Id like to put a rear-facing camera in my suv, and conveniently there is a 12v socket in the back. Unfortunately this socket is always powered on, even when the car is shut off.
Ive spent way too much time trying to find a good,easy solution, but I havent seemed to find it yet so Id LOVE to hear if anyone has any better solutions. As far as I can tell these are my options:
1. Run a wire from the front fusebox all the way to the back. REALLY dont want to do this, would involve removal of way too many trim peices, seats, broken clips everywhere, ill fitting panels after reinstallation etc etc. This is the problem that Im trying to solve to begin with.
2. Just leave the camera on always. Probably (maybe?) will not drain my battery in 24-48 hours, but if I go on a trip, drive another car for a few days etc, I dont want to come back to a dead battery. And I dont want to remember to unplug or switch anything. Set and forget is the key to dashcams IMO. Can easily cause overheating in the summer and probably not good for the memory card either
3. Use a "power magic" voltage cutoff device. Is built for this purpose. Unfortunately they dont cut power until it hits 11.8v, at which point your battery is well on its way to being dead. What a joke, the company that markets these should be ashamed.
4. Buy a camera with some kind of parking or auto-off feature? Not sure about this one, if its adequate even if it works. No idea if 'parking mode' slows current draw enough to eliminate battery drain concern. An accelerometer based idle solution would be the most elegant, but I have no idea if any cameras have implemented this (and again if it is even enough).
5. DIY. Found a writeup for a DIY voltage cutoff switch. Im decent with a soldering iron, but the instructions were sketchy, and Im not sure if I would be able to tweak it well enough to shut off precisely at battery voltage, and turn on at alternator voltage.
6. ?????????????????????
so what do you guys do to solve this problem?
Ive spent way too much time trying to find a good,easy solution, but I havent seemed to find it yet so Id LOVE to hear if anyone has any better solutions. As far as I can tell these are my options:
1. Run a wire from the front fusebox all the way to the back. REALLY dont want to do this, would involve removal of way too many trim peices, seats, broken clips everywhere, ill fitting panels after reinstallation etc etc. This is the problem that Im trying to solve to begin with.
2. Just leave the camera on always. Probably (maybe?) will not drain my battery in 24-48 hours, but if I go on a trip, drive another car for a few days etc, I dont want to come back to a dead battery. And I dont want to remember to unplug or switch anything. Set and forget is the key to dashcams IMO. Can easily cause overheating in the summer and probably not good for the memory card either
3. Use a "power magic" voltage cutoff device. Is built for this purpose. Unfortunately they dont cut power until it hits 11.8v, at which point your battery is well on its way to being dead. What a joke, the company that markets these should be ashamed.
4. Buy a camera with some kind of parking or auto-off feature? Not sure about this one, if its adequate even if it works. No idea if 'parking mode' slows current draw enough to eliminate battery drain concern. An accelerometer based idle solution would be the most elegant, but I have no idea if any cameras have implemented this (and again if it is even enough).
5. DIY. Found a writeup for a DIY voltage cutoff switch. Im decent with a soldering iron, but the instructions were sketchy, and Im not sure if I would be able to tweak it well enough to shut off precisely at battery voltage, and turn on at alternator voltage.
6. ?????????????????????
so what do you guys do to solve this problem?