Chewza
Well-known member
- First Name
- Matt
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2020
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- Location
- Glen Allen, VA
- Vehicles
- '21 AMB Plat PB
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- #1
So a while ago I said I was going to do an in depth write up on transferring my Blackvue DR900s-2CH from my Grand Cherokee into my new truck.
Little did I know it was going to take nearly 6 months to get my truck, but alas the day has finally arrived!
For those of you who don't know what a Power Magic Pro (from here on referred to as PMP) from Blackvue is...
It allows you to select when and how long your dash camera runs off the battery.
It has dip switches that allow you to select the duration of recording, as well as a battery voltage monitor so that the dashcam doesn't inadvertently drain your battery below a set voltage. Because god knows the F150 has enough battery related issues amirite?
Luckally the BCM (Body Control Module) located in the passenger footwell has two fuses that will allow us to tap in to for both constant hot and ACC voltage.
Additionally, conveniently enough there's also a grounded screw where we can secure our ground wire to.
This means unlike my previous Jeep install, there's no reason to pierce the firewall thank god!
What's used in this install...
Our story begins on a beautiful 80 degree day in Virginia...
Your first step is to remove the two center console trim pieces that lead to the center stack of the truck.
These trim pieces look like aluminum on my Platinum trim. I'm unsure about other trim levels.
This will allow you to gently lift the center console trim where the cup holders are located so that we can access the back side of the center console storage area and run our PMP cable.
After you've completed that, you should be looking at the following...
We're going to be mounting the PMP right above the USB-A & USB-C outlet inside the center console.
But first we need to figure out how we're going to get a hole there so we can run our PMP supplied cable...
Luckally there's nothing behind where we want to mount our PMP, so drilling a hole shouldn't be too much of an issue.
(Below photo : Shot from cup holder area pointing towards the USB outlet in the center console storage area.)
Now that we've determined where we want to mount the PMP, let's start drilling holes!!!
(It's a scary thing drilling a hole into your brand new $75k truck, I can assure you! But it'll be OK in the end I promise!)
Up first is a hole from behind the center console trim piece. Unfortunately without drilling this hole there's no way to get the cable through. Not too big of a deal.
After verifying that the hole will allow the 5 pin connector to pass through it, let's drill one from inside of the center console storage area.
If you shine a light inside the storage area, you can pretty easily see the mold marks of the standoffs on the back side.
I drilled right below the circular mold mark that I could see. (Can't see it in this picture but I promise with proper lighting it's there!)
The next step is a little more difficult for those of you with large hands.
Due to the fact that the trim piece that holds the cup holder's can't be fully removed without removing the infotainment trim, I had to squeeze my hand down and feed the connector through both holes without putting too much tension on the top trim piece.
If you're not able to fit your huge mitts down between the backside of the center console storage area and the cup holders, a simple fish wire should work just fine.
Once we've got the PMP connector inside of the center console storage area, it's time to secure the cable to the existing wiring harness that's hidden behind the passenger trim.
Take it from an IT guy... ALWAYS VELCRO... NEVER ZIP TIES... Seriously... if you don't have a big spool of this stuff, go get some now. You'll thank me in the end... https://amzn.to/3qDE5Rn
You may have also noticed that there's some added cable to the PMP harness. This is because I want the PMP in an easy to reach area, and the harness has a short 2 ft of cable. I used the following cable to extend the power runs and it's fantastic. https://amzn.to/3vRoiPK
I solder all of my connections and then heat shrink them. If you don't have a soldering iron currently I can highly recommend any TS100 based soldering iron which has open source upgradable firmware (GitHub - Ralim/IronOS: Open Source Soldering Iron firmware for Miniware and Pinecil)...
https://amzn.to/3xSM5A1
Before we get too far, let's mount our front camera and our rear camera. You'll want to do this first because it's easier to hide the additional bulk cable behind trim pieces as opposed to near the cameras or in the headliner.
