Dashcam Battery Pack

[mcmaddy]

Just wondering if anyone has fitted a battery pack for dash dashcams and if so where is it. I've got the Thinkware front and rear dashcams and also the Thinkware battery pack and not sure if the glove box or under the passenger seat is the best place to install it. Glovebox would need a hole cutting in it for the cabling but if it was to go under the seat I'm not sure where it could attach to and then would need to route the cables along the sill trim piece which I'm not sure how to remove.  Anyone got any other ideas? I didn't go down the under seat drawer route which I asked about last year. Maybe I should 

[chas.s]

Just wondering if anyone has fitted a battery pack for dash dashcams and if so where is it. I've got the Thinkware front and rear dashcams and also the Thinkware battery pack and not sure if the glove box or under the passenger seat is the best place to install it. Glovebox would need a hole cutting in it for the cabling but if it was to go under the seat I'm not sure where it could attach to and then would need to route the cables along the sill trim piece which I'm not sure how to remove.  Anyone got any other ideas? I didn't go down the under seat drawer route which I asked about last year. Maybe I should 

Hi mcmaddy,
I had exactly the same kit fitted in my 7.5GTi. I had it fitted by Thinkware (via RAC), they fitted the battery pack under the carpet in the front passengers footwell. All seemed to be ok, unfortunately a few months later I decided to buy my TCR. At which time I just removed both cameras, leaving the battery pack in situ & selling my GTi.
Haven't yet got around to having the cameras & a new battery pack fitted to the TCR. I did read somewhere that the battery pack can be fitted under the passenger seat, yet when I mention that to the fitter he preferred to put it under the carpet.
Hope that helps somehow. Cheers, Chas.

[watchdog]

I have the Blackvue 900S fitted front and back with a Blackvue Power Magic Ultra battery in the glove compartment. I have the battery fixed with  velcro tapes to the back of the glovebox and the cables come in from the back of the glove box over the top.  No need to cut the glovebox there's room over the top.

[sjw]

Been thinking about something like this, and whether it even existed. How long does the battery last/ how do you charge it?

[mcmaddy]

Just wondering if anyone has fitted a battery pack for dash dashcams and if so where is it. I've got the Thinkware front and rear dashcams and also the Thinkware battery pack and not sure if the glove box or under the passenger seat is the best place to install it. Glovebox would need a hole cutting in it for the cabling but if it was to go under the seat I'm not sure where it could attach to and then would need to route the cables along the sill trim piece which I'm not sure how to remove.  Anyone got any other ideas? I didn't go down the under seat drawer route which I asked about last year. Maybe I should 

Hi mcmaddy,
I had exactly the same kit fitted in my 7.5GTi. I had it fitted by Thinkware (via RAC), they fitted the battery pack under the carpet in the front passengers footwell. All seemed to be ok, unfortunately a few months later I decided to buy my TCR. At which time I just removed both cameras, leaving the battery pack in situ & selling my GTi.
Haven't yet got around to having the cameras & a new battery pack fitted to the TCR. I did read somewhere that the battery pack can be fitted under the passenger seat, yet when I mention that to the fitter he preferred to put it under the carpet.
Hope that helps somehow. Cheers, Chas.

thanks for the reply Chas. Unfortunately I've got dynaudio and that sits underneath the passenger seat. I'll have another look though and see if I can see any further space 👍

[mcmaddy]

I have the Blackvue 900S fitted front and back with a Blackvue Power Magic Ultra battery in the glove compartment. I have the battery fixed with  velcro tapes to the back of the glovebox and the cables come in from the back of the glove box over the top.  No need to cut the glovebox there's room over the top.

when I looked last night it seemed pretty tight for cabling. The glovebox does look the best place though, cheers.

[mcmaddy]

Been thinking about something like this, and whether it even existed. How long does the battery last/ how do you charge it?

Battery is plumbed into the fuse box and charges while driving, takes 45 minutes to charge and with a dual cam setup will last about 16 hours depending on what settings you have your cameras on.

[rajb]

Have to admit I've never thought about this as mine is hard wired to the car. Never really had an issue with battery drain but which battery do you use?

As for fitting, I'm sure there is access for the cables into the glovebox from memory from the last time I pulled the glovebox out.

[joe6]

My thinkware camera is also hardwired with parking monitoring. There is a setting for the camera to switch off at a voltage set by the user. Mine is set for 12.2v. Had it in my previous polo gti for 5 years and never had a battery drain problem and now in the 7.5 gti. Do not think the battery pack is actually necessary as little current is taken when on standby. There is room for cables behind the glove box and these can be run into the passenger compartment down the side without a problem.

[mcmaddy]

My thinkware camera is also hardwired with parking monitoring. There is a setting for the camera to switch off at a voltage set by the user. Mine is set for 12.2v. Had it in my previous polo gti for 5 years and never had a battery drain problem and now in the 7.5 gti. Do not think the battery pack is actually necessary as little current is taken when on standby. There is room for cables behind the glove box and these can be run into the passenger compartment down the side without a problem.

it's not battery drain I bought the battery for, it's the fact that you only get about a short amount of parking recordings on the car battery. The good thing about hardwiring the front and rear dashcams was that it was just enough of a drain to stop the start/stop working. It very rarely cut in when I had the thinkware cams installed in my previous GTi. I'll have a look at the glovebox again, it was a bit dark last night when I looked 👍