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Blackvue 650 - Are only options for rear camera drilling hole or showing cable?

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Andyw2100

Well-Known Member
Oct 22, 2014
6,547
2,448
Ithaca, NY
I am getting my Blackvue 650 installed professionally on Friday. I'd like to be able to give my installer pretty detailed instructions.

I have done a lot of research here, and I think I've read just about all the threads on installation. Unless I have missed something, I think pretty much everyone, when installing the rear camera, does one of two things:

1) Wind up with a little cable showing, as described in the Telarati article linked to and excerpted below.
2) Work the cable through the boot/sleeve to the lift gate, but then drill a hole in the aluminum to allow the cable to pass through.

I am wondering if anyone has successfully mounted the camera with no cable showing, and without drilling any holes. For example, I'm told it should, theoretically be possible to do this if one were willing to take enough panels off, etc. I'm just wondering if anyone has actually done that or not.

This is the "jumping the gap" method, as described in the Teslarati article: Tesla Model S BlackVue HD Dashcam Installation Guide - TESLARATI.com

"Because the wire is black and relatively unnoticeable, I decided to just jump the gap with the cable. The cable is hardly noticeable with the hatch open and completely invisible when closed. It is the only place throughout the entire install where you’ll catch a small glimpse of the wire if you know to look for it. I’m very picky about clean installs yet this hasn’t bothered me a bit."

Tesla-BlackVue-HD-WiFi-Dashcam-11-1024x682.jpg




If faced with the choice of having a small amount of cable visible only when the hatch is open, or having a hole drilled in my car, I'm going to opt for seeing a little cable. But since I'm paying a professional, I'd prefer not to see any cable if a cleaner install is possible. Thanks!
 
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Hi - It is possible to do it w/o drilling and w/o any visible wire. I have not done it myself, but the user KSeitzberg from in here has done it on both his Tesla's. It involves removing the plug from the rear camera wire, pulling it through a rubber thingy and reinstalling the plug. Send him a PM to find out more.
 
Hi - It is possible to do it w/o drilling and w/o any visible wire. I have not done it myself, but the user KSeitzberg from in here has done it on both his Tesla's. It involves removing the plug from the rear camera wire, pulling it through a rubber thingy and reinstalling the plug. Send him a PM to find out more.

Thanks.

I searched and found his post. He actually cut the Blackvue cable, which, as I understand it, is a pretty big no-no. It may be working for him, but it's not something I'm going to attempt, or have my installer attempt. (I'd prefer to take my chances with a slightly exposed cable.)

Also it sounds like he may have just cut the end off to make it easier to pass the wire through the part that others took time working it through. He doesn't explain how he then got the cable the rest of the way to the camera.

P85D front camera placement

I have mounted the DR650 front camera just below the front camera, and have no problems with heating or anything else.
Living in Denmark, and temperatures still only around 13 degrees celsius.
Camera not visible when in the drivers seat, and only slightly from the passenger seat.

The rear camera isn't visible at all.

Have mounted it in the rear window, and the wire is totally hidden - over the headliner and through the rubber tube with original wires to the trunk. Needed to cut off the connector and crimp/weld another mmcx connector on the cable.
 
...
This is the "jumping the gap" method, as described in the Teslarati article: Tesla Model S BlackVue HD Dashcam Installation Guide - TESLARATI.com
...

Thats my post over on Teslarati. There are owners that managed to pull out the rubber grommets where other power lines come through from the body to the rear hatch. It requires quite a bit of force, and then something to fish through the odd bends and then to pull the cable through. With the connector on the end its a tight fit too. I looked at it and even tried it but in the end gave up as it seemed like too much trouble. It honestly hasn't bothered me in the many months since I installed it and its held up perfectly.
 
I left mine hanging also after trying to fish it through that grommet with no luck. It doesn't look bad and never even notice it. I'm glad I didn't spend anymore time on it because the video from the rear cam video is not the greatest. Also I guess it doesn't help when you have 35% tint on the rear window.
 
