How to access front window ... errmm, 'mirror mount'

[ChrizK]

Kuga 2016

No idea what to call the huge expanse of plastic!  As you can see, I am trying to tuck-away a dashcam cable.  This isn't really the problem, as I can force the cable in due to the plastic being slightly flexible.  The problem is the dash cam (Road Angel Halo Pro) being an awful piece of kit that kills my DAB radio.  Their solution, add a ferrite core ... doesn't work ... add more ferrite cores.  So, I need to conceal a cable with at least three cores!!! 

I guess you can imagine the cable is fed from the passenger side, running along the top edge of the window to the mirror.  Ideally I would only need access to this top section but I think I will have to dismantle the whole structure to get behind it, having absolutely no idea how to 'get in'.  Is there a middle panel clipped in near the blue arrow?  Should I try and pry it open??

[unofix]

The plastic trim just 'pulls' off with a bit of a sharp tug, or it can be levered off using plastic trim removal tools.

If you have stuck your rear view dashcam directly on to the glass of the tailgate window then sadly no amount of ferrite will improve the situation.

The solution, is firstly run the cable either along the floor to the back of the car, or along the roof but on the opposite side to that of the radio aerial cable.

When you fit the camera on the tailgate fix it on to the plastic trim (not the glass) and mount it as far back from the glass as you can get it.

I assume that you have permanently wired in a power supply for the dashcam from the passenger compartment fuse box. You need to fit a ferrite core around the output side of the power supply as the switching frequency of the switched mode power supply causes problems with DAB reception.

[ChrizK]

On 2/4/2023 at 2:53 PM, unofix said:

When you fit the camera on the tailgate fix it on to the plastic trim (not the glass) and mount it as far back from the glass as you can get it.

@unofix thank you so much for the detailed response.  Your additional information helped me understand that I was looking in the wrong place ..well, more so, that Road Angel support were telling me to do the wrong thing.  Although I now have a sensible number of ferrites at the front of the car, the main problem is certainly the rear.  I thought I had everything working and made the decision to 'fully install' everything.  At that point, the rear camera was dangling from the roof trim.  Unfortunately, I didn't read your reply until after ..I had stuck the camera to the window, only to find the radio stopped working.  On Sunday, I pried it off (which wasn't too bad, but lost all the 'sticky'), I then moved it around and found that no matter where it is on the top ledge (not the window), the radio cuts out (two ferrites attached).

NOTE : For anybody reading this, I had no idea that what I thought were rear window heating elements, also include the aerials. The problem with the top is that the aerial receivers (FM and DAB) are located here, feeding the aerials 'within' the glass.

If I move the camera to the bottom of the window, all appears to be fine ... other than, the Kuga doesn't have a flat ledge to stick it to.  It has a very inconvenient acute angle, so the camera points up at the sky.  Not really sure what to do about that, as it needs some sort of permanent platform attached 😞

[StephenFord]

20 minutes ago, ChrizK said:

... Not really sure what to do about that, as it needs some sort of permanent platform attached 😞

If you feel like posting a photo, there are some quite ingenious members on this forum that may suggest a creative solution to that.