HELP? How to Hardwire - Thinkware f750 front and rear??

Cookey09

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Hi everyone! First post!
I'm in desperate need of knowing how to correctly wire up the Thinkware f750 dash cam, front and rear. Rear I understand just plugs into the front via cable. No problem, I'm wanting to Hardwire it. But my car a 2014 Ford Fiesta UK. Doesnt have a live 12V when ignition off!? All fuses apparently turn off after 30minutes of inactivity with ignition off...
So this means I'd have to wire direct to battery? To enable the use of parking mode. My battery is In the engine bay.
I am fine for wiring one of the wires into an ignition switched fuse in the fuse box in the glovebox... This is done by using the tapAfuse technique? Correct me if I'm wrong please?
And one wire to a bolt on the metal chassis...

I'm wanting to Hardwire it before next weekend! But I'm unable to get my head around how I'm going to get a Continious power source to my DashCam to enable parking mode?
Please
Help?
Much appreciated and many thanks in advance.
Cookey.
 
Hi Cookey, I find it hard to believe that there is absolutely no permanent power accessible from within the car, possibly just not at that fuse box. I'm not familiar with the Ford Fiesta (I last owned one of those cars in the early 90's) but maybe there will be another fuse box on the driver's side? Check your manual to see if it mentions one.

I just did a quick 'google' and found this. It mentions that fuse 5 is connected to the battery.
 
Hiya mate! I'm honestly not wired up with DashCams and the electrics mate! (Excuse the pun ;) )
I've just ordered the Thinkware F750 dual with 32GB and Hardwire, should be coming Monday or Tuesday. I'll check that link out now mate.
There is a fuse box in the engine bay, but even then it would be difficult to feed the wires through to the interior?
 
Just checked out your link. This fuse 5, would this be constant live do we know? And if so, what would I need to Hardwire my camera to this fuse? Tap-A-fuse, of what rating? And a crimp tool?
 
The fusebox that fuse 5 is situated in though is the engine compartment fuse box, so how would I wire this to the interior of my car? If you get me?
 
I got a reply from my Fordownersclub, but I'm unsure if it'll work?


Doesn't matter if you have keyless entry, it should have the empty fuse location there which should stay live.

The locking system has to stay live or you can't get in.


You just use a fuse tap, but can leave the bottom fuse holder empty as it doesn't need to power the original circuit.

Then just crimp or solder your wire to the short lead coming out of the fuse tap.

I can't guarantee the keyless entry system is live, but it should be. I would expect at least one of the passenger compartment fuses to be live as it needs to power the receiver for the remote central locking all the time.



Like this
 
So when you wrote "All fuses apparently turn off after 30minutes of inactivity with ignition off" was this from experience or did someone tell you that?
Really you ought to have a voltmeter (more commonly available in the form of a 'multimeter') and measure the voltage on the fuses yourself. Then you need to find one that is permanently powered and one that is only powered when the ignition switch is on (i.e. 'accessory'). I don't know what power management the Fiesta has, probably not much, however it pays to tap into circuits which won't cause problems due to the unexpected current draw from the dashcam. Certainly this can happen in Audis and BMWs. An interior lighting circuit is good for the permanent power because these lights are always going on and off when doors are opened. Then the accessory wire should tap into a minor circuit which won't be monitored.

If that manual in the web link is the same as yours then it looks like fuses 5 and 7 would normally be what you need but I see that they are 60A fuses and I'm not sure that there are add-a-circuit taps available for this size fuse. So according to that manual I'd guess that fuse 22 has permanent power (or maybe try fuse 32) and fuse 33 would be my first choice for accessory power. However as I noted you really want to check with a voltmeter.

Indeed I'd advise getting a pair of fuse taps like these but make sure you have the correct size for the car (refer to this link). Your only issue is then ensuring that you make a good crimp onto the Thinkware wires. You don't need a crimp tool (although that would be best), just a pair of decent pliers (not too big) and careful pressure. Make sure there is enough wire inside the crimp (so strip back the insulation, twist the wires and then fold it over on itself at least once).
 
