Bought Dash Cam, but realised now that Cigarette lighter is always on???

Matthew Wright

New Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2017
Messages
5
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Right so I'm in an annoying situation. I bought a nice dashcam that you can see here. Shortly after it came I realised that my cigarette lighter always outputs power and yes I've checked if it cuts out after a certain amount of time and it doesn't. So basically it would run by battery down.

Now I've seen posts like this but I didn't really like any solutions. I don't want to do any wiring or pay someone as the dashcam and SD card almost cost £100 already. I also don't trust myself to be able to remember to take it out or flick a switch as I've seen some people implement. Is there any other way to get out of this problem?

Thanks
 
Are you up to doing one simple fuse tap? If so, get a cigarette lighter extension cable, chop off the plug, and use that to tap a switched fuse. Any mechanic or car stereo installer can make the tap for a few bucks, or perhaps you know someone who's done that kind of thing for themselves? A six-pack of beverages can often get you more than the money it cost (especially if it's ice cold :) )

Or just remember to unplug and replug as needed. A single cam draws less than 1A and shouldn't kill your battery if left on overnight; longer than that may be a problem.

You've got a good cam, better than what many have, but it's kind pf obvious that something has to change to make it useful to you. If you do nothing then that 100 quid was wasted, so choose an option and go with it- it ain't money wasted :cool:

Phil
 
you don't want to do any wiring, don't want to pay anyone to do it either and don't trust yourself to remember to flick a switch to turn it off, don't know that your current thinking is going to work out for you
Are you up to doing one simple fuse tap? If so, get a cigarette lighter extension cable, chop off the plug, and use that to tap a switched fuse. Any mechanic or car stereo installer can make the tap for a few bucks, or perhaps you know someone who's done that kind of thing for themselves? A six-pack of beverages can often get you more than the money it cost (especially if it's ice cold :) )

Or just remember to unplug and replug as needed. A single cam draws less than 1A and shouldn't kill your battery if left on overnight; longer than that may be a problem.

You've got a good cam, better than what many have, but it's kind pf obvious that something has to change to make it useful to you. If you do nothing then that 100 quid was wasted, so choose an option and go with it- it ain't money wasted :cool:

Phil
Hello thanks for the response,

Well anyway I was a bit weary about doing anything because I didn't want to take off any panels etc but I've found it is very easy to access my car's fuse box. So basically is there a way to completely avoid the ciggarette lighter and somehow just wire the Dash cam's plug straight into the fusebox with some sort of an adapater or something?
 
Depends on the camera you bought and whether it runs on 12v or 5v If its 12 v you can buy an ADDAFUSE and hook it into that If its 5 v you have a slight problem If you have no idea of what you are doing find a friend who does
 
Depends on the camera you bought and whether it runs on 12v or 5v If its 12 v you can buy an ADDAFUSE and hook it into that If its 5 v you have a slight problem If you have no idea of what you are doing find a friend who does
Well on VIOFO's website it says
Battery & Charging NO battery, use capacitor, 5V 1A.
 
Well on VIOFO's website it says
Battery & Charging NO battery, use capacitor, 5V 1A.
Have a look on the ciggy plug it should say Input voltage 12V Output voltage 5v??????? Looking at a review of it it has a USB input which is 5v so you would need to use a fuse tap and a ciggy socket and plug the original lead into that Otherwise you will blow the camera up
 

Attachments

  • addafuse correct.jpg
    addafuse correct.jpg
    32.3 KB · Views: 14
  • Ciggy socket.jpg
    Ciggy socket.jpg
    26.4 KB · Views: 12
Last edited:
It's not hard to do at all, but you must not mix up the hot and ground connections or it might kill the cam. If that worries you find a friend who does a little car work and let them handle the wiring part one evening :D Newkies and Guinness were my faves back when I was drinking and one bottle of either would have bought you this job from me :cool:

Just plug your PS into the new socket and wrap it with tape so the connection doesn't jiggle loose. Ive been running one like this for months until I get a more permanent set-up done- works great.

Phil
 
Some cars have the option to choose if you want it to be always on or follow the ignition by moving the fuse in the fuse box. Check your car's manual?
 
Some cars have the option to choose if you want it to be always on or follow the ignition by moving the fuse in the fuse box. Check your car's manual?
I did, no mention made unfortunately
 
Back
Top