Thats my post over on Teslarati. There are owners that managed to pull out the rubber grommets where other power lines come through from the body to the rear hatch. It requires quite a bit of force, and then something to fish through the odd bends and then to pull the cable through. With the connector on the end its a tight fit too. I looked at it and even tried it but in the end gave up as it seemed like too much trouble. It honestly hasn't bothered me in the many months since I installed it and its held up perfectly.

Pulling wires/cables through the right hand rubber boot sleeve between the C pillar and the liftgate is fairly straightforward. I know that tliving thought it too much trouble. The boot just pulls out of the holes in the bodywork. You use a coathanger to pull your wire/cable through the 6 inch boot. There are no odd bends in the boot/sleeve. The challenge is the right angle coax connector on the Blackvue rear camera cable which makes the job harder. Many on TMC have done this/had this done without major issue. Looks cleaner and more professional, protects the cable. FWIW, I just did the lighted rear applique (see artsci/Rick) and had to fish 4 additional wires through--no biggie. BTW there are some sensitive cables in the left hand/driver's side rubber boot/sleeve to the liftgate---not recommended to run any new wiires there.

I know that Andy is really sweating the concept of drilling a small hole in the right hand frame of the liftgate. As I noted to him, maybe if his installer removes all of the interior plastic trim from the liftgate, not just the right hand piece, that there will be a way to fish the cable out a 'natural' hole.

YMMV.
 
Thats my post over on Teslarati. It honestly hasn't bothered me in the many months since I installed it and its held up perfectly.

Thanks. If I do wind up going this route, knowing that you've been happy with it will ease my mind about it.



BTW there are some sensitive cables in the left hand/driver's side rubber boot/sleeve to the liftgate---not recommended to run any new wiires there.

I know that Andy is really sweating the concept of drilling a small hole in the right hand frame of the liftgate. As I noted to him, maybe if his installer removes all of the interior plastic trim from the liftgate, not just the right hand piece, that there will be a way to fish the cable out a 'natural' hole.

YMMV.

Thanks, JPP.

So if he is going to attempt going through the boot sleeve, it has to be the one on the passenger side. For some reason I have in my head that the routing of the cable from the front of the car to the back is supposed to be in some channel on the driver's side. Is that correct? If so, I'm guessing he would then cross to the passenger side in the molding by the roof behind the back seat or something? Or is the bit about running from the front to the back on the driver's side in my imagination, and he can actually stay on the passenger side the whole way?
 


Thanks, JPP.

So if he is going to attempt going through the boot sleeve, it has to be the one on the passenger side. For some reason I have in my head that the routing of the cable from the front of the car to the back is supposed to be in some channel on the driver's side. Is that correct? If so, I'm guessing he would then cross to the passenger side in the molding by the roof behind the back seat or something? Or is the bit about running from the front to the back on the driver's side in my imagination, and he can actually stay on the passenger side the whole way?

I know from having looked under the rear liftgate trim, and from artsci/Rick's extensive work and research, that there are antenna cables in the left drivers side sleeve/boot. You probably do not want to run your camera coax (or any other data/signal wiring) in the same boot/sleeve. The rear camera coax can easily go up into the headliner, along the right side of the car to the right/passenger C pillar. If you in fact have always on 12V in your headliner under the microphone grilles, the Blackvue power cable goes up from the camera. FWIW, both the 12V and coax connectors are on the right/passenger side of the front Blackvue unit, so it works to run the cables to the right. Do note that the smaller rear camera has its connector on the left/driver's side.
 
I am getting my Blackvue 650 installed professionally on Friday. I'd like to be able to give my installer pretty detailed instructions.

Believe it or not, I still have not gotten my dashcam installed. It's not for lack of trying.

I made the drive from Syracuse to Rochester this morning, as planned. It's about a 95 mile drive. When I arrived at the installer's location, he told me he wouldn't be able to do the install today! He went on to say that he had looked into it a bit, and he didn't think he'd be comfortable drilling the hole! I had explicitly told him more than once that I would not be having him drill a hole!

