Nextbase dashcam fitting

Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
I got my new MK4 Leon Estate PHEV on Friday and hardwired in my Nextbase dashcam in yesterday. I thought I'd put on a quick guide as I couldn't see anything on the forums yet.
The is a UK car so steering wheel on the right.

First problem is that the manual says the fuses are by the steering wheel which is not true for UK cars. UK cars have the fuses behind the glovebox. To gain access you need to drop the box down and out of the way which was the most difficult part of the whole fitting. Basically the glovebox it is held in with a stay which is easy to remove when you know how and two side runners which are a pig.


Glovebox stay 2.jpg

First the stay on the right hand side of the glove box needs unclipping by pulling the very bottom towards you until it you feel it unclip and then pull it out of the socket.

Glovebox catch.jpg

Then the glovebox has a peg which locate in runners on either side which need freeing. There may be an easier way but the only way I could find to release them was to press in the plastic where the arrow is pointed and at the same time press the side of the glove box in. It took patience and a good deal of brute force. When they are both freed then the glove box can be dropped down to reveal the fuses.

Fuse position.jpg


Then I placed the fuse piggy back holder in position 66 which is the rear wash wipe and as such is ignition switched. The wire was then fed up in front of the fuses to where you can see it emerge in the next photo.

Earth and wiring.jpg

Next I pulled off the dash side panel which was simply clipped in. The earth spade was then attached behind the dashboard bolt circled above as this gives a good earth.
Next I put the camera unit in position and fed the cable behind the headlining and unclipped the A pillar cover partially and fed the cable behind. Finally I tied all the surplus cable together put all the excess into the handy void circled at the top before replacing the dash panel.

Final.jpg

The result is a very neat installation with only a tiny bit of wire visible and the camera operates automatically when the ignition is switched on. It took about half an hour in total.
It would be easier if Seat fitted a USB C socket on the rear view mirror like Skoda do though.

Hope this helps someone. 🤞
 

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DanMn

Active Member
Nov 26, 2020
19
6
Great guide there, I was considering getting quotes for a professional installation but it doesn’t seem that difficult. My main worry is causing damage running the cable behind the A pillar and roof lining, are there any specific tools you used for removing bits of trim without causing damage?
 

Deleted member 123864

Guest
Step 1 should be to disconnect the battery before opening that side panel otherwise the airbag light will illuminate and you need OBDEleven or similar to disable it.
 
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Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
Great guide there, I was considering getting quotes for a professional installation but it doesn’t seem that difficult. My main worry is causing damage running the cable behind the A pillar and roof lining, are there any specific tools you used for removing bits of trim without causing damage?
Thanks. The cable routing is the easy part - no special tools required. The wire just pushes behind the roof lining with your fingers. The A pillar cover doesn't need to be fully removed, simply pull back the door seal with your fingers and pull the cover carefully to unclip one side. The wire can be fed inside and snapped back into place. Same with the side panel, just pull back the seal, get your fingers under the edge and pull gently.
 

Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
Step 1 should be to disconnect the battery before opening that side panel otherwise the airbag light will illuminate and you need OBDEleven or similar to disable it.
Removing the side panel didn't cause any issue with the airbag light. It might be different if you disconnected the airbag switch but there was plenty of cable to leave it connected. I just made sure the ignition was off.
 
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Deleted member 123864

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Removing the side panel didn't cause any issue with the airbag light. It might be different if you disconnected the airbag switch but there was plenty of cable to leave it connected. I just made sure the ignition was off.
In that case you need to mention not to disconnect 😉
 

Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
The "stay" is called the "dampner" that moderates the speed that the glovebox drops at... not that I've never taken the Ateca one off. Need strong fingers to do the action. That secret bugged Ateca owners for sometime as to where the fuse box was and how to take the damper off, unhook.
Thanks, couldn't think what it's proper name was. Luckily I previously had a Skoda Superb with the same damper and those forum guys knew how to unclip it so I remembered how.
 
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Tell

Full Member
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Thanks, couldn't think what it's proper name was. Luckily I previously had a Skoda Superb with the same damper and those forum guys knew how to unclip it so I remembered how.
The Ateca you also have to squeeze the glove box on either side once you got the damper off to get it to finally drop down into the service position... did you get a view of the mib3 box once it was down or is it stashed somewhere else (just for interest). That must come out for service where ever that is.
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
701
252
The dashcam fitting I've done involves tucking a 5m usb cable behind the roof trim, pillar trim, door rubber, carpet and centre console edges until it reaches the rear usb A socket. It took about 5 minutes, can't be seen but can be reversed in about 2 minutes when the car goes off lease.
 

Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
The Ateca you also have to squeeze the glove box on either side once you got the damper off to get it to finally drop down into the service position... did you get a view of the mib3 box once it was down or is it stashed somewhere else (just for interest). That must come out for service where ever that is.
Don't remember seeing anything else behind there and I don't fancy prying it open again to have a look ;)
 
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Chemical Matt

Active Member
Dec 16, 2020
47
37
The dashcam fitting I've done involves tucking a 5m usb cable behind the roof trim, pillar trim, door rubber, carpet and centre console edges until it reaches the rear usb A socket. It took about 5 minutes, can't be seen but can be reversed in about 2 minutes when the car goes off lease.
That's certainly an option. Mines a lease car too but as I've got it for 4 years I prefer the hardwired kit and I quite enjoy a bit of tinkering. I previously had it on my Skoda Superb and it only took 15 mins to remove.
 