Run your cables along the normal places, behind the rear view mirror, the headliner, and the weather stripping on the doors. In order to make it easier for you to get down the passenger door, remove the panel that's hidden behind the passenger door when it's closed.
Plug the dashcam power adapter in to the PMP's receptacle on the harness and bunch it up and secure it to the existing wiring harness, being mindful to make sure it's tight and that it's not going to contact anything and make a noise when you're driving.
At this point I connected the rear dashcam and ran it's cable along the passenger side of the cab. Because I have a sliding rear window, I opted to place the camera as close as I could to the center of the vehicle, while still being able to remove the cable, and the camera from it's mount in the event I needed to replace it for any reason.
I then ran the rear camera's cable to the main unit, then ran the excess down the passenger side A-pillar, and bunched the excess behind the panel we removed originally.
After all this cable running, there should be 3 cables running down the passenger A-pillar, if you take your time, everything will be flat and you won't have any buldges in the door weatherstripping.
We're done working inside of this panel. Go ahead and close her up!
As you can see from the photo above, I've gone ahead and removed the shroud above the passenger footwell so that I can more easily hide the cables behind the retention clips. These are simple push clips, but note that in order to remove them, ensure you get between the shroud and the mounting bracket, and do not attempt to pull the clip out by it's head. It's thin plastic and will bend. I have this set of tools to help me with projects like this. https://amzn.to/3deq9HZ
Now it's time to solder the add-a-fuse (micro2) adapters to the extension cable we soldered to the PMP wiring harness.
There are cheap Chinese fuse taps, but for anything electrical like this I much prefer to pay for a brand I know... https://amzn.to/3dk5ySr
I used the following color coding to wire everything up...
NOTE: I had to cut my original setup out of my jeep, the above is just an example of how you should be soldering, and heat shrinking your connections.
Now it's time to find our fuses... As mentioned before, we need 1 that's powered even when the truck is off, and another that's powered ONLY when the truck is on.
The below pictures show my testing on the two fuses I've selected for this install.
Remove the target fuses, and ensure they are inserted on the BOTTOM (closest to the leads) of your add-a-fuse. The fuse for your camera should be at the TOP of the add-a-fuse (closest to you when inserted).
Still with me? We're almost done!!!
Look to the left of the BCM fusebox, and you should see a bolt & nut that holds a module in place. This bolt is grounded to the frame, and of course is of the 10mm variety... Unscrew this and connect your ground wire to this, then re-tighten the nut. (Note I may end up getting a ring terminal so that I can solder the wire to it, and get a better connection, but that's my personal preference. I don't see an issue with wrapping the ground around the bolt and leaving it that way.)
Now... finish tying up all of your loose wires and reattach the various different trim pieces.
Slap some velcro on the back of your PMP and stick it where you want!
Vacuum up your shavings, and test that shit out!
This photo you'll probably need to zoom in on to see, but you can see with the PMP in the on position the camera is on while the vehicle is off...
If you've made it this far, if we ever meet up I owe you a beer.
But hopefully this helps out anyone who's looking for a super stealth and functional dashcam install.
If this has helped you out, please feel free to like and share this post.
Little did I know it was going to take nearly 6 months to get my truck, but alas the day has finally arrived!
For those of you who don't know what a Power Magic Pro (from here on referred to as PMP) from Blackvue is...
It allows you to select when and how long your dash camera runs off the battery.
It has dip switches that allow you to select the duration of recording, as well as a battery voltage monitor so that the dashcam doesn't inadvertently drain your battery below a set voltage. Because god knows the F150 has enough battery related issues amirite?
Luckally the BCM (Body Control Module) located in the passenger footwell has two fuses that will allow us to tap in to for both constant hot and ACC voltage.
Additionally, conveniently enough there's also a grounded screw where we can secure our ground wire to.
This means unlike my previous Jeep install, there's no reason to pierce the firewall thank god!
