C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

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C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

I was going to put this Dash Cam install on my blog or in the How To section, but I've not seen any installs for the C3 Aircross specifically - and worse, some of the general dash cam YouTube videos are potentially lethal, so I decided to put it in the Citroen Technical Section of the Forum, so it can more easily be found by others from a Google search, rather than in our 'Members' section.

The main problem I was horrified to see, were the numbers of videos (including one driving instructor) who was showing people how to hardwire the cables over the 'A' Pillar, instead of removing the 'A' Pillar Trim and routing the cable behind the Airbag stored inside - that most of these people seem to forget they have!

The side curtain Airbag on most vehicles goes along the side of the vehicle and ends at varying distances inside the A Pillar. So imagine a deployment of the side airbag and the dash cam wiring is in front of the airbag - I suspect it may act like cheesewire and garotte (or worse) any occupant in the passenger seat or cause it to mis-deploy or other scenarios.

Anyway, I wanted a camera with a relatively small footprint, given that the Aircross has a significantly large shroud on the centre of the windscreen housing the ADAS equipment / sensors. So after painstaking searching I found the Navitel R10:
Navitel A.png
Navitel B.png
Navitel C.png

Some Features I like
  • Full HD 1080p
  • Built-in GPS & WiFi
  • Speed Camera Database
  • Phone App can display Live Camera Broadcast
  • Clips can be Downloaded to phone or PC
  • Additional software for your PC allows instant stitching together of your journey segments to show one continuous trip, with map location.
  • 2 year Guarantee
The camera takes a max 64 Gb Micro SD card and you can specify the segment size for the clips up to 5 minute lengths. Obviously this is to protect the files by having smaller segments and reduce the risk of any corruption. But there is the free software that allows you to edit the footage, trim the clips and stitch together the segments into a full journey.
R10A.PNG
R10B.PNG
The Footprint & Look

Unobtrusive, compact and looks totally unconventional,
with the 'Eyeball' shape
Versatile & Well-Designed

The Mount actually contains the built-in GPS Module & Power.
There is a Magnetic Connection to the camera (very Strong).

R10C.PNG
R10D.PNG
R10 F.png
Discrete

There is a cover that hides the MicroSD card.
Containing a separate power port for connection to a PC,
this can power the camera when detached from the mount.
A reset button is also here.
The Control buttons are on the underside.
Rotation

The camera can be rotated 360°.
So can be useful for quickly recording events to the sides, inside cabin
or rear of the vehicle.
The Camera Module can instantly be detached
without any unplugging of cables
GPS Digital Speed Display

The screen of the camera can be turned off
or it can be used to display vehicle speed from the GPS


Installation / Issues

So, my first mistake was focussing on mounting the camera tucked up to the left of the shroud - without checking the footage! #-o
Original Mounting Position A.png
Original Position Footage obscured.png
So I thought, 'Great'.......... until I saw the footage and how everything to the right was blocked out :grr:
So first tip - always check the video footage before wiring or mounting, as different cameras have quite variable viewing angles - anywhere on average from about 140° to 180°.

I had to risk it and mount it in the centre. The only place for this was underneath the central shroud.

Tip: If you need to remove the 3M mounting Pad from the windscreen, don't try and pick it off. Get hold of a hair dryer and gently heat the outside of the windscreen directly behind the mounting pad. Use full heat for about 1-2 minutes to loosen the adhesive. Then with one hand on the inside of the vehicle, hold the mount and apply pressure in one direction only whilst continuing to apply heat and it should at some point just pop off in one go. If successful, you should be able to reuse the mounting pad and keep any spares you have for future use.
Fitted B.png
As it turned out, this did not distract the driver's view at all thankfully.
Note: this picture was taken from the passenger side.


I started off second time round by by checking the position with live camera footage to make sure it was placed exactly where I wanted it. Clean the windscreen with an alcohol wipe in the area where you want to mount the camera pad.
Need to Extend Wire Length.png
Next I used a small trim spatula tool to carefully prise the headlining down a fraction - just enough to hold the wire near the centre of the rear view mirror. Here I allowed enough cable to route around the shroud edge and to connect into the camera without any excess. Remember with this camera, you don't need to keep plugging and unplugging wires - the mount always stays on the windscreen and the camera is attached and detached magnetically.
Removal of Dash End Panel.png
Next, use trim removal tools to gently remove the end of the dash panel on the passenger side. There are clips that are quite tight all around the cover (I have marked these in cream arrows above). My advice is to work your way around gently and do not try and pull off completely from one direction or you will risk snapping the other clips. Be wary that you will need to lift part of the weather strip as the cover goes underneath this. When you have made progress lifting it partly away all the way around, I suggest pulling directly off from both sides at the same time. It will come off with some persistence - just don't yank it off.

