Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Recordings

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@LE55ONS on youtube has a great idea. (saw the following comment on a Techmoan video review) http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... dPHXv8Hzj8

"I wired my dashcam into the live feed for my interior light. As a bonus it starts recording when I unlock and continues recording for 5 minutes after the car has been locked"

Great idea!

I'm going to try that as well. Dome lights usually have 3 switches. On(with doors open)/On any time/Off

I noticed if I accidentally leave my Dome light "On, any time mode" and walk away, my Smart Car will still shut off the light 5'ish minutes later. (I need to time it, been a while)

I'm thinking if I power my mini 0801 DVR off of this same line, I'll get the extra bit of recording when I park and walk away. Sounds good in theory !
(and should start recording as soon as I remote unlock)

Anyone else try this or think it's a good/bad idea?
 
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Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Recording Lon

I myself just ordered a $7 battery power bank https://www.ebay.com/itm/370865379052.

I'm going to wire it in between my camera and the hard wired power (off-on with car). Have that going into the power bank to charge it while simultaneously having the power out from the bank charging the mobius dash cam. I'm hoping it will at least stay on for another 30 to 60 minutes after I turn off my car. Don't mind changing the power bank once a year at $7 in case it goes bad after too many charge/discharge cycles.
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Recording Lon

avneet said:
I myself just ordered a $7 battery power bank https://www.ebay.com/itm/370865379052.

I'm going to wire it in between my camera and the hard wired power (off-on with car). Have that going into the power bank to charge it while simultaneously having the power out from the bank charging the mobius dash cam. I'm hoping it will at least stay on for another 30 to 60 minutes after I turn off my car. Don't mind changing the power bank once a year at $7 in case it goes bad after too many charge/discharge cycles.

That's a great idea too. You can't go wrong for $7 USD I'm gong to order one as well thanks.

If it only helps 30-60 minutes that would be the sweet spot. I'm leaning towards my original idea though since I'm ok with 5 minutes, and like the instant recording at the press of my remote's unlock button.

Either way I want that cheap battery backup for other reasons, or in case my original ideal doesn't work out. (thanks)
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Record

some of these battery devices automatically detect a load and will power on, many you need to press a button to power it on, may or may not work for this application depending which type it is
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Record

The battery I listed detects my mobius and charges automatically.
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Record

So you guys drive your cars with the reading light on? When you drive the reading light is off, otherwise it might be hard to see especially at night. So how will your camera record while you drive your car with the reading light off (= not charging)?
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Record

Produkttester said:
So you guys drive your cars with the reading light on? When you drive the reading light is off, otherwise it might be hard to see especially at night. So how will your camera record while you drive your car with the reading light off (= not charging)?

You're over simplifying what I am proposing here. The light switch has nothing to do with if the camera is on/off

The reading light has three switches.
-One turns the light on only if a door is open
-One turns the light on at ANY time. I want to use the same power source as this line so the camera starts recording as soon as I unlock my doors. (and stays on 5 minutes after the car is shut off) The theory is this line can be used outside of the switch. The lights being on or off has nothing to do with the camera.

This power line I'm talking about is automatically turned off after 5 minutes if the engine isn't running. (to prevent battery drain)
I'm assuming it was engineered this way on purpose in case someone forgets to turn the light off and walks away from the car after they park.
We can take advantage of it for the camera!
 
Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Longer Record

I think it is a great idea, and I shall be keeping an eye on your progress JazJon ... hopefully to steal the [successful] solution :?

Success!
I finally got around to wiring up everything.
Everything works pretty close to how I described. So far so good! Both my Front and Rear DashCams turn on as soon as I unlock my car with the remote. They continue to record for 5 minutes after I power down my car and walk away.

I'll post a few video showcase examples and a tour of how it works soon.

City Car Radio in San Francisco helped me out.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/city-car-radio-san-francisco
 
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Re: Wire DashCam - Interior Lights Live Feed = Recording Lon

I myself just ordered a $7 battery power bank https://www.ebay.com/itm/370865379052.

I'm going to wire it in between my camera and the hard wired power (off-on with car). Have that going into the power bank to charge it while simultaneously having the power out from the bank charging the mobius dash cam. I'm hoping it will at least stay on for another 30 to 60 minutes after I turn off my car. Don't mind changing the power bank once a year at $7 in case it goes bad after too many charge/discharge cycles.

Can you give us an update on this, how good is this working out for you?
 
Can you give us an update on this, how good is this working out for you?

Working great thanks!

Every car is different bit I'll get the exact times my smart car behaves.

The power lines were tapped via the lines underneath the rubber weather trim that the door closes again when shut. The rubber trim is easily pulled up with no tools. You can then test which wire is which. It's kind of hard to test while the door is open of course but it can be done! I'll pull it open when I get home from Vegas and snap a shot.
 
Driver Side Door Weather Trim (ignore depressions I was messing with it before I took the pic)
OBqaBOEl.jpg


Pull out wire bundle, cut open chaff pad housing. The wire bundle is actually inside under the hard plastic that hugs the support frame. (tap into wires) Removing the rubber just makes it easier to get into since it hangs over this hard plastic.
bDAdxnAl.jpg
 
Driver Side Door Weather Trim (ignore depressions I was messing with it before I took the pic)
OBqaBOEl.jpg


Pull out wire bundle, cut open chaff pad housing. The wire bundle is actually inside under the hard plastic that hugs the support frame. (tap into wires) Removing the rubber just makes it easier to get into since it hangs over this hard plastic.
bDAdxnAl.jpg
Hi, would you be able to show us please how did you wired the interior light switch and what pins in the USB cable did you used? Thanks
 
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So from the light switch to another Cigarette Power Outlet, My car has a 3 position switch, On (all the time) OFF and ON when you open the doors or unlock the car from the remote, light goes off in a few minutes unless you turn the engine on. Now where about the wire to the Cigarette Power Outlet comes from?
Are you taking the power from the delay wiring? wouldn't the power stop once you start the engine?
 
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Does anyone have a tutorial for this? Sounds like a great idea :)
 
This is what I am doing so that I can have continuous power when parked at Asda (only once a week)
Then the rest of the time on ignition power so that I don't have to unplug when I get home.
POWERSOCKETSX2.gif
 
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