Here is an overview of the installation of my Transcend Drivepro 200. After much research, I feel it is an excellent camera that is very underrated.

Mini Review:
This dash cam is made by an actual respected and established company, compliant with rohs, fcc, ce, etc. And it is only $120. Do not save a couple bucks and get something that might fail when you need it. However, everybody has different ideas on how much they should spend so that is up to you. the Drivepro 200 also includes a nice 16gb sd card so no need to go out and grab one as well as having wifi so you can connect your phone to it via the iOS or android app where you can live view, change all the settings, update firmware, or view/download the stored videos.

The only con (or pro, depends) is that this is a capacitor based dashcam meaning it will lose power almost immediately after power is cut. While footage will be saved, that means that 4 days of not driving and the date/time will need to be reset (but all your other settings are saved). This is also a pro because capacitor based dashcams are usually more reliable as the battery is usually the first to fail, especially when left in the sun. If you want to record around the scene of the accident, use your smartphone. The date/time issue isn't really an issue for me as I turn the date timestamp off in settings (even if I didn't, the date/time syncs every time you connect your phone to it).

But enough of the mini review, I recommend you do your own research on what is right for you, head over to dashcamtalk for more information.



Follow this guide at your own risk and use your best judgment over discrepancies. I assume no responsibility, think of this as an FYI of how I did it, which may or may not be the correct way of how you should do it.

What you need:

12-24v to 5v regulator - You need this to convert 12v to the 5v that USB runs
Long mini Usb wire- for some dash cams, you may need a barrel connector instead, but if you use the cable that came with the dashcam, you'll be okay
Trim removal kit- many uses: tucking wire in, making headliner/pillar gap bigger, removing fuse panel cover, etc.
ATO Fuse tap- preferably the "add-a-circuit" type
twist on wire connectors
wire strippers/crimper
ring connector - for connection to ground point
multibit screwdriver set - you need it for the torx screw covering ground point
stress ball- for when you get frustrated




Install the dashcam, making note of area coverage and local state laws. I like using the 3m sticky mount as it is smaller and more secure than the suction mounts, removal is easy using some abrasive floss and goo gone/alcohol. If you mess up like I did on the first try, just buy some 3m exterior tape.




Run the wire into the black cover gap, and into the gap of the headliner. Make sure the wire gets completely into the gap, it might be tight, but the trim removal tool set here is invaluable





Once you reach the A pillar, tuck the wire into the top of the A pillar and into the gap around the top around into the weatherstripping. You do not need to remove the A pillar for this, but if you do want to remove the A pillar, you do NOT need to remove the airbag logo to do so, I learned that the hard way. Make sure the wire does not cross into the potential path of the side airbag





Tuck the wire into the weatherstripping gap, or the A pillar gap. Make sure that when you pull on the pillar to tuck the wire in, to push the pillar back in afterwards so there is no visible gap. Keep tucking until you reach the fuse panel area.





In the fuse panel area, find a place to secure your 12-24v to 5v converter. Here I ziptied it. Make note of which pairs of wires are input and output before doing so!




get a Littel "add-a-circuit" or something similar. do NOT use those fuse taps that wraps around one of the fuse "splines" as this will irreversibly spread apart your connection terminal. I used a 3 amp fuse to cover the dashcam circuit, though dash cams usually consume 1 amp. Our 958's use ATO fuses.





Tap into a 12 or 24v switched fuse. (switched meaning it turns on when you turn the ignition on and off when you kill the engine). On the passenger side, I tapped into fuse #38, the leftest fuse, second row from the bottom, which is a cigarette outlet fuse. Since the cigarette outlets stay on for 30 minutes after you shut the car off, it is useful for recording the front of your car during grocery runs etc. I used the white fuse puller that is attached to the fuse cover.

If you need the fuse circuit diagram, they can be found in the "maintenance" section of the manual.





There are 3 ground points near the fuse panel, designated by the bronze rings secured with a torx screw. Crimp a ring connector to the ground wire of the input of the 5v regulator to interface.







With your dash cam UNplugged, make the corresponding connections between the power and ground of the USB wire to the power and ground of the 5v output, and the power and ground of the input with the wire of the fuse tap and the ground point







Check power to the dash cam as well as the tightness of all connections. Organize the wires neatly before putting the cover back on. make sure the fuse puller is re installed on the back of the cover.



