Hardwire not powering after sitting overnight

[Stationwedge]

I've been driving myself crazy with this and from what I've seen you all know a lot more than I do about wiring. Any help would be appreciated.

I hardwired a micro usb cable to one of the fuses in my car so it will only be powered with the engine on (the cigarette outlet is always powered). I used this fuse tap and this power / usb cable. When I first installed it, it worked fine - it powered on as soon as I started the car and off when I stopped.

The problem is, when I left it overnight and went to start the car the next morning, it didn't power on any longer. As I drove, I noticed that it would sporadically power on for a split second then stop. It could have been my imagination, but it seemed to do that only when I was applying the brake.

Further confusing me: I thought I might have had a bad ground connection, so I loosened the nut I had attached the ground to, detached the ground wire for a second, then put it back on the (same) nut and tightened. Then I started the car and the power worked fine. Then, after letting the car sit overnight, the next morning it didn't work, just as it didn't work before.

On top of that, last night I drove home (after it still not powering properly at any point), parked the car, let it sit for about 20 minutes, then restarted the car and it powered fine again. I turned the car on and off a few times to make sure. This time I hadn't done anything to the wires.

And then, of course, the next morning, it didn't power properly again.

What could be happening with this thing that makes it act differently based on the amount of time it's sat idle? It works after sitting with the engine off for a short period, but not overnight. As I said, I don't understand wiring or electrical systems well, so I can't even make a guess. Any ideas from you all would be very helpful. Thanks.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

I would either find another ground spot or scuff up the ground area to make sure it's making good contact (no paint). Make sure ground is going to the chassis. Also, what fuse did you tap? Make sure all you connections are good. Solder if you can.

 

[Stationwedge]

I would either find another ground spot or scuff up the ground area to make sure it's making good contact (no paint). Make sure ground is going to the chassis. Also, what fuse did you tap? Make sure all you connections are good. Solder if you can.

I took your advice and used some sandpaper on the area around the bolt I was using to ground. The metal is corroded in some way, so I cleaned and scuffed it up. But that didn't fix the problem.

How can I know if the metal area I'm using goes to the chassis? Is it possible a big metal plate under the steering wheel wouldn't go to the chassis? The connection is working sometimes, so I had assumed that meant the ground was properly connected to the chassis. Is there any guaranteed way of finding a better spot for a ground, other than trial and error? I have the feeling that's the problem.

Other than that, I'm confident the connections are all secure. At this point I've tapped into two different fuses - one was for climate control (10A) and the one now is a spare (5A). The climate control worked fine when I was tapping into that.

 

[CaptureYourAction]

If you have a meter, you can do a continuity test. Touch one lead to the frame/chassis and the other to the ground point your using. Have you tried using the supplied car adapter that came with the camera to make sure it's not the camera itself acting up?

 

[jokiin]

Is it possible a big metal plate under the steering wheel wouldn't go to the chassis?

very possible, the column is generally rubber mounted to reduce vibration, if not directly then whatever it's bolted to is generally rubber mounted for NVH reasons, look for the ground point nearby the fuse panel, there will be a bunch of wires that are grounded at the same point, this is where you should ground your device also for best results

 

[old4570]

Hmmmm... OP

Cameras often do that STUFF when the internal battery is empty / dry / depleted ...
I had two dashcams do that to me ..
I had to take them out of the car and charge them VIA a wall / USB charger .. Once fully charged the cams ran fine ...
Make sure that :
If you have motion detect , its off ...
If you have parking guard , make sure its off ..
If you have GPS , then this can also drain the battery .. ( I think my DOME G90 suffered from this = GPS power drain )
+ Was the cam fully charged when it went into the car ?