Installing hardwire kit for A118C

[Mike Ellis]

I recently purchased an A118C dash cam as well as this hardwire kit. The hardwire kit comes with a red 16 gauge-ish (hot) wire and a black (ground) connector. After doing a little research, it would appear I can hardwire it in two ways.

1. Buy an add-a-circuit fuse holder.
2. Wrap the hot wire directly around an existing fuse.​

My initial thought with option #2 was that that wouldn't allow for fuse protection, but a reviewer of the hardwire kit on the SpyTec site left the following comment:

High quality wiring kit. Comes with an inline fuse and a voltage/amperage regulator to protect both your car and camera. ​

So it sounds like I should be good with just wrapping the wire around an existing fuse. Is that correct? If so, what size fuse should I attach it to? I read through a few threads on here that said nothing higher than 2A.

Thanks in advance

 

[cyp]

I really wouldn't do that, instead try something like

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230652186731
Depending on the size of fuses in your car, you need different models.

 

[Mike Ellis]

I really wouldn't do that, instead try something like

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230652186731
Depending on the size of fuses in your car, you need different models.

Thanks for your reply, cyp. I think your advice probably best not to risk anything and use an add-a-fuse. Any idea what amperage I should use?

 

[Gibson99]

doesnt really matter. what matters is whether the circuit you tap into is key-switched. i used the power window circuit in my car.

 

[Mike Ellis]

doesnt really matter. what matters is whether the circuit you tap into is key-switched. i used the power window circuit in my car.

There are other posts on here that say higher amperages could fry your camera... https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threads/questions-on-hardwiring-camera.9886/#post-123300

 

[cyp]

Thanks for your reply, cyp. I think your advice probably best not to risk anything and use an add-a-fuse. Any idea what amperage I should use?

The power for the camera is low, so it probably doesn't matter what fuse you connect to, the camera itself can be on a small fuse, say 1A.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thanks guys. To confirm, I can use an mini fuse add-a-circuit (perhaps one with a maximum of 20A as cyp linked, doesn't matter), insert it into any switched fuse, and pop a 1A mini fuse into the add-a-circuit.

 

[fac3]

These cameras run off of 5v and your car's electrical system is 12v. You need a 12v to 5v converter between the camera and the add-a-fuse

 

[Mike Ellis]

These cameras run off of 5v and your car's electrical system is 12v. You need a 12v to 5v converter between the camera and the add-a-fuse

It seems hard to believe that I need to buy two additional pieces of hardware (an add-a-circuit and a 12V to 5V converter) for the hardwire kit to work. Doesn't seem like much of a "kit". Neither of the previous 2 commenters mention the voltage discrepancies. Are you positive the hardwire kit I purchased doesn't also do the conversion? It says 12V on the kit...

 

[fac3]

It seems hard to believe that I need to buy two additional pieces of hardware (an add-a-circuit and a 12V to 5V converter) for the hardwire kit to work. Doesn't seem like much of a "kit". Neither of the previous 2 commenters mention the voltage discrepancies. Are you positive the hardwire kit I purchased doesn't also do the conversion? It says 12V on the kit...

Ah, I didn't look at the wiring kit. The little box pictured is the 12v to 5v converter. You just need the add-a-fuse and then a connector for the ground

 

[Mike Ellis]

Ah, I didn't look at the wiring kit. The little box pictured is the 12v to 5v converter. You just need the add-a-fuse and then a connector for the ground

Thanks for clarifying. You had me worried/annoyed for second.

 

[Mike Ellis]

Thanks guys. To confirm, I can use an mini fuse add-a-circuit (perhaps one with a maximum of 20A as cyp linked, doesn't matter), insert it into any switched fuse, and pop a 1A mini fuse into the add-a-circuit.

FYI there doesn't seem to be a 1A mini fuse. 3A is the smallest PepBoys sells.

 

[jokiin]

3A is fine also

 

[Speedy2k42]

I know this thread is a few days old, but I wanted to tell you what I did with my A118c so you have ideas for the future.

I bought an extra 12V outlet at Radio Shack (looks like this: http://g03.a.alicdn.com/kf/UT8fWuCXnpXXXagOFbXa/200245420/UT8fWuCXnpXXXagOFbXa.jpg). It comes with a blue wire tap and a 10A glass fuse inside. The 12V power cable that comes with the camera plugs directly into this extra outlet that I installed. It also automatically converts the output to 5V, so there's no need for an extra kit or anything like that.

I actually used the blue wire tap and spliced right into the wire that goes to the existing 12V outlet in my car (sometimes called the cigarette adapter). I switched out the 10A fuse inside the extra 12V outlet and replaced it with a 4A fuse. You can see my pics here: https://dashcamtalk.com/forum/threa...ed-in-your-car-photos.5909/page-7#post-124375

It was very simple and effective. The red wire from the extra 12V outlet goes into the blue wire tap and gets spliced into the existing 12V wiring. The black wire from the 12V gets attached to a ground somewhere in the car. I found a metal bolt that was attached to the metal frame of the car. I loosened the bolt, put the black wire under it, and then tightened the bolt to hold it in place.

You can presumably do this process with other wires that are controlled by the ignition in your car, but do extra research just in case because I'm not an expert.

Hope that helps!