Just seen your other posts. The advice from the club sounds good, and are maybe referring to fuse 32 for permanent power. Does the manual in the link match your physical manual for your car? It does mention that accessing the engine compartment fuse box is possible by removing part of the glove box. There are always grommets to allow wires to pass through the bulkhead. However I really do expect that you should be able to find the right fuses from inside the car.

The note about an empty fuse holder is great. If Ford wire up the empty ones then they are more helpful than Audi, none of my empty fuse holders have metal in them let alone wired for power!
 
I am certain I read that in my manual in the car! Call me stupid mate, but how would a voltmeter work? Honestly, I'm clued up on everything else, just not electrics... I know which fuses to go for that are ignition powered not a problem, it's just finding this Constant live fuse!
I've read the rest of your post and taken it into account, when wiring up, I will refer back to what you've put.
Cheers buddy.
 
Is the fuse 32 we are taking about behind the glovebox. Just to make sure we are on the same page...?
What tap-a-fuse would I need to wire into 32? And what fuse rating would I need?


I bet this is frustrating for you listening to me hahaha!
I appreciate this bud.
 
My advice about fuse numbers is based on a Fiesta manual that I found on the web. You really need to use the information from your own manual to ensure that it is correct.

You can buy multimeters really cheap these days. E.g. this one. Set it to volts, the black probe to chassis and then the red probe can be placed on each fuse in turn to check for 12V. Do this with the ignition off to find permanent power. Then for those fuses which had 0V on them, check for 12V with the ignition on. Any that do have 12V are suitable as accessory.
 
Think I might be on a home straight now mate! Thanks a lot! One more thing. It will seem daft.
For someone who is the know to hear this.

The voltmeter you sent me... Connect black to chassis. Yeah, sure. Red onto fuse one at a time, sure. Setting it to Volts? Which setting is this on the device?
Absolutely taught me some stuff here mate! Hahaha
 
Depends what type you have. In that Halfords one the selection is made with the dial in the middle. The top part of the vertical bit is pointing to OFF. One click anti-clockwise will put it into its 999V range which means it will measure on low resolution, 1V, 2V, 3V up to 999V. Actually for ease of reading this would be the best range because you'll see "0" for no power and should see "12" for power (it possibly might be 11 or even 13 depending on the battery). Normally I'd set it 2 more clicks to its 20V range because that's what I'd normally do when working on a car. All this does is increase the resolution, so no power might read 0.00 (or more likely something like 0.13 for reasons I won't explain), and power would read 12.27, or 12.58 or 12.03 and so on. The meter will be protected so if you set it to the 2V range (shown as 2000mV on that unit) then putting the probes on the car battery terminals will show 1.99 (the maximum it can show) and/or some sort of overrange indicator, however this will not be damaging the multimeter.

That 2V range will be useful for you to check AA and AAA batteries. A new one reads around 1.5 to 1.6, and when it falls to around 1.2 to 1.3 it really needs to be changed (for most electronic equipment).

The other thing you can use it for is continuity (aka resistance and ohms). Set it to 200 ohms and put the probes on each side of a fuse and a reading of about zero will confirm the fuse is good, and an overrange reading means it has blown (although it is usually easy to see blown car fuses by looking at them). A slightly better multimeter would also have a buzzer so you can just listen to it when checking.

Since you don't know much about electrics, if you buy a multimeter like this PLEASE don't start using it to measure anything else (like the mains electrics in your house) until you have learnt more!
 
Cheers mate! Again I will refer to this when I come to wiring up! So thanks a lot! I appreciate you have written a fair amount there! I understand it, so thanks, and RE: sticking it anywhere else, that won't be happening, cheers for the heads up, but I'm only 19 anyway... Expertise are sports, nutrition, fitness etc..., the non-electrics in cars...
If you ever need any advice RE: the mentioned. PM me, not that you need it. Just an offer...
Thanks mate!
 
