Which of these Mondeo fuses should I hard-wire into?

[Bod]

I've been running my Mobius for a while now, plugged into a cig lighter adapter, and I've finally got round to buying the stuff for hardwiring it in.

The cabling is all in, and ready to piggy back a current fuse in the passenger fuse box.
The car is a Mondeo Mk3 2005, and here's a picture of the piggy back holder with converter.


And here's a photo of the Haynes manual showing available fuse slots and their respective ratings.



Also, the earth. From anyone's experience where/how would be the best spot to wire it to?


Thanks in advance

 

[boilers]

I like wiring into Waikiki beach, Hawaii, USA, EARTH... well, you asked.

 

[super max]

Did the power from the cigar lighter switch on/off with the ignition, or did you start the Mobius manually?
Are you using a super capacitor in the Mobius?

 

[tabetha]

If your dash cam is mounted behind mirror you can use the sunroof motor wiring, plenty heavy enough, it is what I used for a cam in my dads mk1 mondeo.
If you don't want to do this just use any fuse of a decent say 10 amp or more rating that is live with ignition on in position 2, or 1 as desired, ie whether you want it live in "accessory" position or "run" position, nb accessory will also stay live in run position.

 

[Bod]

Currently the dashcam has to be plugged and unplugged from the cig lighter, as it's permanently on. I've set the Mobius to go into 'motion detect' mode a minute after it powers off....which is fine by me.
We use the car daily too, so it's not off for too long (Hence the no need for the super capacitor).

I'm just confused about which fuse I can piggyback onto, what with none of them being below 7.5A, and also the other threads discussing that there's a right way and a wrong way to piggyback (Need the fuses to match one way, but the other way it doesn't matter?)

 

[super max]

Bod, I was asking about the capacitor because the voltage source becomes more critical with the capacitor or there will be startup problems. So no issue there for you.

I don't use "motion detect" after power off, but I have read of some issues with it running down the battery. If that becomes a concern you can research it here: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/sho...Support-Thread-(Posts-1-7-mandatory-reading!)

I use a fuse piggy back adapter like this one: It holds two fuses, the original that you are piggy backing to, and a new one for your voltage converter. I'm not sure why the fuse ratings would be a concern since you are only adding a very light load and not changing the original fuse rating. I used F71, a radio circuit, and that has worked perfectly for me. But do doublecheck that the Mobius powers on/off correctly as @tabetha suggested above.

 

[tabetha]

It does not matter which fuse you piggy onto if you want to do it that way, as every fuses circuit wiring will have way more than enough "extra" to power the piggyback, you can VERY easily determine which slot on the piggyback is for what, if for example you piggied into the electric window for example simply insert the fuse you took from the fusebox to enable the piggy to be plugged in into one of the fuse positions in the piggyback, if the windows then work all good, correct slot for window fuse, if not swapping original window fuse into other slot will get them working, which ever slot is not the window one will be for your cam/voltage convertor,

 

[super max]

There are three types of circuits at the fuse box that could be tapped into. This is from a shop manual, and obviously Hot = 12vdc:

1. Hot at all times
2. Hot in Run or Accessory
3. Hot in Start or Run

For a manually switched Mobius any of these circuits will work.
For an autostart Mobius with an internal battery 3. will work, and 2. will also work if "Power-Off Disconnected" = 10s (or longer).
For an autostart Mobius with a super capacitor only 3. will work and only if "Power-Off Disconnected" = "Immediate".

 

[Bod]

Thank you gents, much appreciated.
#3 is what I'm planning on (Hot in Start or Run)

@super max the image you show has no voltage converter. I thought the voltage had to be stepped down to 5v or it will blow the camera? (Hence why the one I bought is more than just a piggyback fuse holder).
It was reading that, that made me think about the amperage of the fuses I'm tapping into.

It's been ages since I did electronics/physics at school!

 

[Bod]

F71 it is btw, that looks perfect for me if there's no concern over the amperage.

 

[super max]

@super max the image you show has no voltage converter. I thought the voltage had to be stepped down to 5v or it will blow the camera? (Hence why the one I bought is more than just a piggyback fuse holder).

Yes, a voltage converter is required for the step down to 5v. The piggyback adapter that I showed gets spliced in ahead of the converter.

I can't tell from the pic if your piggyback adapter has spaces for two fuses, the original fuse and a fuse for the step down converter. If not, just replace it with one that holds 2x fuses.

F71 is probably a type 2. circuit (open during engine start), so be sure your Mobius is configured for "Power-Off Disconnected" = 10s (or longer) or the camera may turn off during engine start.

 

[Bod]

Thanks again. It does have a double fuse slot.
The Mobius is set to continue recording for 1 minute (I think) when power is disconnected, then go into motion detect mode until power resumes.
I'll install it tomorrow if my wife doesn't nick the car in the morning.
Where is best to attach the ground wire?

 

[super max]

Where is best to attach the ground wire?

My fuse box had various sheetmetal screws that could be used for a ground lug. Be sure to verify that the screw is actually grounded.

 

[Bod]

Just a little update. Finally got my lazy backside round to doing it today.
I used fuse 80 (Reversing lights), and took the earth from one of the two t30 screws in the big metal tube running through the dash above the inside of the fuse box. (Is that some sort of crumple/accident protection?)
It works now anyway.

Thanks for all your help