He also refused to take responsibility for a couple of dings he put in the aluminum trim around the 17-inch display when he did my front camera switch install.

Not that it's going to help any, but I actually signed up for a Yelp account so I could write a bad review. If anyone is interested, the review is here:

Yelp

Anyone know of a company qualified to do this installation in Syracuse, NY?
 
Believe it or not, I still have not gotten my dashcam installed. It's not for lack of trying.

I made the drive from Syracuse to Rochester this morning, as planned. It's about a 95 mile drive. When I arrived at the installer's location, he told me he wouldn't be able to do the install today! He went on to say that he had looked into it a bit, and he didn't think he'd be comfortable drilling the hole! I had explicitly told him more than once that I would not be having him drill a hole!

He also refused to take responsibility for a couple of dings he put in the aluminum trim around the 17-inch display when he did my front camera switch install.

Not that it's going to help any, but I actually signed up for a Yelp account so I could write a bad review. If anyone is interested, the review is here:

Yelp

Anyone know of a company qualified to do this installation in Syracuse, NY?

Bummer. Maybe a TMC member who has done the install themselves could work with you...it it not really that hard if you are reasonably handy and have the proper tools and supplies.
 
Bummer. Maybe a TMC member who has done the install themselves could work with you...it it not really that hard if you are reasonably handy and have the proper tools and supplies.

I don't think there's anyone around here, and I'm not at all handy!

I did have a good set of instructions ready for this guy, though, since I knew he would have done no research, including not having read the email I had sent him.

I think he may have actually skimmed one of the messages I sent him, which included some text about drilling a hole, but also included me writing that I didn't want him to use that method. That was just one of several times I had told him that.
 
I can't believe I am actually typing these words, but I am considering attempting to install just the front camera myself. I would be attempting to do so via the following instructions from JPP:

--
I amputated the cigarette lighter plug from the power cable but left the in-line fuse holder (...nice of Blackvue to do that). I fished a pull device (?maybe a big Zip Tie) from the headliner cavity where the mikes are, forward under the headliner, to exit just to the right of the rear view mirror mount cover at the windshield. I did not pop off or remove the cover from the mirror. Once I adjusted the length of the exposed power cable at the front camera, I went back to the amputated end, stripped and tinned the red & black wires. I popped open the spare connector in the headliner, and laid the tinned leads onto the existing crimped pins for 12v and ground, then snapped the connector shut. It leaves the connector open for future use. I have a fused power cable (safe). I coiled up the excess power cable and tucked it up in the headliner. Snapped the mike grille back into place. Done & dusted.
--

I just came in from the car, where I found the correct connector, and was able to open it, so I see where I would have to lay the stripped and tinned leads. In the picture below, the wires are black, green with red, and beige. Am I correct that I would match up the black wire to the black wire, and the red wire to the wire that is green with a little red, and that nothing would go in the channel with the beige wire? (The beige wire is a ground wire, perhaps?)


12V plug opened.jpg


The biggest issue I have right now is I don't understand how I would get the portion of the cable, including the connector end of it, out from the microphone area and down to where I want to mount the camera behind the rearview mirror.

I understand that in the instructions above this part is the "fishing zip tie part," but I'm not sure how fishing a zip tie, even if I could manage to do that, would allow me to get the actual power cable through.

Could someone--preferably JPP, but anyone feel free--take a crack at explaining this part to me as if I were an eight-year old.

Rear View Mirror.jpg






Thanks!


Edit: I think I figured it out. You fish the zip tie or some other pull tool through, and then some how attach the cut end of the power cable to that and pull it back through. I'm just not sure what I could use or how to do that. Everything seems pretty tight, and I don't want to break anything.
 
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I don't think there's anyone around here, and I'm not at all handy!

Well, I'm not sure how I managed to do it, but I got my front camera installed! I'm pretty proud of myself!

I definitely could not have done it without the help and advice from everyone here, so thanks! A couple of pictures follow. (I did figure out that the beige wire was where the red wire needed to go, and the green one with the red stripe must have been the ground.)

I'll still try to find a professional to install the rear camera.

