70mai Omni 360 Dash cam -Hyundai i30 (2016)

[Disha87]

Hello everyone,I bought a 70mai 360 camera that I need to hardwire to the fuse box. I would like to do it myself, which is why I'm writing this post. Can someone tell me which fuses is best to connect it to and what I should avoid connecting it to (to avoid causing any damage)? I saw that I can buy a piggy fuse where I can insert the UP03 hardwire, but I am not sure which one to get for the camera as they come in different ratings (e.g., 10 A, 20 A). I would be grateful if you could help. Thank you in advance for your answers.

Best regards

 

[joe384]

What you need to find out first is what type/size of fuses your car has. There are various different sizes. Use the manual or search online.

Normally there is a fuse box inside the car behind the dashboard which is where you want to use the piggy back.

Piggy backs for dashcam use normally come with a 2A fuse, and whatever circuit/fuse you piggy back off is put in the piggyback as well

 

[Nigel]

I saw that I can buy a piggy fuse where I can insert the UP03 hardwire,

Do use a piggy back fuse / fuse tap, do not follow the 70mai instructions to wrap the wire around the existing fuse legs - that is not a good thing to do.

they come in different ratings (e.g., 10 A, 20 A).

The dashcam needs less than 2A, but if you are tapping into a fuse rated at 20A then your fuse tap should be capable of 20A, there is no problem using one rated higher than required. You should use the original fuse in the fuse tap's original fuse socket and a 2A fuse in the fuse tap's dashcam fuse socket. The wires on the 70mai hardwire kit are not very thick, so the normal advice that 5A is OK for the dashcam may not be correct.

You do need the right sort of fuse tap for the fuses in your car, different car brands use different types, such as Micro or Mini fuses, you can look that up, or pull one out of your fuse box and compare it with a fuse tap guide.

Normally there is a guide to your fuses, either on the fuse box lid, or in the car manual, you will want to find a fuse that is permanently on, such as a radio fuse, and another that switches with the ignition, such as the accessory socket fuse. If you don't have a multi-meter, it may be worth getting a cheap one, then you can easily check to see when each fuse has power in it. No need for anything complex, you just need to be able to see if the voltage is near 0V or near 12V.

This is reasonably easy to do, just need to read up on it, or ask, if you haven't done it before and are not sure about something. Don't just guess though, things can go wrong if you don't understand.

 

[Disha87]

Thank you very much for your responses. I have attached images of the fuse box, and from comparing them with images online, they appear to be micro fuses (please correct me if I'm wrong). On the back, I can see which fuses are for which devices. Can you tell me what I should never connect to? Also, I have a question about the fuse for the camera: would a 2A fuse be sufficient, or should I use a 5A fuse instead? If I buy a piggyback fuse holder marked 10A, does that mean it can handle a maximum of 10A, for example, two 5A devices, or one original 10A fuse and an additional 5A fuse for the camera? I apologize if these questions seem silly, but I really want to learn and do this correctly. Thank you again for your help.

 

[Nigel]

they appear to be micro fuses (please correct me if I'm wrong

I can't see any legs, so I'm not going to comment, other than to say, you should pull one out and check the legs match the guide pictures.

Can you tell me what I should never connect to?

Some people say don't connect to anything to do with safety, like airbags or ABS, but they should all be safe.
I would avoid any low value fuses, the extra power of the dashcam will make more of a difference on those, if there is 10% spare capacity then that is more amps on a larger capacity fuse, so greater safety margin.
I would also avoid the window wiper fuses, they tend to have rather noisy/dirty power in them due to the high power motors.
Also, if your fuse tap is rated at 20A, don't put it in a 25A socket!

If I buy a piggyback fuse holder marked 10A, does that mean it can handle a maximum of 10A,

You should assume that the maximum size fuse you can put in it is 10A, and you should assume that that the two fuses in total should not exceed 10A. This might not be a correct assumption, but it is a safe one, and I doubt that you will find a fuse tap that is high enough quality to provide a specification saying otherwise.

