A129 Hardwire

[Jonro2009]

Because we don't know the guage of the feed wire (wire feeding into the fuse box). Watch the video and you will understand the concept of overload.

You are adding a Dashcam with a drawer of less than 1.5a, it is very very unlikely that you are going to overload a feed wire by adding that.

As suggested previously, get yourself a multimeter and search around for suitable fuses. You will need fuses that are a suitable distance apart so that you can fit the tap into.


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[Jonro2009]

#30 And #7.

Good call


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[DarthMaul]

If you buy the fuse taps sold by VIOFO, they come up with the right fuse size - 5 Amps from what I see on the fuse taps that I received. Usually the ACC and Batt+ fuses are rated 10 Amps or more, so in case your camera is somehow shorting the circuit, your 5A fuse will burn first.

 

[TonyM]

I've never hardwired a camera before but thought I would try with the A129. I've had a look at the fuse box and user manual but can't figure out what type of fuse tap I need. Looking at Viofo's page for the HW kit, can I simply pull out a fuse and measure its dimensions to determine which type I need?



Viofo website photo deleted

 

[Nigel]

I've never hardwired a camera before but thought I would try with the A129. I've had a look at the fuse box and user manual but can't figure out what type of fuse tap I need. Looking at Viofo's page for the HW kit, can I simply pull out a fuse and measure its dimensions to determine which type I need?

View attachment 45057View attachment 45058

View attachment 45059

Normally there is a guide to what they all do somewhere near the fuse box, choose one that isn't safety critical and just pull it out. On my car there is a fuse extractor tool (plastic pliers) conveniently provided, in your pictures above the hole in the top left corner may be the holder for the tool, pliers make extraction/insertion much easier, and non-conductive plastic rather than metal is a good idea!

 

[TonyM]

Normally there is a guide to what they all do somewhere near the fuse box, choose one that isn't safety critical and just pull it out. On my car there is a fuse extractor tool (plastic pliers) conveniently provided, in your pictures above the hole in the top left corner may be the holder for the tool, pliers make extraction/insertion much easier, and non-conductive plastic rather than metal is a good idea!

You mean this, on the inside of the cover?

 

[Mtz]

Looking at Viofo's page for the HW kit, can I simply pull out a fuse and measure its dimensions to determine which type I need?

The picture posted by you is stupid (in my opinion) and confusing the people. Their names are
Normal - Mini - Micro 2 - Micro

I think you have the Mini fuse from my description and ATS from your description.
Your picture should be banned from dashcamtalk. This will save peoples time and money.

enjoy,
Mtz

 

[R1KSU]

Ats

 

[Nigel]

You mean this, on the inside of the cover?
View attachment 45062

Yes, note the instructions for the fuse remover...

Not many fuses in there!

 

[TonyM]

The picture posted by you is stupid (in my opinion) and confusing the people.

Your picture should be banned from dashcamtalk.

Thanks for the advice I copied that picture from Viofo's website:
A129 Car Camera 3 Wire ACC Hardwire Kit Cable HK3 For Parking Mode

I'll delete my picture

 

[jokiin]

The picture posted by you is stupid (in my opinion) and confusing the people. Their names are
Normal - Mini - Micro 2 - Micro

not sure where they got their descriptions from, this is our chart with the sizes and the correct names as used in our market

 

[TonyM]

I've never hardwired a camera before but thought I would try with the A129.

Almost 5 months later, I finally got around to ordering an A129 hardwire kit last week. Tonight I tried to install it, but I'm giving up.

There are only 2No permanent live fuses in the small fuse box inside my car's cabin. The 15A 'ROOM' fuse that powers the interior lights is already tapped for my towbar. The 30A fuse at the top controls the power door locks and the Body Control Module, so I don't feel like tapping into that. Nothing else is permanently live. The remaining fuses are in the engine bay, including useful ones such as the power seats.

As a professionally qualified engineer (not in electronics, I might add) I understand the importance of recognising when I'm at the limit of my knowledge and ability. I'm happy to spend a little money and have someone suitably qualified to install my HW kit.

 

[Nigel]

You could tap the tap...

I'd suggest using some tie-wraps to hold it all together if you do.

 

[R1KSU]

Some cars have an additional fuse box in the boot/trunk of the car, but if your towbar is wired to the front, I doubt you have one. May be worth a look though?

 

[TonyM]

Some cars have an additional fuse box in the boot/trunk of the car, but if your towbar is wired to the front, I doubt you have one. May be worth a look though?

Good idea, but sadly mine are just up front. I did read the manual before attempting this hardwire connection.

 

[TonyM]

You could tap the tap...

I'd suggest using some tie-wraps to hold it all together if you do.

If I tap the tap, I'm not sure if I can close the fuse box door. Is there another way to do it? I was already wondering if I could hardwire two or three cameras from the same fuse.

 

[R1KSU]

One of my fuse taps failed, (now another just has) so I just wrapped the wire around a fuse leg, could you strip the wire on the existing tow bar fuse tap and wrap it onto that?

 

[TonyM]

One of my fuse taps failed, (now another just has) so I just wrapped the wire around a fuse leg, could you strip the wire on the existing tow bar fuse tap and wrap it onto that?

If I knew enough about car electronics then perhaps I could do that. Can the towbar and dashcam share the 15A fuse?

 

[Nigel]

If I knew enough about car electronics then perhaps I could do that. Can the towbar and dashcam share the 15A fuse?

Yes, however the fuse is there to protect the wire, so if the camera is sharing the 15A fuse then you need to use 15A wire.

Looking at your photo, the fuse tap has a big red wire (20A?) coming out that goes to something blue and a smaller red wire (15A?) coming out of that. You can attach another wire for the camera at the blue thing. Probably just chop the blue thing out and replace it by something suitable. You may be able to replace the whole tap by your new tap and crimp both the camera and towbar wires into the one tap.

If your camera wire is only 7.5A as is likely, then you should add an inline fuse holder after the join and put a 5A (or 2A) fuse in it so that the wire is protected from overheating and catching fire if it was ever to short out.

 

[Gooffeyguy]

@TonyM, what kind of vehicle is this? Mention of a towbar I'm guessing a truck or suv? Some have an "upfitter" panel box under rhe dash that has fused constant/ignition power and ground terminals for accessory upgrades.

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