Hi,
Fit Newbie here.
2018 Sport MT.

Looking to add my first real upgrade to my fit - a front and rear dash camera.
Thanks to some YouTube videos I found, routing and mounting the front dash cam seems straightforward and doable.
But when it comes to the rear dash cam, it presents different challenges.

I've watched what's available on YouTube, namely:

1. ChrisFix's " How to SAFELY Install a Dash Camera in a Car with Airbags (Hard Wire and Rear Cam)"
2. HondaFit4Adventure's "2015+ Honda Fit / Jazz - A Pillar Cover Removal & Install - W/P.O.V. Version - Dash Cam Wiring Bonus"

Again, both seem to cover enough for me to route and hardwire my front dash cam, but not regarding the rear.
Routing the rear camera seems like a whole separate challenge. Not sure where to begin.

I would love to see how other people have mounted their rear dash cams.

Thanks for reading.

 

I put mine inside the cabin, just above the rear view mirror, so that it faces rearwards and includes the drivers seat in case of a break in. Also it came in handy when someone backed into my drivers mirror.

 

It sounds like you have a cabin camera more than a rear dash cam?

In any case, I'm looking for help on how to install a rear dash cam, to be mounted against or near the rear windshield to capture potential rear-ends and whatnot.

EDIT - Not interested in recording inside the cabin with this rear cam.

 

No. I had a rear camera that I installed inside the cabin. If you get side swiped, a front or rear camera will totally miss that. Anyways, I don't have the Fit anymore. I installed my cameras the same way in my Accord. I have some extra dashcams that I will install a front facing one for the rear.

 

I think I gotcha.

So do you plan to install 3 cameras in total for your Accord?
Front, cabin, and rear?

I can't imagine having the rear camera inside the cabin in position of the rear view mirror capturing a lot of details behind the car.

 

I don't have any pics of how I ran the cable to the back in my Fit.. but I ran it down the passenger side of the car up over the doors, then through the cargo area side panel, then up through the headliner and out through the car seat anchor point in the roof. I just used the adhesive that came with the rear camera to stick it to the plastic cover over that car seat anchor point. It's been installed since Jun 2021 and hasn't had any issues with falling off. It gets bumped every so often if I'm loading a lot of stuff in the back, but still holding on strong.

I did pop off one of the a-pillar covers to run the cable. It has an air bag behind it, so it has the kind of clips that break in half if you don't take the cover off correctly.. and mine did break and hasn't been replaced yet, so the panel sits a little off (you can see it in the pic below), but hasn't been a big deal yet. I did find replacement clips on AMZ, and some day I'm sure I'll get around to fixing it. This car is generally only used on weekdays for commuting to work (~45 mins each way) and rarely has any passengers, so I haven't been super worried about it.

 

Appreciate the detailed reply and photos!
Hadn't considered mounting it on that anchor point, but your set up looks good!

I have a different question - how did you power your dash cam? Hardwire kit? Cigarette/accessory port? OBD?
Looking to hardwire myself and was looking to see which fuses peopled tapped and where they grounded.

Thanks.

 

Thanks! As for power, I'm just using the cig plug that came with mine. I do have a hardwire kit, just haven't gotten around to installing it, so can't really offer much help there.

 

This is how I did mine

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ml#post1391095

I'm just using the cigarette lighter adapter. 7 years later, it's still working fine.

 

Thanks!
I'm really considering doing the same as you and the other poster and installing the camera on that plastic cover of the anchor point.

Regarding fishing the wires from the front of the car to, it says you ran it through the headliner and through the passenger side to the front of the car.
When running it through the headliner, was tangling up the side airbags ever a concern? Or did you wire it through the bottom of the car on the passenger side? Or neither?
I haven't checked yet either, but I assume there's a hole in the anchor point where the wire can be fished out of from the headliner.

So many questions!

 

Update - Just finished installing both front and rear dashcams.
It took a lot longer than I expected.

I'll be creating a new thread explaining my installation (with photos) and any tips, tricks, and cautions.

Thanks everyone for their input!

 

I just picked up a front and rear dashcam unit as well. I want to hardwire it too. Can you post that thread soon?

 

Hey,
I just have not had the time to make a detailed post...
I'll probably just end up making a "quickie" guide with pictures and captions (some time in the future...)

In the meantime, I recommend watching both videos I linked to in this post in an earlier reply.
They won't help you with exactly how to hardwire install a front and rear dashcam inside a honda fit, BUT they'll still give you good ideas on what to expect when you do do it yourself.

Ask me whatever questions you have and I'll try to get back to you.

 

1. Could you tell me what fuses you used to hardwire?

2. Did you remove the door trims and run wire behind the side airbags? Or can you just run the wire towards the bottom part of the door frame?

appreciate your help

 

I guess before I give you the advice, I will give a disclaimer...
I am NOT a professional when it comes to car maintenance and modifications. Everything I say should be taken with caution and I hold ZERO responsibility for anything that happens to you and your car. Lol.
ALSO, I cannot stress enough, watch both videos I linked in the earlier reply. ChrisFix offers small tips to make the job easier. The other video shows where/how to remove trim pieces throughout the car.

