera is 4K front/1080 Rear and was recently re-released with better image quality. However, the biggest factor in getting this model is the CM100LTE module that works with this unit. TheCM100LTE takes a SIM card, similar to what you would buy for a tablet data plan only. I went with TMobile since I already have an account with them for our phones and their plan is better than the competitor (AT&T). Basically free data for $10/month. With this setup, not only do I have full time driving coverage, front and rear, but also 24 hour parking mode surveillance where it monitors impacts and even movement and will send you real time alerts with the option to view in real time, similar to the Nest/Ring camera setups for homes. Might be a little overkill but I have owned a soft-top Jeep for years and have had plenty of things stolen from it. With this setup, not only will I likely record who did it, but possibly catch them before to late.

As I posted in another thread, I am not adding a separate battery bank since this model has voltage protection built in. This means that it monitors the battery voltage during parking mode and will cut off if the car voltage drops below an assigned number. I think most recommend 11.8 volts. I have been using a similar system in another car and have never had an issue as most will run for a day or more before dropping to that level. You can also have it turn off after a set amount of time (I selected off at 11.9 volts or 48 hours, whichever is first). A battery bank is a good idea if your leaving your Bronco alone for several days, but I will have it back in a garage each night and should not be unattended for more than a day.

I am mounting a Valentine 1 Gen 2 Radar Detector, which I already own for another car. I plan to swap them between both vehicles so wanted a more permanent mount that is still easy to disconnect. I opted for a "BlendMount" which attaches to your mirror. Radar Detector Power will be thru a mirror tap while the dash cam will require both a 12 volt constant source (for parking mode) and Acc on wire for regular driving mode (allows dashcam to also know what mode to operate in). The CME100 Module is to be installed to the top corner of the windshield and is powered by the dash cam. Not a big fan of it going there but that is what they recommend.

Mirrortap stuff first. For the dimming powered mirror, you can tap into both the ACC positive on (with ignition) and ground wire using one of the following: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Det...ics&sprefix=mirror+tap,electronics,201&sr=1-9

This comes with 3 different sizes, with the other end being a RJ11 plug that connects to most radar detectors. The smaller of the three works best. You now have two spares for your other car (or future car The electrical connector plug in back of the mirror is easily pulled loose by pushing on the bottom tab and pulling toward the windshield. From there you should be able to push the thinner mirror tap leads, with + going to the white wire hole and the ground going to the black/blue stripe wire hole (see close up below). I would use a 12 volt test gauge to be sure since it could vary by model.

Finally, the pic on far right is the mount itself, which could vary by radar detector. Very nice professional mount that isn't going anywhere when hitting the trails (unlike your standard suction cup mount). They also make an accessory to mount the dash cam but I decided to mount it closer to top. https://blendmount.com/aluminum-rad...tine-one-gen1-gen2-standard-series-bv1-2001r/

Next up is running all the wiring connections to the front dash cam. To get 12 volts full time and 12 volts only with ignition, I did like a few others and tapped into the fuse box below the steering wheel where you will find a column of Micro2 fuses on the left. You can pick-up a very affordable set from Amazon for around $7. I used the following: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZV4LY54/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I

I selected Fuse #29 for Full time power and Fuse #35 for ignition only. According to the manual, they are both spares, so even better. Below is a pic after I tapped into #29. #35 is near the bottom on the same left row. I added a bullet type connector for the connecting green wire using heat shrink (did this for all connections so will not repeat). Now time to run both wires to the top windshield, which I found easier than I thought.

I knew the A Pillar would be a breeze as you can easily push it back between the glass and plastic with very little prying. However, I wanted to get it up to the A pillar site unseen. I decided to remove the Bronco Grab handle to get access to the area just above the fuse box (see pic below).

From there, it was easy to push a wire up through one of the openings to the bottom edge of the A pillar along the dash and then toward the windshield. A plastic dash pry tool comes in handy here.

From there it was up the backside of the A-pillar (closest to windshield) to the top of the windshield where it meets the plastic headliner. Believe it or not, this step was rather aggravating. The wires were to lose along most of the top, but near the sun visor mount, it was to tight which means they kept falling down. Pic below shows a tab you pull down on the sun visor holder. Underneath that is a torx screw that easily comes out. After I removed that, the wires you see below can be tucked in. Upon tightening it, they stay in place and are no longer visible.

