Hardwiring without a kit

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gargoyl666uk

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I was considering hardwiring a simple dashcam, one that doesn’t have parking mode and doesn’t require battery backup, powered by a 12v cigarette lighter socket (I assume it will have 2 cables, power and ground). I only want it switched on when the ignition is live, so ACC curcuit/fuse.

Will it be possible to use only a fuse-tap for (ACC) power and then ground the GRD cable onto a screw?
 
gargoyl666uk said:
Will it be possible to use only a fuse-tap for (ACC) power and then ground the GRD cable onto a screw?
Click to expand...
I don't understand what you are asking, you have said that it will be powered by the lighter socket, but then ask about fuse-taps. Fuse-taps are an alternative to lighter sockets, you don't use both.

Most dashcams run off 5V USB power.
If you connect 12V to one of them, they normally produce smoke and don't work - not recommended!

Some dashcams will run off 12V, in which case yes, you can run them straight off a fuse tap.

If you want to keep it simple but hardwired, probably best way to get a hardwire kit, if you can install a fuse tap then you can install a hardwire kit, but alternatively you could use a fuse tap to collect to the 12V, connect that to a standalone accessory socket (available cheap on ebay), and plug the dashcam into that using the accessory socket plug which nearly all dashcams have in the box.

If your issue is that you want to connect you dashcam to the fuse box because your lighter socket is always on, but don't want parking mode and want zero power use when parked. I would recommend getting a hardwire kit and connecting it only to switched power. This will depend a little on the manufacturer, but with Viofo dashcams, you can connect the GND to an earth point/screw, and connect both the yellow and red (ACC and BAT) wires to your ACC fuse-tap. Then it will be completely off when parked. Alternatively you can connect BAT to permanent power, Yellow to switched (ACC) power, and turn off parking mode in the dashcam settings. It will then still use a tiny amount of power in parking mode, but you can then use parking mode whenever you want it, and turn it off when you don't want.

Hope that helps? If not, try and explain your actual problem and concerns...
 
Thanks, it helps. Basically I want to hardwire directly to the fusebox and hide all cabling.

To clarify, I was looking at a 12v cam.
I was anticipating cutting off the lighter socket plug/adapter and using the 2 cables connected for ACC and GRD.

As it happens my car does have a USB circuit, which I assume is 5V so I could fuse-tap that in the fusebox instead.

I hope that makes sense.
 
gargoyl666uk said:
To clarify, I was looking at a 12v cam.
I was anticipating cutting off the lighter socket plug/adapter and using the 2 cables connected for ACC and GRD.
Click to expand...
If the plug is just a plug then yes, that would work fine.
However most dashcams have a voltage converter in that plug which outputs 5 volts to the camera, in which case you would blow up the dashcam.

Maybe if you post details or a link for the dashcam, we can then check for you. I don't want to say "go ahead" when I am not sure what the actual situation is.

gargoyl666uk said:
As it happens my car does have a USB circuit, which I assume is 5V so I could fuse-tap that in the fusebox instead.
Click to expand...
If there is a fuse in the fusebox dedicated to supplying the USB sockets, it is probably a 12V fuse with a voltage converter somewhere between it and the USB sockets. No problem using it, but expect it to be 12V, and it may not turn off immediately when parked, which might be good. A multimeter would be able to tell you what is actually in there.
 
I had a similar situation. I used the cigarette lighter power adapter that came with the DVR to make sure I had the correct voltage and avoid problems with the unit.
 
5V cameras ( USB plug into camera ) most often come with a 12 - 5 V step down build into the plug that go into the 12 V dash socket.
So if you want to keep your dash socket free for other stuff, you can just buy a female 12 V socket like the car have, and wire that into a ACC fuse that is only live when the car is.
Only down side, these 12 V plugs are not meant for dangling under a dashboard, so if you tape the two plugs together they should stick and then you can ZIP tie in the remains / surplus wire where you want.

iu


You of course then need a fuse adapter to tap into one of the cars fuses so you add a new circuit for the dashcam, and then a 5A fuse for the dashcam circuit
 
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