And you're done! record a bit of footage (or use live view if your dash cam has a screen) to adjust for the angle of view, and make sure all the settings are right (Loop ON, audio on/off, etc). Keep in mind, some states make it illegal to record audio without consent

 

thank you. very nice write up. coming from driving and tinkering with Mercedes in the past 20yrs and used to the vast info of diy online, Porsche owners seem to be more of a hands off kind of crowd. now I have to get a dash cam too.

 

I felt that way too when I first started looking for DIY info. But the cayenne owners here are very helpful and open to giving you the info you need or pointing you to the right direction. It seems Porsche keeps the Field service pages locked under a subscription service where each page is like 10-25 cents, so factory instructions to tear down of major components or major services are rare.

As opposed to fixing the old family pathfinder, in which the entire factory field service manual (strut change, engine service, valve adjustments, you name it) was uploaded onto the pathfinder forum in pdf format. Maybe we can start a page where people who have bought pages from the Porsche subscription service can upload them for all to share.

 

Great write up!.. thanks for posting.

 

Don't know how I missed this before. Excellent write up. Thanks.


Actually it's about $2/document which is usually about a page of useful info and you usually need a few docs to get all the info for a given job

 

Great write up. I just installed a Dash Cam in my Cayenne also. I went with the BlackVue DW600GW-HD. I liked it for its very small form factor. i did not want a display on the camera and wanted it to be hard to notice from the outside, to reduce the chance of theft.

The nice thing about the BlackVue is that is is fully plug and play, you can have it installed and running in under 10 min. Just mount to the left of your mirror as high as you can and just left far enough to avoid the black factory tint / shade. Then run the cable down the same route as GNAT did (the cable is thin, so I actually didn't have to remove the pillar cover, as it just tucked under. Run it down to the area of the Passenger Side Fuse Panel and then through that opening, down into the foot well on the passenger side. Tuck the wire along the bottom (foot well cover) and plug the 12v plug into the 12v power socket under your dash. Easy install, no fuses or wires to add in. You get the benefit of 30 min post vehicle exit recording (as the 12v socket keeps power for that duration).

The camera is very high quality, zero maintenance and has wifi so you can connect your IOS or Android as the viewer to review video or change settings. It came with a 16gb card, that I changed out with a spare 32 I had.

There is also an option (same model number with 650 instead of 600) that also has a rear camera as part of the kit.

 

Mind posting some clips from the blackvue?

 

I uploaded a short sample to youtube


I noticed that the quality of the file I uploaded to youtube looks horrible. Not sure if they compress it or something. It looks perfectly clear on my desktop view.

 

Yeah, Youtube compresses the video, although it's still a bit blurry when viewing at 1080p, but I've noticed a lot of dashcam video reviews have that problem when uploading on youtube, which is why some reviewers offer a direct file download of their videos.

I also noticed that you have the MPH on your dashcam, personally, I would refrain from having it on as in an event of any accident, even one blatantly the other party's fault, they could say you were 6 miles above the speed limit which they would use to try an limit their liability. I could be wrong in saying that, maybe you always drive under or at the speed limit.

 

[QUOTE=Always Up;4296979

I also noticed that you have the MPH on your dashcam, personally, I would refrain from having it on as in an event of any accident, even one blatantly the other party's fault, they could say you were 6 miles above the speed limit which they would use to try an limit their liability. [/QUOTE]

Yeah, I thought about that too. Have not made up my mind if I want to disable that yet. Sometimes it could work in your favor, other times against you. Bottom line is I own the video...so if I am really speeding, I may just not volunteer the proof

 

I've had a Blackvue in my Volt for the last two years. No problems and I like it very much and it has great integration/overlays with Google Maps.

One issue I do notice is I can't use a card larger than 32GB. Does your 600GW allow for a larger card?

 

I only use a 32gb card, but notice that they offer the version with a 64gb card on Amazon (and other sites), so it must not be an issue.

 

Very neat - these are becoming increasingly popular lately! Thanks for sharing guys

 

Thanks for sharing on my list to get.