I actually ran on extra wire during this process in case the mirror tap idea for the radar detector didn't work out, thus I ended up with access wires to hide. The black box right of the mirror (holding the vehicles camera) makes a convenient place to tuck all these extra wires and was a final destination spot before I mounted the dashcam. You have to tug on it to pop it lose. You will also need to tuck the wires coming from the headline edge to around the edge of the upper console. This is tighter so that plastic pry tool comes in handy there.

The CME100 Module that now holds the new data sim card was mounted on the opposite side of the windshield (top right corner) so it can bug my passenger. It's wire travels back to the dash cam, thus I tucked it's wire the same way I did the power wires on the driver side. Any access wire is actually stored in the passenger side A-Pillar.

Now for the long wire that must go from the dash cam to the rear camera. I decided to mount the rear camera on the roll bar. What is nice about this model is that I can easily rotate the rear camera to face the rear window or the front passenger area. I may do the latter if parking around crowds with the top down. Anyway, this was actually my biggest unknown as I have not seen many pics or discussions on how others have gotten wires back there. For the most part it went well with the rear camera wire following the headliner and A Pillar path already described for the power wires. From there, I basically pulled back the door trim panel closest to the fuse box to push the wire thru to the floor trim panel (which is easily removed with no tools). The 1st pic below shows this door frame trim panel (apologize if not the proper name) only partially pulled back which allowed me to easily fish the wire down toward the center floor trim piece.

Similar to the front floor trim piece, the back seat floor trim piece is easily removed. I was able to fish the wire to the back without removing the middle B-Pillar trim panels (area directly left and beneath front seat) by going along the inner edge and pushing wire beneath the trim. The plastic trim between the fender and rear seat is also easily pulled back to tuck the wire. To go vertical up the next pillar toward the roll bar, you simply pull back the rubber weather stripping, as shown below, and push the wires out of site. Be sure and place weather strip back in origional place.

Now we reach the spot I am least happy with. There is an airbag between this vertical pillar and the rollbar. That piece is not easily removed, and for good reason since you would not want a wire interfeeing with deployment. Thus, this is the only place where the wire ends up being visible, although it fits nicely in between the two sections before easily entering the bottom plastic panel that covers the roll bar. I may still look for a different solution in the area when I have more time since it is exposed and to be honest, I would rather not have it so close to the airbag area.

There is a panel behind the rollbar (not shown in pics) that is very loose; thus you can easily get a wire in there and run it along the back side of the plastic trim to the rollbar. I opted to place my rear camera in that middle channel in the back of the roll bar so the wire would mostly be hidden to passengers.

Below are final pics after install. This was taken at night so harder to see details. Dashcam in upper left windshield, Radar Detector on mount connected to mirror, and finally SIM Card Module with data plan at far right corner.

Here is the app doing its thing while at work.... all in real time.

Just installed mine last night. Your post made my install a breeze. One question though, you have any trouble connecting to the camera? I have so much trouble with either it connecting and then Saying it failed a second later or Just not connecting at all.

 

[Ryknow13]

Just installed mine on my 2 door and if anybody was wondering, the rear camera cable is exactly the perfect length to reach the back window

 

[Murph914]

Just installed mine last night. Your post made my install a breeze. One question though, you have any trouble connecting to the camera? I have so much trouble with either it connecting and then Saying it failed a second later or Just not connecting at all.

The app is iffy at best. I think the issue is since the wifi does not have internet iOS freaks out. Also if your car is running with carplay the iOS prioritizes carplay which utilizes the wifi modem in your phone. End result is if the car is on iOS will not allow you to stay connected to the dashcam. You kind of get used to it, but believe me - It’s light years ahead of everyone else.

 

[Panzer948]

The app is iffy at best. I think the issue is since the wifi does not have internet iOS freaks out. Also if your car is running with carplay the iOS prioritizes carplay which utilizes the wifi modem in your phone. End result is if the car is on iOS will not allow you to stay connected to the dashcam. You kind of get used to it, but believe me - It’s light years ahead of everyone else.

I agree, good answer and I have android and its the same thing. I have to reconnect quite often. I am hoping the app improves with each new rollout.

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