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KoNG

Active Member
Jul 27, 2016
473
98
Canning Town
I got my new MK4 Leon Estate PHEV on Friday and hardwired in my Nextbase dashcam in yesterday. I thought I'd put on a quick guide as I couldn't see anything on the forums yet.
The is a UK car so steering wheel on the right.

First problem is that the manual says the fuses are by the steering wheel which is not true for UK cars. UK cars have the fuses behind the glovebox. To gain access you need to drop the box down and out of the way which was the most difficult part of the whole fitting. Basically the glovebox it is held in with a stay which is easy to remove when you know how and two side runners which are a pig.


View attachment 23187
First the stay on the right hand side of the glove box needs unclipping by pulling the very bottom towards you until it you feel it unclip and then pull it out of the socket.

View attachment 23188
Then the glovebox has a peg which locate in runners on either side which need freeing. There may be an easier way but the only way I could find to release them was to press in the plastic where the arrow is pointed and at the same time press the side of the glove box in. It took patience and a good deal of brute force. When they are both freed then the glove box can be dropped down to reveal the fuses.

View attachment 23190

Then I placed the fuse piggy back holder in position 66 which is the rear wash wipe and as such is ignition switched. The wire was then fed up in front of the fuses to where you can see it emerge in the next photo.

View attachment 23191
Next I pulled off the dash side panel which was simply clipped in. The earth spade was then attached behind the dashboard bolt circled above as this gives a good earth.
Next I put the camera unit in position and fed the cable behind the headlining and unclipped the A pillar cover partially and fed the cable behind. Finally I tied all the surplus cable together put all the excess into the handy void circled at the top before replacing the dash panel.

View attachment 23192
The result is a very neat installation with only a tiny bit of wire visible and the camera operates automatically when the ignition is switched on. It took about half an hour in total.
It would be easier if Seat fitted a USB C socket on the rear view mirror like Skoda do though.

Hope this helps someone.
You should be using slot 52 not 66 - if you notice slot 52 has two position one is for key on and bottom one is for constant power (in case the camera has parking monitor without battery inside)
 
Last edited:

Zoidberg

Active Member
Apr 20, 2021
65
35
Denmark
Has anyone hardwired a dashcam on a LHD car? I am struggling to find a good ground point, none of the screws near the fuse box seems to be working.
 

BoomerBoom

Active Member
Jun 1, 2018
701
252
One of the many drawbacks to modern car electrics, earthing points are now very specific as all components are loomed and part of assembled block installation - each used to have its own earth point and it was easy to find one, but prone to install errors.

You could try taking off the dashboard side panel, open the passenger door and prise it out from the front edge. On my RHD there was a host of sharp steel in there and, if I recall correctly, an earth point that might be duplicated on the LHD?

Edit: it's shown in the fourth picture of the original post above.
 

Zoidberg

Active Member
Apr 20, 2021
65
35
Denmark
Thanks for your reply. Turns out it wasn't bad earth, but a bad live connection 🤦‍♂️ It's all fine now, either of the two bolts near the fuse box will work just fine :)
 

Jdt020471

Active Member
Dec 11, 2021
40
16
Is it me, but having to take the glove box out to access fuses is a bit mad. Surely fuses need to be easily accessible in case kne needs replacing? Just a thought.
 

Tell

Full Member
Staff member
Moderator
Is it me, but having to take the glove box out to access fuses is a bit mad. Surely fuses need to be easily accessible in case kne needs replacing? Just a thought.
Afraid it's been like that for a time on new Vag car models. What they do on RHD cars is keep the cars wiring the same as LHD cars so it terminates on the left which is behind the glove box making it tricky to access. They would have to change the wiring route. They don't.

My issue is my fingers aren't strong enough to take the dampner off. Those dampners also can break so if you do that it drops down and hits you on the leg when you open it.🙄
 

KXL

KXL
Dec 15, 2016
1,581
197
London, UK
I did also recently do this (on a current gen Audi A3), however I 'hardwired' via a different method. I got a OBD port to dashcam. The OBD thing had a option for 5 mins cut off after ignition off, or live current and will cut off if car battery falls below certain treshold.
You are going to laugh, but I run a cable via the left side (passenger side) wire towards the 12V port (original setup), and I run another cable down the driver's side to the OBD port. I use the OBD port if I'm parking the car up for 2 or more weeks (holiday setup). However on everyday use my dash cam (322GW) has a battery and has enough cover for a week's parking (or 30 non stop mins). Anyway I use the car at least 2-3 time a day so it's just fine. Is yours a 412GW?
Luckily the trim tool was useful in helping me hide the wires to the best I can. Was just a bit tough to tuck it in between teh headlining and A pillar start short area.
 

Smoggy

Active Member
Nov 3, 2023
7
3
Hi, thank you I know this thread is a few years old but the instructions where perfect to fit a nextbase to my new 2023 Cupra Leon. Pretty straight forward just the glove box that was "interesting" shall we say.