Next use your Trim tool / spatula to gently recess the wire into the headlining back to the corner of the windscreen.
Removeing A Pillar Trim at Top Only.png
Now for the 'A' Pillar trim. There is no need to remove this fully - especially as the speakers are wired into the bottom of the trim. Just lift up the weather strip to get behind the top of the 'A' Pillar, and use a combination of a trim too, and your fingers to gently lift the top part away. Be very careful, as there is an airbag inside (especially when using a trim tool - do not go too deep)!
Wire Down to Weather Strip.png
Wiring Behind Airbag A Pillar.png
Gently prise the top part away. You can see just see the airbag in the picture above.
Feed the wire behind the airbag and out.
Route the wire from the corner of the headlining behind the airbag.
It is therefore important not to fix anything at the fusebox end before doing this part.
A Pillar Trim and Weather Strip Secured.png
Cable exit from Weather Strip.png
Now you can tuck the wire all the way down behind
the weather strip. Replace the 'A' Pillar Trim by gently
but firmly knocking it back.
Here the wire exits out of the Weather Strip
Near the Dashboard end panel.
Wired to A Pillar.png
A neat, tidy and safe job.
F33.PNG
Next for the fuse. I used the top brown 5A fuse (Fuse number 33 on the above diagram)
Piggy Back A.png
I wanted an ignition-switched live for my camera, as I want it to go off with the ignition. Reason being, I always used to forget to turn the camera off and I don't want to run the car battery down. This Navitel camera has a battery that can power the camera back up in the event of a knock detected by the G Sensor in parking mode and will power the camera back down if it detects nothing after a configurable set time. So in my case that is adequate for my needs.

Remove Fuse F33 using some long nose pliers and insert it into the piggy back fuse holder from your hard wiring kit along with a suitable smaller fuse for your camera, and then re-insert the piggy back fuse into the fusebox.
Piggy Back Fuse Live.JPG
All you need to do now is connect the live camera wire to the fuse holder live as shown above using bullet fixings or similar as supplied in your hard wire kit.
Earth Clamp.png
Next use a 13mm socket to remove the top bolt as shown above by the green arrow. Use a suitable wire clamp to secure the earth wire form the camera lead to the bolt and reattach.
I used some heat shrink wraps to cover all the connections. Finally. just carefully tie up any excess wire with a cable tie and hide it neatly away in the fuse box.

First test that the camera powers up before reattaching the dash end panel trim!

If all is successful reattach the dash end panel.
Need to Extend Wiring.png
Finally, I just need to tidy up the wiring around the shroud.
Bullet Wiring Clamps.png
I bought some of these Bullet shaped wiring clamps - they are made of soft silicon and are just pulled up at each end to allow you to thread the wire through. They have 3M sticky foam pads. I wanted these rather than the square type as trying to get a small size is impossible. I wanted to hide as much of the bullet as I could behind the black windscreen frit (the black dots on the glass).
Wiring Complete New Position.png
So having used a few of these you can see above that the cable is all nice and tight.
Image From New Position.PNG
The picture above shows a still from the camera in its new position, so you can see the view to the right has been resolved. :)

I'm very pleased with it and took an extended guarantee with Amazon for 3 years for little over a £10 which covers accidental damage too.

So if you want something small and compact with HD footage that doesn't cost the earth and looks different I can definitely recommend the Navitel R10.
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Marc
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by white exec »

Looks neat, even cute, Marc. Only a 48mm sphere, plus the mount.
I need something like this, so now on the wishlist.

Found a review video here:
The R1000 etc similar?
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Hi Chris, yes, I watched that prior to purchase, I just love the way you can pluck the eyeball off and take it with you if needed. The 360° rotation is fantastic as you can very quickly turn it without interruption to recording.
A bonus is using the phone app live broadcast - which you just connect to the camera WiFi - so you can easily adjust the main camera in real time using the phone to see the camera view to get the exact angle / coverage you want.