These are my findings when testing the fuse box in the glove compartment with a circuit tester.. 34.35 are keyless entry and are in-occupied. The keyless entry is rated at 20amp...
I've been told that I only need a fuse with a rating to cover my DashCams requirements. I'm not sure how much power my DashCam will want? Dippy! Thanks a lot man! Cleared a lot up for me. Taught me a few things. Cheers. Where I put "lights up when everything off" means a fuse occupies the slot. And lights the circuit tester tool up.

image.jpeg
 
The purpose of a fuse is to protect wiring from overheating and risking a fire, under a fault condition. In dual cam mode the F750 needs up to 3.5W which at 12V is less than 300mA. So ideally you'd only need a 0.5A fuse (or rather a pair of them). 0.5A fuses of the automotive size you need may be uncommon or not even exist, so go to the next size up you can get, 1A, 2A or even 3A. I did a very rough check on the core size of the hardwire kit for my F750 and am sure they will take at least 6A. I used 3A fuses on my installation since these were what came with my add-a-circuit fuse holders. There is a fuse holder on the red wire but I didn't think to open it up and check the fuse rating myself. It would be interesting to know what it is.
 
So.... I've wired up my cam...
ran the wires under pillars etc.. Looks neat, tidy..
Crimped appropriate cables, grounded, and plugged in. Plugged in to what I have tested as a constant live when ignition and accessories off and plugged into a fuse which becomes live when ignition on...
The camera didn't start up...
:-(
anything? anyone? guys?
Such a frustrating result...
Anything would be appreciated from you knowledgeable lot!
By the way, as mentioned this is the my first DashCam and my first time ever hardwiring anything!
Cookey.
 
Could be a number of issues. Do you have the cigarette lighter power lead?

I tested mine first with that then hardwired it.
If you don't have this try the following.

Check the ground wire is good. I had to do this twice before I found a good ground.

Do you have power at the camera end on the cable?

Re-test your connections with a volt meter

Let us know how you get on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Phil is spot on, the first thing to do is check that the F750 works with the aux power lead. My F750 came with one and I had to buy the hardwire cable separately. This was the same for you? Only once you know that the F750 works should you look at your wiring.

Based on your previous comment I believe you have a circuit tester? Look at the power plug for the dashcam and you'll immediately see there is a large metal sleeve at the base end and a shorter metal sleeve at the tip end. Then the inside, looking at the tip, is metal too. The base should be connected to ground (battery negative terminal) and the inside should be permanent 12V. The shorter metal sleeve on the outside is the 12V switched. You should be able to check this with your tester.

If there is a lack of power then I also agree with Phil that checking your ground connection is a good idea, but before that what about checking the fuse in the black holder on the red wire of the hardwire kit? Then check the add-a-circuit fuses. if everything is good then you might ultimately have to remake your connections.
 
image.jpeg image.jpeg I'm away this weekend so tools are unavailable... I have my circuit tester in my car, but I'd prefer to it all at home.
Mine didn't come with adapted cable but with the Hardwire instead, as it was one or the other, as I wanted to Hardwire it, I chose to get that. Expand on metal sleeves? Just so I'm on the same page mate.
The Hardwire kit.... One black (ground) one yellow (labelled battery) one red (labelled acc).
I tried the red into fuse 43
Yellow 35
Ground to a nearby bolt.
My trim fiesta doesn't have keyless entry for fuse 35 but from results from my circuit tester Power is a constant from this slot... I.e an alternative/acting asthe battery
43 is rear view camera. I don't have a rear view camera but power was going to this slot when ignition turned on...

I've mentioned before, I'm not clued up on wiring and electrics, but I was sure, I had found out what I needed to know. And was sure this would work...
I am visiting a local garage when I'm back home.
Curious to see how they go about it...
I will swap the ground first though and ground to a bolt or similar that is touching the cars metal chassis.
Currently it is on a bolt that is touching metal for some structure but isn't the car itself as such. This may be the issue. We will see.
Again, if you have any opinions etc... PLEASE feel free!
Appreciated guys thanks!
Cookey.
 
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