I have a question about the fuse for the camera: would a 2A fuse be sufficient, or should I use a 5A fuse instead?

A dashcam generally uses up to 1A, maybe with a higher startup current, so absolute maximum 2A. But that is at 5 volts, and since the car fuses have 12 volt power in them, the dashcam hardwire kit will draw less than half the amps from those fuses, power is amps * volts, so you don't need more than 1A from the car fuse. It is hard to find 1A fuses, and a 2A fuse will be perfectly safe, so I recommend a 2A fuse. I normally use 5A fuses, but the purpose of the fuse is to protect the wire to the hardwire kit from overheating and catching fire in the case of a fault or short circuit, and the 70mai hardwire kit has fairly thin wires. I don't know what they are rated for, but they don't look very suitable for 5A.

I apologize if these questions seem silly,

They are only silly if you already know the answer, or could look it up and be confident that you understand. This is something that you don't want to get wrong.


I see that you already have a fuse tap there, maybe connect the GND to the same place as was used with that tap. It is often the GND that causes problems, because people connect it to plastic!

 

[Disha87]

I can't see any legs, so I'm not going to comment, other than to say, you should pull one out and check the legs match the guide pictures.


Some people say don't connect to anything to do with safety, like airbags or ABS, but they should all be safe.
I would avoid any low value fuses, the extra power of the dashcam will make more of a difference on those, if there is 10% spare capacity then that is more amps on a larger capacity fuse, so greater safety margin.
I would also avoid the window wiper fuses, they tend to have rather noisy/dirty power in them due to the high power motors.
Also, if your fuse tap is rated at 20A, don't put it in a 25A socket!


You should assume that the maximum size fuse you can put in it is 10A, and you should assume that that the two fuses in total should not exceed 10A. This might not be a correct assumption, but it is a safe one, and I doubt that you will find a fuse tap that is high enough quality to provide a specification saying otherwise.


A dashcam generally uses up to 1A, maybe with a higher startup current, so absolute maximum 2A. But that is at 5 volts, and since the car fuses have 12 volt power in them, the dashcam hardwire kit will draw less than half the amps from those fuses, power is amps * volts, so you don't need more than 1A from the car fuse. It is hard to find 1A fuses, and a 2A fuse will be perfectly safe, so I recommend a 2A fuse. I normally use 5A fuses, but the purpose of the fuse is to protect the wire to the hardwire kit from overheating and catching fire in the case of a fault or short circuit, and the 70mai hardwire kit has fairly thin wires. I don't know what they are rated for, but they don't look very suitable for 5A.


They are only silly if you already know the answer, or could look it up and be confident that you understand. This is something that you don't want to get wrong.


I see that you already have a fuse tap there, maybe connect the GND to the same place as was used with that tap. It is often the GND that causes problems, because people connect it to plastic!

Joe & Nigel, thank you very much. I finally managed to connect everything. Unfortunately, it's not possible to buy low profile mini fuse taps anywhere in Croatia, so I had to order them from Germany, which took some time. With these fuse taps, I received 5A fuses, so I left them in place, but I'm not sure if it's better to use 2A fuses instead due to the thin wires you mentioned. Should I switch to 2A fuses or keep the 5A ones? Thank you once again, you're amazing!

 

[Nigel]

Should I switch to 2A fuses or keep the 5A ones?

It will work fine with a 5A fuse, but I would be a little concerned about the wires being rather thin, so I recommend that you replace it with a 2A fuse before the insulation has a chance to wear through and cause a short circuit, which will probably never happen, especially if you have used some tie wraps to secure everything, but if it ever does, a blown fuse is much better than a car fire.

I just had a look at my UP03, no markings on the cable to know what it is rated at, so I measured the conductors and got 0.5mm diameter. I think that means that a 2A fuse should be used, although it depends on how much heat the insulation can withstand before igniting.