1. Regarding fuses, I referenced this website here: https://www.startmycar.com/ca/honda/...anchorfusebox0
   1. Note - refer to the diagram for the interior fuse box and not the engine one.
   2. I ended up fusing to spot numbers: 3 and 39
      1. I think I used 39 for ACC power and 3 for BATT
         1. Because the direction of how fuse taps work, I distinctly recall having to flip the orientation on one of the fuse taps to make it work. (I don't remember which one, but judging by the picture I took, it looks like fuse tap for 3 (BATT) was installed "upside down."
            
            Figure 01 - Fuse Tap
            
2. A la ChrisFix's video, I tested that my camera was functioning properly with the hardwire kit, THEN I went on to mount my dash cam and worked from there.
   1. 
      Figure 02 - Camera mounting position + Wiring into headliner
      
   2. I routed the cables towards the A-pillar on the driver side, BEHIND the airbag, down toward the fuse box panel. You'll want to remove the door weather stripping to gain access to "cable-tucking space." This may or may not also require the removal of some trim pieces, which is pretty easy. Just takes a bit of careful, but confident tugging.
   3. 
      
      Figure 03 - A pillar piece with unique lock-in clip. This is where the 2nd video I linked will come in handy. Though not exactly the same one in the video, similar principles.
      
      Figure 04 - You'll need thin pliers to remove the clip from the body of the car - not necessary for installation, but it makes reinstalling the A-pillar a lot easier.
      
      Figure 05 - How I routed the cables. Carefully tucked behind the side air bag, and down the metal frame leading towards the side panel for the hardwire kit.
      
3. Organizing the fuse box and finding ground.
   1. 
      
      Figure 06 - Finger pointing to where I put my grounded cable. I also tucked all the excess wire in this spot. Notice,
      
      Figure 07 - I had trouble having the cable sit flush with the side-panel cover on, so I used a metal file to make a notch for the cable to sit in. Probably not necessary, but it made it easier for me.
      
4. Routing the Cable towards the back.
   1. 
      
      Figure 09 - Cable running along the driver side weather stripping and trim.
      
      Figure 10 - Popping out the floor trim along the driver side seat.
      
      Figure 11 - Not shown - Popping out the trim BETWEEN the driver and driver-side passenger rear seat (where the seatbelt for the driver lies) and routing it through there to this bottom floor trim.
      
      Figure 12 - Up under the weather stripping and between the section of the seat and trim, all the way towards the back.
      
      Figure 13 - Fig 12 continued.
      
      Figure 14 - Routing it towards the back, up along the trunk weather stripping, up into the headliner, towards the ceiling anchor point.
      
      Figure 15 - I routed the excess cable inside the headliner, then routed through just enough slack for the cable to bend through the anchor point hole and into the camera. I used whatever adhesive the camera came with. If you notice, I also had to notch a bit of the plastic cover off the anchor point cover so the cable would be so stressed out. Up to you if you care about that kind of thing.
      
      Figure 16 - Final result.
      

 

Mann awesome write up and photos! I cant thank you enough for taking the time to do this!

Did you disconnect battery before removing a pilliar? Im wondering because a couple vids I watched mentioned that.

Interesting routing of the wires to the back cam. Did you improvise that? Every video I watched they routed through the top to the top corner of the hatch and fed wires through that plastic wire sheath in the hatch. This way you did it looks like it would save so much time.

I need to get out there and do this project. Hate driving without the dashcam I already bought 3 days ago.

Thank you again for sharing

 

You're welcome

I did not disconnect my battery before removing the A-pillar.
I heard the same thing as you, where you would want to disconnect the battery, and wait x-amount of minutes so the side airbag doesn't accidentally discharge.
Instead, I followed ChrisFix (I think) and waited ~20 minutes after turning on the car (meaning - having the car not be turned on for 20 minutes).

I sorta improvised the wiring - took bits of advice from other people. Some people did it throughout the floor, some through the headliner, some finishing through the gasket like you mentioned. I ended up just doing a combination of everything.
The main reason why I didn't route my cables through the gaskets is because since I planned on mounting the camera onto the anchor-point plastic cover, I didn't have to get the cables nice and tidy to mount onto the rear-windshield. Also, the anchor point conveniently has a cavity opening into the headliner, so it made more sense to continue through that versus routing through the gaskets unnecessarily.

All in all, it took maybe... 4 hours? But I figure if I knew everything I do now, probably under 2 hours, maybe less.

EDIT: NOTE - I just remembered for the fuse taps. Spot #3 on the diagram is for the "SMART" button/press-to-start feature. My car does NOT have this, since it's a Manual Transmission, it still uses keyed ignition. If your car DOES have the SMART button to start your car, I suggest messing around finding a different, less-essential BATT powered fuse to tap. (Reference ChrisFix video)