What's used in this install...
| Item | Purchase Location |
|---|---|
| Blackvue DR900s-2ch w/ Power Magic Pro | Blackvue DR900S-2CH with Power Magic Pro Hardwire Kit 2-Channel |
| 2x Add-a-Fuse | Bussmann BP/HHTR-RP ATR Micro II Fuse (Add A Circuit' 10 Amp with 5", 16 Lead wire & Crimp Term) |
| Soldering Iron | NovelLife Original 65W TS100 Mini Electric Soldering Iron Kit |
| Heat Shrink w/ Adhesive | Wirefy 180 PCS Heat Shrink Tubing Kit |
| 2x 10a Micro2 Fuses | Fuse - Automotive Micro2 10 Amp BK 7825536 | Buy Online - NAPA Auto Parts (napaonline.com) |
| 3 Conductor Wire | 18AWG Low Voltage LED Cable 3 Conductor White Sleeve in-Wall Speaker Wire UL/cUL Class 2 (100 ft Reel) |
| Velcro One Wrap | VELCRO BRAND ONE-WRAP TAPE 1/2" X 25 YARD ROLL |
| Trim removal / pry tool kit | 5pcs Auto Trim Removal Tool Car Pry Tool Kit |
Our story begins on a beautiful 80 degree day in Virginia...
Your first step is to remove the two center console trim pieces that lead to the center stack of the truck.
These trim pieces look like aluminum on my Platinum trim. I'm unsure about other trim levels.
This will allow you to gently lift the center console trim where the cup holders are located so that we can access the back side of the center console storage area and run our PMP cable.
After you've completed that, you should be looking at the following...
We're going to be mounting the PMP right above the USB-A & USB-C outlet inside the center console.
But first we need to figure out how we're going to get a hole there so we can run our PMP supplied cable...
Luckally there's nothing behind where we want to mount our PMP, so drilling a hole shouldn't be too much of an issue.
(Below photo : Shot from cup holder area pointing towards the USB outlet in the center console storage area.)
Now that we've determined where we want to mount the PMP, let's start drilling holes!!!
(It's a scary thing drilling a hole into your brand new $75k truck, I can assure you! But it'll be OK in the end I promise!)
Up first is a hole from behind the center console trim piece. Unfortunately without drilling this hole there's no way to get the cable through. Not too big of a deal.
After verifying that the hole will allow the 5 pin connector to pass through it, let's drill one from inside of the center console storage area.
If you shine a light inside the storage area, you can pretty easily see the mold marks of the standoffs on the back side.
I drilled right below the circular mold mark that I could see. (Can't see it in this picture but I promise with proper lighting it's there!)
The next step is a little more difficult for those of you with large hands.
Due to the fact that the trim piece that holds the cup holder's can't be fully removed without removing the infotainment trim, I had to squeeze my hand down and feed the connector through both holes without putting too much tension on the top trim piece.
If you're not able to fit your huge mitts down between the backside of the center console storage area and the cup holders, a simple fish wire should work just fine.
Once we've got the PMP connector inside of the center console storage area, it's time to secure the cable to the existing wiring harness that's hidden behind the passenger trim.
Take it from an IT guy... ALWAYS VELCRO... NEVER ZIP TIES... Seriously... if you don't have a big spool of this stuff, go get some now. You'll thank me in the end... https://amzn.to/3qDE5Rn
You may have also noticed that there's some added cable to the PMP harness. This is because I want the PMP in an easy to reach area, and the harness has a short 2 ft of cable. I used the following cable to extend the power runs and it's fantastic. https://amzn.to/3vRoiPK
I solder all of my connections and then heat shrink them. If you don't have a soldering iron currently I can highly recommend any TS100 based soldering iron which has open source upgradable firmware (GitHub - Ralim/IronOS: Open Source Soldering Iron firmware for Miniware and Pinecil)...
https://amzn.to/3xSM5A1
Before we get too far, let's mount our front camera and our rear camera. You'll want to do this first because it's easier to hide the additional bulk cable behind trim pieces as opposed to near the cameras or in the headliner.