One from outside:

Blackvue from outside.jpg



And a shot from inside the car:

Blackvue from inside.jpg
 
I tried doing this myself and a part of the cable showed. Was a bit annoying when looking through the rearview mirror. Went to aprofessional and he said there was no other option but to drill a hole (he had around 10 Teslas there just on that say) and since it was Aluminium, there would be no issues. How did you mount the rear camera finally?
 
I tried doing this myself and a part of the cable showed. Was a bit annoying when looking through the rearview mirror. Went to aprofessional and he said there was no other option but to drill a hole...
Not true, the installation can be done drill free :)
I routed my rear camera cable through the right side rubber grommet, back to the rear lights (popped off the handle), and then to the left side and down beside the window, like so:
IMG_20150526_171402.jpg
IMG_20150526_172803.jpg
IMG_20150526_172807.jpg
IMG_20150526_174410.jpg
 
@Egil: I also saw your post on elbilsforum.no. I have a quick question: If you managed to get the wire through the righthand side grommet, why not just route the wire directly to the left to the rear camera and not all the way around? Thanks!!
 
I tried doing this myself and a part of the cable showed. Was a bit annoying when looking through the rearview mirror. Went to aprofessional and he said there was no other option but to drill a hole (he had around 10 Teslas there just on that say) and since it was Aluminium, there would be no issues. How did you mount the rear camera finally?

I only mounted the front camera. I'm still planning on having a professional mount the rear camera.

Now that there seems to be a good way to do it without any cable showing (see post from egiljae) if I can find a good installer I may have them attempt to do it that way. But the "jumping the gap" method mentioned upthread, described in Teslarati by Tliving should result in a little cable visible only when the hatch is open, if I understand it correctly. When the hatch is closed, you should still see no cable at all.



Not true, the installation can be done drill free :)
I routed my rear camera cable through the right side rubber grommet, back to the rear lights (popped off the handle), and then to the left side and down beside the window, like so:

The poster who posted after you mentions a post you had on some other forums. I'd be very interested in more details on this that I could share with whatever professional I find to do my installation.

Is that some sort of a routing cable that we see in the pictures? You somehow push that through, and then pull the cable back out with it, or something?

By going through the rear lights, and then around the other side, are you somehow coming in to the lights on the back side of the wall people drill through, but crossing over at the lights, and then going up the other side in front of the wall people drill through?

Any additional pictures, or more description would really be helpful and appreciated.

And just to be certain, the rear camera does wind up here, right?

Tesla-BlackVue-HD-WiFi-Dashcam-11-1024x682.jpg


That was a really helpful first post, and I've given you appropriate reputation points! Thanks!

Thanks too, very much, for any additional assistance.
 
I'm a little confused by Egiljae's post also. The pics are excellent. Thank you. But why route all the way around the bottom of the window and back up? I understand why we do not want to route through the driver's side grommet. But couldn't you go through the right side grommet and tube and then just hang a left to the top center of the window? Or does the right side force you down and around?

I am planning an install sometime soon, so I have been doing lots of reading and this is so helpful

Thanks!
 
I'm a little confused by Egiljae's post also. The pics are excellent. Thank you. But why route all the way around the bottom of the window and back up? I understand why we do not want to route through the driver's side grommet. But couldn't you go through the right side grommet and tube and then just hang a left to the top center of the window? Or does the right side force you down and around?

I'm definitely no expert, but like you, have done a lot of reading. I'm hoping Egiljae will come back to really explain all this. But I think "going through the right side grommet and tube and then just hanging a left" is what the people that drill the hole do. In other words if you just do that, you're still on the wrong side of the aluminum that drilling the hole allows you be on the correct side of. I'm really thinking there may be a crossover from "wrong side" to "correct side" in that rear lights area. Conceivably, if I'm right, upon reaching that point he also could have just gone back up the right side, but continuing around the left had two benefits: one would be not putting such a big kink / curve in the cable, and the other would be the camera's connection to the cable is on that side.

I could most definitely be wrong about all of this.