I had a look at the mid-priced ones and to be honest a lot of the cheap Chinese ones have been going up in price artificially - yet the quality and reliability seems woeful. Amazon reviews are not to be trusted anymore as the obvious freebies for reviews are rife and the ridiculous 5 start one liners like "Great" :roll:

I refuse to pay £500 for a Blackvue camera - when their reliability is questionable - totally ridiculous. Looking at the other wedge shaped form factors, which I've had before, the prices have doubled for little improvement. So this time round it was the shape that was important for fitting reasons and I can live without 4K or a rear camera - as I did not fancy ripping up half the car with a tailgate to fit a rear camera too and I certainly did not want one of those with infra red lights and an internal cabin camera!

For the price I am happy and can't fault the picture or the features. So with a 2 year guarantee and 3 year insurance policy covering accidental damage with replacement refund or repair, I can't go wrong!
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by xantia_v6 »

It would be nice if the manufacturer would highlight the differences between the R10, R1000 and R1050 models.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Yes, I had a look and thought the same - from what I could see the specs on the R10 and R1000 seem the same, except that the R1000 gets a 12 month mapping licence for their navigation units.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by white exec »

Hi Marc,
Am looking at getting one of these - currently the R1050.
Do you know whether the Power Module/Mounting Unit is available as a separate item, for a second car?
I've emailed Navitel in cz to ask the question.
C.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Not to my knowledge Chris, but wouldn't you get one with a second kit - or have I lost the plot somewhere? :? :lol:

Incidentally - still very pleased with my R10 - has performed faultlessly and it really is a fit and forget solution.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by white exec »

I'm now guessing the mounting 'orb' is not available separately, as it isn't just a mount, but looks to contain PSU and GPS kit.
Initial idea was to get a second base, and transfer the camera between cars when needed.
They would probably prefer to sell a second complete one, anyway!
Good to hear yours is still hunky-dory.
Chris
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Ok, got you - the base mounting unit is the GPS module and the power supply as you say - now I understand you. But, look at it another way - if you did opt for a second one - you could do exactly as you mention, and keep the spare 'eyeball' camera as a backup for future...
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by white exec »

:-k :-k :-k
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by Dormouse »

We have a live rear camera for our 3008 dash cam, a tiny camera mounted up at the rear spoiler. Both streams are recorded. Biggest problem was feeding the cable through the tailgate and to the front but you can get video transmitters to send rear cam pictures to a receiver which plugs into the standard port. I am looking at that just now for our camper. Nice system and wise words about installing cables.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by Datadogie »

I just fitted this cheapo Bangood camera. So far seems good quality. I will need to have a drive and post up some video once I have a shave as it has the internal camera. The internal has an up down but does not swivel which would have been handy should you ever need to speak to someone through the window. I first placed it behind the mirror but it picked up the mirror plastics. So I had to slacken all my tidy wiring and move it below the mirror. Went out to take this picture and the new sticky pads failed. Will try Halfords for mirror pads. I also used little clips for fairy lights on the mirror plastics.
https://uk.banggood.com/2-Inch-IPS-Scre ... rehouse=CN
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by white exec »

We've taken the plunge and ordered an R1050. Couple of weeks until dely from Amzn.
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by Dormouse »

white exec wrote: 15 Aug 2021, 10:41 We've taken the plunge and ordered an R1050. Couple of weeks until dely from Amzn.
need a review to rate it after install and a month or two's use. cheers

ditto Marc too please
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Re: C3 Aircross Dash Camera Install / Review

Post by GiveMeABreak »

Just something I've since found out on some of the differences:

From a colleague I've recommended mine to, who actually bought the 1050 version, it seems this model also has GPS alerts. So on top of speed cameras, it warns about some kinds of hazards, like sharp bends or humpback bridges:
R1050 A.PNG
R1050 B.PNG
R1050 C.PNG
So this would appear to be at least one difference between the models. The other being the sensors used. The R10 and R1000 use a GC 2023 and the R1050 uses a Sony IMX323.

They seem to have updated the specs or at least provided some things that were missing previously.

But as far as I am concerned - updating is a cinch as I don't bother with removing the SD card and putting the firmware file on that way - I just use my phone - via the Navitel App. I use my WiFi connection at home to check the availability of a firmware update via phone, then if there is one, choose update - then re-connect to the Navitel WiFi and apply the update wirelessly - all done in a minute.

As for use, not a single fault and has worked flawlessly to date.

The R10 has speed alerts but not the other info shown above, so have dipped out there, but I'm still very happy with it. I think Chris should have this feature on his model though.
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Marc
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