Auto Electrician - Cost of Hardwiring my Cams?

Moon

Active Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2017
Messages
522
Reaction score
161
Location
Melbourne
Country
Australia
Dash Cam
(f) ViofoA119 PRO 1.32 (r) Viofo A119S V2 + A119v3
Difference of opinion on whether you are better to get a Car Radio Installation place or an Auto Electrician to hardwire your Cams.

I've looked up Car Radio Installers and there doesn't appear to be any main ones over my side of Melbourne (South West)... so I went to my Car Mechanic to ask him ... and it just so happens he has an Auto Electrician working there from Wednesday to Friday.

It wasn't him ... only another bloke took a look ... and said he wouldn't be able to give me a firm quote and said they work on AU$100 p/h and that his guess would be $300 - $400.
I'm thinking closer to $400 ... depends on whether the Dash needs moving etc

Front and rear Cam to be connected to Battery with it's own fuse ... and the Garmin GPS would have a lead coming out from where the dashboard meets the windscreen. He told me that the bloke wasn't the quickest going around but does a very neat job. The Boss said earlier that he could do it himself.


Does this sound reasonable? ... and around what a Car Radio Installer would charge?

It is 3 fittings in this instance

Thoughts? ... and No ... I'd rather pay and get someone who knows what they are doing for a Professional job ... rather than trial & error by attempting it myself.
Dash Cams are for the long-term
 
Last edited:
go to a good car audio shop, they'll do it faster and neater than an auto elec will, it will be cheaper to do also

auto elec is the place to go for starter motor, alternator, etc etc but a good car audio shop will leave them for dead with this type of work, they're better at dealing with interior trims, cabling around airbags etc, they've been doing the same for years with handsfree kits, car alarms etc, the shops are all doing dahscams every day these days so something that any decent shop will have seen plenty of already
 
Last edited:
I agree with the car audio shop.. installing a dash cam "neatly" is more about removing / replacing interior trim.. this is not normally a mechanics strong point.
 
400 holy hell are you getting a happy ending with that price? go to a car audio place,. one did mine for 40 bucks and that was 1 front cam. it took them 25 mins.
 
400 holy hell are you getting a happy ending with that price? go to a car audio place ....

Hahahahaha ... nice one - translates to about US $270 (worst case scenario) ... like having to take out an extra few screws and a bit of push n shove.

Seems like it's unanimous - Car Radio Installer.

Cheers for the Heads up
 
Last edited:
There certainly are some cowboys out there just waiting to rip people off, joina car club/forum meet others who have done loads of this type of stuff bung um a few quid/$
 
I'm thinking closer to $400 ... depends on whether the Dash needs moving etc
I'd do it for much less than that. Too bad you're on the other side of the world. :p
 
Hahahahaha ... nice one - translates to about US $270 (worst case scenario) ... like having to take out an extra few screws and a bit of push n shove.

Seems like it's unanimous - Car Radio Installer.

Cheers for the Heads up


no that's $40 US
 
go to a good car audio shop, they'll do it faster and neater than an auto elec will, it will be cheaper to do also

auto elec is the place to go for starter motor, alternator, etc etc but I good car audio shop will leave them for dead with this type of work, they're better at dealing with interior trims, cabling around airbags etc, they've been doing the same for years with handsfree kits, car alarms etc, the shops are all doing dahscams every day these days so something that any decent shop will have seen plenty of already

Absolutely, completely and entirely agree (y) And check at least a few shops for prices. Look around the shop area while you're there. It should be clean and uncluttered without junk laying around. The techs should have very clean hands or wear gloves. Less than this shows they don't care as much about your car as they should, and more means they spend too much time chasing perfection which you will be paying for :rolleyes:

This is a relatively simple job and easy to do well. Shop time should be 15-45 minutes for most cars. That usually falls into a minimum shop-time charge category. A merely good install will work as well as a perfect one- this is not wiring a satellite for a rocket-launch so normal good practices are enough ;)

Phil
 
There certainly are some cowboys out there just waiting to rip people off, joina car club/forum meet others who have done loads of this type of stuff bung um a few quid/$

best idea as far as I'm concerned. I've met many good people willing to help me out or teach me just for just a cup of coffee or a 6 pack.
 
Front & Rear cam should be easy and straight forward

As for the GPS, check if theres already a cable channel in the dash or even small channel between the glass and dash you can jab the cable in. Taking off the dash is a pain and plastic clips tend to break even with the right tool with care.

My old car had no channels so instead of taking off the dash, i just step drilled a hole through and used a grommet to make it look factory like.
 
Cheers for all the tips.

I had the GPS in the middle close to the windscreen ... so I'm trying it hard up against the side wall at the front of the Dash close to me. If this works, it will mean I can easily drop the wire down the side and up under the dash around to the Cig input, as the GPS will only be used occasionally. It is also a bit more hidden in that position. I'll see how it goes.

The A119s looks pretty neat in the rear window. I have the screen on so that I can see it is recording as the red record light is too hard to see during the Day.
Having the screen on isn't enough of a distraction to be annoying, even at night.
 
The middle works well for most folk.. the wire goes along the mirror stem (attached to the wires that go to the mirror) then tucked into the crack where the wind screen meets the headliner trim then down one of the pillars. In "most" cases one can tuck the wire to completely hide it until it goes under the dash into the fuse box.
 
Back
Top