Run your cables along the normal places, behind the rear view mirror, the headliner, and the weather stripping on the doors. In order to make it easier for you to get down the passenger door, remove the panel that's hidden behind the passenger door when it's closed.
Plug the dashcam power adapter in to the PMP's receptacle on the harness and bunch it up and secure it to the existing wiring harness, being mindful to make sure it's tight and that it's not going to contact anything and make a noise when you're driving.
At this point I connected the rear dashcam and ran it's cable along the passenger side of the cab. Because I have a sliding rear window, I opted to place the camera as close as I could to the center of the vehicle, while still being able to remove the cable, and the camera from it's mount in the event I needed to replace it for any reason.
I then ran the rear camera's cable to the main unit, then ran the excess down the passenger side A-pillar, and bunched the excess behind the panel we removed originally.
After all this cable running, there should be 3 cables running down the passenger A-pillar, if you take your time, everything will be flat and you won't have any buldges in the door weatherstripping.
We're done working inside of this panel. Go ahead and close her up!
As you can see from the photo above, I've gone ahead and removed the shroud above the passenger footwell so that I can more easily hide the cables behind the retention clips. These are simple push clips, but note that in order to remove them, ensure you get between the shroud and the mounting bracket, and do not attempt to pull the clip out by it's head. It's thin plastic and will bend. I have this set of tools to help me with projects like this. https://amzn.to/3deq9HZ
Now it's time to solder the add-a-fuse (micro2) adapters to the extension cable we soldered to the PMP wiring harness.
There are cheap Chinese fuse taps, but for anything electrical like this I much prefer to pay for a brand I know... https://amzn.to/3dk5ySr
I used the following color coding to wire everything up...
| Blackvue PMP Harness Color | LED 3 wire cable color | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Black | Ground |
| Red | Red | Accessory Power |
| Yellow | Green | Constant Battery |
NOTE: I had to cut my original setup out of my jeep, the above is just an example of how you should be soldering, and heat shrinking your connections.
Now it's time to find our fuses... As mentioned before, we need 1 that's powered even when the truck is off, and another that's powered ONLY when the truck is on.
| Fuse Number | BCM Fuse Function | Fuse Amperage | PMP Supply | PMP Harness Wire Color |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuse #2 | Delayed Accessory | 10A | Accessory | Red |
| Fuse #4 | Not Used | 20A | Constant 12v | Yellow |
The below pictures show my testing on the two fuses I've selected for this install.
| FUSE 4 (VEHICLE OFF) |
|
| FUSE 2 (VEHICLE OFF) |
|
| FUSE 2 (VEHICLE ON) |
|
Remove the target fuses, and ensure they are inserted on the BOTTOM (closest to the leads) of your add-a-fuse. The fuse for your camera should be at the TOP of the add-a-fuse (closest to you when inserted).
Still with me? We're almost done!!!
Look to the left of the BCM fusebox, and you should see a bolt & nut that holds a module in place. This bolt is grounded to the frame, and of course is of the 10mm variety... Unscrew this and connect your ground wire to this, then re-tighten the nut. (Note I may end up getting a ring terminal so that I can solder the wire to it, and get a better connection, but that's my personal preference. I don't see an issue with wrapping the ground around the bolt and leaving it that way.)
Now... finish tying up all of your loose wires and reattach the various different trim pieces.
Slap some velcro on the back of your PMP and stick it where you want!
Vacuum up your shavings, and test that shit out!
This photo you'll probably need to zoom in on to see, but you can see with the PMP in the on position the camera is on while the vehicle is off...
If you've made it this far, if we ever meet up I owe you a beer.
But hopefully this helps out anyone who's looking for a super stealth and functional dashcam install.
If this has helped you out, please feel free to like and share this post.
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