Can't find a hot on start fuse for hardwiring

[Yuke]

Has anyone run into this problem? I have about 35 fuses in the passenger compartment of my car. About 15 of them are 15 or more amps. Out of these 15 I've tried about 12 of them and all of them so far are on without the key being in the ignition. So basically I'm thinking all of them the are "not" hot on start.

I have more fuses in the engine compartment. Has anyone had to go to the engine compartment fuses to find a hot on start fuse?

Was someone able to use the 10 and 5 amp fuse slots?

 

[kuoh]

Are you looking for an ACC circuit? You don't need a 15A fuse to wire a dashcam, 5A would work just as well. You should look for fuses that protect the radio, cigarette lighter, wipers, power windows, sun/moon roof or any other circuit that is typically only powered when the key is at the on/run position.

KuoH

 

[Yuke]

Thanks for responding. I tried both a 5 and 10 amp slot and neither turned on my camera nor the LED light on the dashcam kit. I'll try again, but it seemed like only 15 and above would turn on the dashcam LED as well as my camera.

 

[CDNinHH]

What is the brand of camera you have? As mentioned most cameras will run on 2 amps or less. Are you using a fuse tap?

 

[Yuke]

I'm using the G1W-C. Yes I'm using a fuse tap. I'm using this hardwiring kit sold by the dashcam store. I first tried the radio on fuse which was a 5amp. the LED light on the kit, nor the camera powered on. Only the 15 and 20 amps power it sufficiently.

http://thedashcamstore.com/installation-kits/

 

[CDNinHH]

What size is the fuse supplied with the kit?

 

[jokiin]

I'm using the G1W-C. Yes I'm using a fuse tap. I'm using this hardwiring kit sold by the dashcam store. I first tried the radio on fuse which was a 5amp. the LED light on the kit, nor the camera powered on. Only the 15 and 20 amps power it sufficiently.

http://thedashcamstore.com/installation-kits/

we've had a bunch of problems from customers that bought that hardwire kit, I'd suggest testing your power with something else and remove this from the equation temporarily just to rule it out as part of the problem

 

[CDNinHH]

I would go with jokiin on this.....I would think that the fuse supplied would be about 3 amp. So it makes no sense that you would need a 15 amp circuit to power it.

 

[Yuke]

I would go with jokiin on this.....I would think that the fuse supplied would be about 3 amp. So it makes no sense that you would need a 15 amp circuit to power it.

yeah you're right, I first chose the 5amp radio power on fuse and when it didn't work I tried the 20 then 15 and both worked. I then tried a 10amp and that didn't work. When I say work or not work, I mean whether ignition on or off, I was or was not able to power the camera.

The overall problem is that I cannot find a fuse that is "hot on start" and sufficient to power my camera and the turn on the LED light on the hardwired fuse kit.

 

[CDNinHH]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/370846552285
https://www.ebay.com/itm/381518558269
Sorry, probably won't be popular with the retailers on this site, but for about 3 bucks and using the cigar lighter cable that came with your camera you will be in business.

 

[kamkar]

I had to try about 5-6 10 A fuses before i found one that wasent live all the time, but i finally got the power grid in the rear expanded.

 

[CDNinHH]

The overall problem is that I cannot find a fuse that is "hot on start" and sufficient to power my camera and the turn on the LED light on the hardwired fuse kit.

So as you can see the kit assumes that you will not be using more than 3 amps, so there is no way that a 5 amp will not power it. So as jokiin says that power supply must be faulty.

 

[jokiin]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/370846552285
https://www.ebay.com/itm/381518558269
Sorry, probably won't be popular with the retailers on this site, but for about 3 bucks and using the cigar lighter cable that came with your camera you will be in business.

that's a fine idea, have suggested the same myself plenty of times

 

[kuoh]

Do you have a multimeter to test the circuits for power? While the size of the fuse dictates how much current can flow before protection is tripped, is does not have a direct bearing on whether your 1 to 2 amp camera will power on, unless there is a physical problem with the fuse tap itself or the ground being used. 12V from a 5A fuse will be the same as 12V from a 15A fuse when you only need 1A to run. I suspect you have other issues with the wiring kit as some have suggested, but the first step to resolving it is to test the power at the fuses / tap.

KuoH

The overall problem is that I cannot find a fuse that is "hot on start" and sufficient to power my camera and the turn on the LED light on the hardwired fuse kit.

 

[CDNinHH]

that's a fine idea, have suggested the same myself plenty of times

And it has the added bonus of using the OEM cable/converter

 

[CDNinHH]

Kuoh has made a good point about the ground. Double check that, as a bad ground can cause all sorts of weird things. If that turns out to be good then that power supply must be duff.

 

[Yuke]

Thanks for your help everyone.

I'll move the ground to something that has more metal then retest starting with 5amp fuses. For this problem to resolve it sound like all the 15 and 20amp fuses are always on, and only 5's and 10's are ones that are hot on start, but I need to have a better ground for the unit to function properly.

 

[Ralph2]

The purpose of each fuse should be identified on the cover of the fuse box. The size of the fuse has nothing to do with it being "on" or "off". Put your fuse tap into one identified as being on while in ACC or running (radio is a good pick), put the original fuse back into the fuse tap in the correct place. Test to see if your radio still works. If yes put your 5 amp (or lower) in to the secondary slot. Check to see if you have power from the extra circuit with a multi meter.. if not check that fuse. If the fuse is good the fuse tap must be defective.
Or before you start.. prove the fuse tap is good by checking for continuity with a multi meter. With all fuses in you should have continuity between both legs of the tap and from either leg of the fuse and output of the additional circuit.

 

[CDNinHH]

The size of the fuse has nothing to do with it being "on" or "off"

I think the OP knows this, he was just saying that in his car he has found that the only fuses that are switched ( on with ACC) happen to be 5 and 10 amps. That really has no bearing on his problem at this point. His problem is still pointing to either a bad ground or a duff power converter. He could have saved himself about $35 if he would have used the method I described.

 

[Yuke]

I think the OP knows this, he was just saying that in his car he has found that the only fuses that are switched ( on with ACC) happen to be 5 and 10 amps. That really has no bearing on his problem at this point. His problem is still pointing to either a bad ground or a duff power converter. He could have saved himself about $35 if he would have used the method I described.

I'll likely get that $35 by getting a refund and buying from your links on eBay. My ground seems pretty solid as I've installed car stereos before so it might well be the unit. There might be some unintended internal resistance in the unit which may explain why higher amperages than 5amps are needed for the camera and the LED light to turn on. Maybe improper wiring of the LED.

I'll be working on this tonight. Wish me luck.