ThinkWare F750 DIY Hardwire Possible?

Paul Mumby said:
Yeah, I checked Staples locally. Both London Drugs and Staples list it as an "Online Only" product, not available in store, and ships within 7-10 business days. This usually means it's not in-stock but they anticipate they can order it in.

Most other stores list it as "Special Order" (I think London drugs actually says this). Henry's photo is the same, Bestbuy is the same. As I said you can order from Amazon too, and it's supposedly direct from ThinkWare, but Amazon is having difficulty getting the stock in... Luckily with Amazon I can cancel anytime, so I'll likely not order online anywhere else unless they show it as "in stock". And I've not found it anywhere locally, looked everywhere I can think of.

I think I might have found the connector, so might be able to do a DIY hardwire... Will post more information once I've confirmed.
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Hi Paul,
Any news with your DIY installation?
Could you post the link where to find similar power connector.
Thank you.
 
It is hard to locate the hardwire kit for these units locally. Does anyone know the size of the power outlet for the Lukas dash cams? They seem to have a similar hardwire kit but I can't find any information on the size of the plug.
 
Dippy said:
Did you try Amazon? If www.amazon.ca is the Canadian site then they have 1 in stock.
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Thanks, I was hoping to find something locally. I went to the electronics store but they didn't have an barrel power adapters that were small enough.
 
Sorry, I misinterpreted your meaning of "locally". I spend time on global reaching forums like this and also I work with people across the world so my mind interpreted that you wanted to get it from a seller Canada rather than have to import it from that interesting country to your south, or even further. However I am surprised that you can't source the plug - it's a standard one.
 
Speed2k said:
It is hard to locate the hardwire kit for these units locally. Does anyone know the size of the power outlet for the Lukas dash cams? They seem to have a similar hardwire kit but I can't find any information on the size of the plug.
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Should be the same one. I tested our BlackSys, FineVu CR2000 OMEGA, eCELL, and Thinkware cables to be interchangeable.
 
I'm back! I had this thing hardwired in my 2007 Honda Civic, but I could never get it to work with continuous power for parking mode. So I bought a 2017 Ford Explorer Sport in the hopes I can finally get this to work.

The fuse box is buried deep. Most awkward fuse box location ever. Had to remove two bolts and bottom panel just to see it. junior76 has his working in a F150, so I imagine things are fairly similar. Can you tell me which fuses you used, or did you take a different approach. I got a couple of those "add-a-fuse" kits, basically fuse splitters.

Any pics would be amazing!
 
RocketRancher said:
I'm using a third-party cable for the hardwire installation, Tensility CA-2221, which I found for US $3.54.

Minor downside, the plug is straight and conductor insulation colors are different, but it otherwise represents a cost-effective alternative.

The coding difference is (T/R/S): Red/Green/Black
corresponding to: Persistent 12v / Switched 12v / Ground

Three-pole connectors of this size are sparse, but one version is a CUI PP-018.
Given the availability of the cable, though, there's no incentive to scratch-build.

Edited to remove domestic endorsement and link
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So I ended up buying this wire form digikey but I haven't installed it yet. Looks like the factory wire has an inline fuse and the Tensility wire does not. I'm wondering if you added an inline fuse to this Tensility wire? If so, what size fuse would be needed?

Or is the inline fuse not needed since you're tapping into a fuse box in your car to begin with?

Thanks in advance, just don't want to fry the unit lol
 
Saaded, the purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire - ensuring that in the event of a fault, the current capacity of that wire is not exceeded - it is all about preventing fire. Any tapping point in a car other than the battery +ve terminal will already be protected by a fuse. If that fuse rating is sufficient to protect your installation wire then in theory you don't need a new fuse. However there is good reason to add a new fuse anyway so that a fault in the dashcam or wiring will blow that new fuse rather than the car's fuse, so that only the dashcam is affected when the power is cut.

As I imagine others have already recommended (I haven't read the previous comments), the ideal method of hardwiring a dashcam into the car's electrics is at a fuse panel using the add-a-circuit type fuse holders. These have a fuse socket for the original fuse such that the car's original circuit is maintained as-was, but also another fuse socket for the dashcam wire. This allows a fuse to be added, rated to protect the dashcam and wire. Typical dashcams require only a few watts of power so in principal a 0.5A fuse is suitable. However to allow for possible inrush I'd suggest a minimum of 1A, but a 2A or 3A will also be fine assuming that the wire in question is a reasonable gauge.

So in conclusion if you have bought a hardwire kit which does not have an in-line fuse holder, then IF you are using add-a-circuit type devices which provide fuse protection for the dashcam wiring then it is not necessary to also include an in-line fuse holder.
 
Dippy said:
Saaded, the purpose of a fuse is to protect the wire - ensuring that in the event of a fault, the current capacity of that wire is not exceeded - it is all about preventing fire. Any tapping point in a car other than the battery +ve terminal will already be protected by a fuse. If that fuse rating is sufficient to protect your installation wire then in theory you don't need a new fuse. However there is good reason to add a new fuse anyway so that a fault in the dashcam or wiring will blow that new fuse rather than the car's fuse, so that only the dashcam is affected when the power is cut.

As I imagine others have already recommended (I haven't read the previous comments), the ideal method of hardwiring a dashcam into the car's electrics is at a fuse panel using the add-a-circuit type fuse holders. These have a fuse socket for the original fuse such that the car's original circuit is maintained as-was, but also another fuse socket for the dashcam wire. This allows a fuse to be added, rated to protect the dashcam and wire. Typical dashcams require only a few watts of power so in principal a 0.5A fuse is suitable. However to allow for possible inrush I'd suggest a minimum of 1A, but a 2A or 3A will also be fine assuming that the wire in question is a reasonable gauge.

So in conclusion if you have bought a hardwire kit which does not have an in-line fuse holder, then IF you are using add-a-circuit type devices which provide fuse protection for the dashcam wiring then it is not necessary to also include an in-line fuse holder.
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Awesome, thanks so much for clarifying. I've purchased add a fuse already, still in shipping so far.
 
I finally got around to trying that Tensility CA-2221 cable, it doesn't even fit in the dashcam? Wondering if anyone else who has used this cable had this issue?
 
Saaded said:
I finally got around to trying that Tensility CA-2221 cable, it doesn't even fit in the dashcam? Wondering if anyone else who has used this cable had this issue?
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It's been a while but, thinking back, I seem to recall one connector whose little tip insulator was a snug fit over the pin in the receptacle. A few light spins with a needle file fixed that.
 
Hi, not sure if I am doing this right, I have never used online forums before. I am in desperate need for any advise on hard wiring a dashcam to a 2016 Mercedes C Class saloon car. I have a thinkware F750 2 channel dashcam system. Wireing up to the lighter and hiding the wires wasn't an issue. All works fine and I am very pleased with the unit. I now want to hard wire the unit to the fuse board. I have done much resurch on YouTube watching many videos on people wireing up there cams to their cars fuse board. Looks pretty straight forward. But what I can't find on YouTube is how is done on my car. I have located a fused board in the front passengers footwell of which would be perfect to connect to. The hardwire cable has an Black Earth cable and a Red and Yellow ones. I understand one of the coloured wires goes to say the a continuous power fuse, even when the ignition is on and the other coloured wire goes to a fuse where the ignition is off. I want it wired up so I can use the park mode on the cam, where it records when the car is switched off and parked up with the engine off. could anyone please advise where I can find any information on how to properly wire up my cam to my car without the risk of damaging both car and cam?i would be very great full for any help what so ever .. best regards gary earl
 
Is there not a list of the fuse functions in your car's manual? If not it might be on the back of the fuse panel. You generally find that the courtesy lighting circuit is permanently powered (the BATT wire). Infotainment is usually temporary (the ACC wire). However the best way to be sure is with a multimeter (a cheap one will be fine as it only has to detect 12V). The black is for ground and there ought to be a suitable lug in or near the fusebox - if you use a multimeter you'll soon find where a good ground (0V) is. How do you plan to connect the wires? I recommend add-a-circuit fuse holders (use a small fuse such as 0.5A, 1A or 2A, or even 3A would be OK - this is to protect the wire from burning in case of a fault, and as you can see the wire is quite thin so it can't take too much current - although IIRC one has an in-line fuseholder anyway).
 
I dis-connected my F750 from my old to my new ride. Before mounting permanently the front and rear cams, I tried hooking the wiring one and a time onto the fuse box.

First, the earth cable was tied to a screw with metal base. Next, I plug the (red) wire to a spare port for continuous power supply. The cam was able to turn on. After that, I dis-connected this wire, plugged the (yellow) wire to the port that was meant for seat heater. Switched the ignition key to ACC (accessories). This time, the cam wasn't able to turn on. However, once I re-connected the red wire, there was supply to the cam. The cam went from parking mode to continuous recording.

The question I have here is: Is there supposed to have supply going to the cam when the red wire is not connected while the yellow is?

Appreciate your input.
 
it needs a permanent power source, the accessory wire just lets the camera know which mode it should be in, driving or parking
 
Chang said:
I dis-connected my F750 from my old to my new ride. Before mounting permanently the front and rear cams, I tried hooking the wiring one and a time onto the fuse box.

First, the earth cable was tied to a screw with metal base. Next, I plug the (red) wire to a spare port for continuous power supply. The cam was able to turn on. After that, I dis-connected this wire, plugged the (yellow) wire to the port that was meant for seat heater. Switched the ignition key to ACC (accessories). This time, the cam wasn't able to turn on. However, once I re-connected the red wire, there was supply to the cam. The cam went from parking mode to continuous recording.

The question I have here is: Is there supposed to have supply going to the cam when the red wire is not connected while the yellow is?

Appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

The constant wire is the power source for the camera, the ACC wire is more or less just a signal wire. Regardless, please have both wires connected to the appropriate power sources if you want your dash cam to work properly
 
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